NextFab

Bios

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  Scott Newcomb

  South Philadelphia Location Manager

  My background and specialties include digital fabrication, specializing in CAD and designing for prototyping/manufacturing, as well as animation, coding, and compiling. I also have a good bit of experience in the physical creation, where I lean heavily towards wood processes, lasers, and 3D printing. Very shortly after I was introduced to NextFab, I knew I needed to be part of the community in any way I could. I started by spending all my waking moments here as a member and shortly thereafter I joined the team. Now, as the South Philly Location Manager, I find I’m able to feel fulfilled in my work by helping teams and individuals achieve their fabrication goals. Nothing makes me happier than seeing one of our members succeed in their goals. I’m also an avid fisherman and specifically catching fish on the bait I made, from hard baits I’ve whittled down from a chunk of wood to tying flies. In my opinion, there is nothing better than being deep in the woods, away from all human interactions, and pulling out a beautiful trout out of the water from something you made yourself.

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  Marc DiGiaimo

  Manager, Wood Processes

  I started with NextFab as a member in 2014 and couldn't get enough. So I took the opportunity of a full-time supervisor position in 2016, knowing it was a place I could always learn more from, and help others learn in return. I love the different fabrication challenges that come up every day, and helping members think through them. When I can explain something the right way and see the light bulb click on for someone, those are the moments that make this job. I have my BFA in Craft/Material Studies in Wood from the University of the Arts, and worked at multiple cabinet and job shops previously, as well as at a high-end wood furniture production facility, and have maintained a personal fabrication practice since 2014. One of my favorite projects was a very specific and highly refined "workbench" for a local artist. It had many functions, compartments for specific tools and materials, moving and interlocking parts, and a modular stylized marquetry pattern of my own design for the top work surface and removable table leaf. I enjoyed the never-ending engineering feat to make it all work together and meet the many requirements of the artist's workflow.

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  Christopher Richards

  Front Desk Coordinator
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  Cory Lord

  Contractor
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  Hannah Declercq

  Technical Supervisor

  I started working at NextFab in order to continue expanding upon my skills in woodworking and metalworking. I'm consistently blown away at not only how much time and training NextFab puts into staff, but how it's an expectation for us to continue challenging ourselves to learn new things. I truly do feel like a (relative) expert on so many things that I had very minimal knowledge of before. My favorite project is a recording console I helped build for my house. It's made entirely out of plywood, but we were able to make it look nice. Plus, it is custom-built for our exact speakers and record player so that everything is inset into the console itself.  I love playing guitar, and hope to try my hand at building one here in the shop one day!

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  Kirby Reiko McKenzie

  Metal Shop Manager

  I received my BFA from California College of the Arts as an interdisciplinary major, focusing mainly on textiles, sculpture, fashion, and ceramics. After graduating I ran a bag and accessories business, working with custom-produced textiles and leather. After a decade in the Bay Area, I moved back to Philly, where I found out about NextFab and joined as a member, and soon after was hired as a Technical Supervisor in the woodshop. I love teaching, making, and fixing things---so this is really my dream job. I have so many favorite projects, but I recently made a hand-shaved ladder back chair using only hand tools and a shave horse, a process pioneered by the famous queer woodworker Jennie Alexander. NextFab is such a machine-oriented shop, it was amazing to create something from traditional hand tools that can be done with a limited amount of space and tools. I am also a skateboarder who is enmeshed in the women’s/queer/gender non-conforming skate community that has blossomed over the last 5 years.

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  Nicholas Gallagher

  Digital Fabrication Manager, Industrial Designer
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  Thomas Frenz

  Electronics Department Manager

  I studied electrical engineering in college, with coursework covering circuit analysis and design, signal processing, electromagnetics, and control theory. My senior project was a charge controller for a solar cell, which taught me about photovoltaic theory, DC-DC conversion, and pulse width modulation. When looking around post-graduation, I thought NextFab offered a rare opportunity to gain practical experience in electronics and to branch out into other fields, and believe cross-disciplinary study and practice are invaluable to engineers. Right now, I’m working on an automatic shutoff switch, and am interested to learn the process which takes an idea from the breadboard to the final product. Fun fact about me: I’m an operatic baritone!

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  John Haggerty

  Facilities Supervisor

  I originally went to school for Physics and Electrical Engineering but didn’t finish my degree. I knew I didn’t want to sit behind a desk, so I apprenticed in a high-end furniture shop and spent some time working and engineering machines for a book bindery. I have had my own woodworking business for almost 30 years, and was a NextFab member first for about a year and a half, before joining as staff. My favorite project is helping to build the big ShopBot (or the NextBot), since it’s part ShopBot design, and part mine/ours. I especially enjoy teaching the ShopBot class and getting to work with students on their projects. In my spare time, you can find me coaching hockey.

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  Justin Johnson

  Partner Location Manager

  I first started working at NextFab because I wanted to use and advance my skills in hands-on manufacturing in a creative environment. I enjoy learning through my work here, and through teaching others, and creative problem-solving. My main expertise is in Machining/CNC, welding, and fabrication, both self-taught and at NextFab. As far as things I’ve worked on for NextFab, I got a huge sense of accomplishment from fabricating the frames for the “Spit Spreads Death” parade put on by Blast Theory and the Mutter Museum in late September of 2019. It was my first time heading up a project of that scale, both physically and logistically, and to have the opportunity to be a part of the event that they were built for is something I don't think I’ll encounter again. That being said, I think my true favorite project at any given moment is the last thing I put together from my scrap collection. I enjoy working within the constraints of a finite amount of material in unusual shapes as it forces me to create something unique, which usually ends up as a gift.