SANDPOINT — Makerpoint Studios has always had the coolest toys in town, whether you need a fully equipped wood or metal shop, have a big welding job or want to create a design on computer and etch it into wood with a laser engraver.

Now the facility also has one of the most interesting business models around.

In October, Caitlin, Marie and James Bayles took ownership of Makerpoint after a co-op ran the shop over the previous year. The co-op took the reins when the founders — both IT specialists — made the decision to re-enter the tech arena for financial reasons in the fall of 2017.

At both junctures, there was a strong, community desire to keep the place alive.

“When the co-op ran out of money, Marie and I said, ‘Everybody wants to keep it going, so let’s give it a try,’” said James Bayles.

One of their first initiatives was to shift from paid staff to a team of volunteers who cover everything from teaching classes to maintaining equipment. The family also revised the format under which people can use the facility, lifting age restrictions and reaching out to the home and private school population. The new plan also involved devising programs for veterans and the disabled.

“We saw that there was not a lot in the community for people with disabilities and children to do,” James explained. “We’re really strong on this being a community shop.”

Selle Valley Carden School and the Boulder Creek Academy now hold classes at Makerpoint, with the latter using the facility to train its new robotics team. A Boy Scout troop meets there to develop merit badge skills and Girl Scouts, too, have been active participants.

“We had the younger Girl Scouts making memory boxes and the older girls actually made hope chests,” said Marie Bayles. “They etched the tops and they looked really nice.”

From her wheelchair, Caitlin Bayles works with Marie, her mother, to design gift ideas on computer and put Makerpoint’s wealth of technology to use in creating a finished product. This holiday season, her caregivers, doctors, nurses and physical therapists will receive laser engraved ornaments inside a wooden box etched with the words, “Merry Christmas from Caitlin.”

Along with individuals who have discovered all Makerpoint offers under one roof, several local business use the place as either a design center or key component in their production process.

“We have a lot of entrepreneurs who use the facility,” James said. “As far as businesses, Quest uses us for prototype design and ToneDevil Guitars cuts their necks on our CNC (Computer Numeric Control) router and etches their logo using our laser.

“When Misty Mountain Furniture was doing a couple hundred bed frames for a hotel chain, they used the CNC so they would all be identical,” he added.

When the doors opened on Friday, the shop began to see a steady stream of people who use the facility as part of their monthly membership fee. Among the customers were a handful of volunteers who stopped in to check on the status of things like welding equipment and belts on power tools in the wood shop. All the while, people clicked away at keyboards at the computer workstations, the number of which has doubled from four to eight since the Bayles’ took over.

The family is quick to admit they don’t have all the answers about the equipment available at Makerpoint. That said, they know where to look for them.

“What Marie and I don’t know how to do, we find someone who does,” James said. “We didn’t have all the skills, but we had the desire — so we just dove in and started learning.”

They have plenty of company, especially now that community offerings have been expanded to include women’s programs such as a monthly Ladies Night Out, a regularly scheduled Kids’ Night at Makerpoint and, starting in the New Year, a veterans’ advocacy program based on a body of research that has shown woodworking and shop work to be an effective therapy for vets suffering from PTSD.

“We’ll be launching that program so that vets can use the shop in the mornings before we open at no charge,” said James.

In other outreach programs, Makerpoint Studios partners with Special Olympics, the East Bonner County Library Sandpoint Branch and Sandpoint Parks & Recreation to offer classes.

Recently granted non-profit status, the facility invites residents to support its efforts by sharing their time, treasure and talents.

“We’ll take donations of money, equipment, volunteer work — anything somebody wants to do,” James said.

Information: Makerpoint Studios, facebook.com/makerpointstudios