ORLANDO, Fla. – It was Luciana Barile’s first time back in the sewing lab since landing a dream job as a construction sewing specialist at Walt Disney World.
“I was able to practice here for a few hours, for a few days, it was amazing, everything that they’ve done for me,” Barile told News 6. She said the lab provided her the materials and equipment needed to practice for and pass an 8-hour assessment as part of the hiring process for her new position.
“It’s an amazing experience to understand how they create magic from the backstage,” Barile said.
The sewing lab is located at the Orange County Library System’s downtown Orlando branch, part of the Melrose Center on the second floor.
Andi Cates, customer service lead with the Center, tells News 6, “access to all the equipment that we have here, the software, with your Orange County Library card, it’s all free.”
Free, thanks to a generous gift from the Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation, the Orange County Library System was able to create the Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center for Technology, Innovation and Creativity. The Melrose Center opened in 2014 and has 26,000 square feet of space on the Orlando Public Library’s second floor.
Allison Giles uses part of that space to get her up-and-coming photography company, Aquareon Productions, off the ground.
“Now I’ve launched my new website. I am taking clients. I have a great body of work to show and I was able to do that because of the Center.” Giles said.
Without the Melrose Center, Giles would have had to rent studio space and invest in expensive editing software, costing her new company money and time.
“Probably would have been another year or two before I could actually get my company off the ground the way I wanted to do it. So they really sped that up, I was able to do it within five months,” Giles explained.
Key Melrose services include:
- Video production studio.
- Audio production studio.
- Photography studio.
- Makerspace (basic electronics/engineering instruction).
- Flight and driving simulators.
- Game development lab.
- 165-inch LED wall for collaboration or presentations.
- Conference room: A meeting space for groups up to 30.
- Rehearsal space: Available for groups of up to 15 performers.
- Sound booths.
- Classes, workshops, meetups.
You need to be 15 years old to attend most of the classes at the Melrose Center. The exception is you have to be 18 years old to use their laser cutters.
The only location that has the Melrose Center is at the downtown Orlando Public Library.
However, Cates told News 6, “The library also offers the fee card for anyone outside of Orange County. It’s $125 for a year. And it basically makes you in the eyes of the library in Orange County resident for the year.”
Cates also points out that not only does the library teach you job training skills through the Melrose Center, they also assist you in finding a job.
“We have a ton of different resources that can help you find a job once when you’ve had some practice. We have access to the Career Academy up on the fourth floor, so they do a lot of different classes with resume writing and perfecting your interview. We also have different databases that will help you build your resume, you can drag and drop and put your information in and end up with a professional looking resume.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: