Rob Roll started the Rochester Makerspace nonprofit to encourage learning skills and creativity through making things. As a telecommunications employee, Roll felt unfulfilled not creating tangible objects. The maker movement brings together people interested in sharing skills, resources, and knowledge to make things outside traditional hobbies. Roll wants people to take breaks from screens and learn by making.

1. ROCHESTERNEXT.COM
MEET
THE
MAKERS
Basically we’re a
community workshop
and art studio. Our goal
is to encourage people to
learn by using tools and
making things.
ROB ROLL,
Makerspace president
At his job with a telecommunications compa-
ny, Rob Roll doesn’t make anything tangible.
“I was getting older and realized that I’ve al-
ways enjoyed doing that and wanted to do more
of it. Basically, I wanted to be around other peo-
ple who enjoy making things and enjoy being
creative,” Roll said.
So he started Rochester Makerspace, a local
nonprofit group that is part of the global “maker
movement.”
“We really don’t care what people make. We
just think its important to encourage people to
get away from their TVs, their video games,
surfing the net at night, and go out and learn
some skills and make things,” said Roll, Maker-
space president.
Traditional DIY hobbyists are morphing
into a technology-tinged maker movement,
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANI CHERCHIO
Hobbyists gather,
get busy creating
Bennett J. Loudon
Staff writer
See MAKERS, Page 5E
Mark Manning is
president of
Interlock
Rochester. JAMIE
GERMANO/STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER
WHY IT MATTERS
The maker movement is helping to spur economic
activity by bringing together creative types to share
space, resources and knowledge.
Democrat and Chronicle Sunday, August 4, 2013
Len LaCara Business Editor (585) 258-2416
llacara@democratandchronicle.com
Len LaCara
Valeant’s leader J. Michael Pearson
came out of the shadows last week and
communicated publicly his intentions
with his latest conquest, Bausch +
Lomb. The Orwellian language in the
communication to employees made him
sound like a cheerleader at a public
execution.
Unfortunately, the next page in the
predator’s handbook is to reduce B+L’s
traditional severance pay, knowing
terminated employees are not likely to
be in a position to sue for more. I can
only hope conscience prevails over
personal ambition. But I also recall a
quote my father attributed to legendary
football coach Woody Hayes: “Hoping
gets you nothing.”
Our community leaders’ defeatist
reaction, other than the routine “out-
rage” letter by the politicos to the
announcement, has been akin to, “Here
we go again; I hope this one doesn’t hurt
as much as the last one.” We seem to
take solace in the fact that the sales
force and manufacturing facilities will
go largely untouched, for now.
The writing has been on the wall
since B+L’s January announcement
about going public, and I predicted this
outcome. Who was negotiating on be-
half of Rochester and B+L employees?
Is this the best soft landing we could
negotiate with Valeant? When private
negotiations yield this outcome, public
negotiations may be warranted. Has
Rochester lost its nerve? I hope not.
It is not uncommon for community-
conscious acquirers (which Valeant has
yet to show any signs of) to work with
local politicians and economic devel-
opment agencies to create a transition
plan. Such a plan would spread out job
losses while simultaneously providing
some financial support, through a com-
munity foundation, for arts and charita-
ble organizations that have relied on
donations from the employees who will
soon be out of work. If these conversa-
tions were had, they evidently fell on
deaf ears.
It is time to act and publicly demand
a meeting with Mr. Pearson to discuss
the carnage he so gleefully is bringing
to our community and what Valeant is
willing to do to limit the damage. If he
is like most financial engineers who
create the illusion of a long-term busi-
ness strategy by paper-clipping togeth-
er a number of acquisitions with other
people’s money, he is more concerned
about his public image than the future
of Rochester.
Where do B+L’s affected employees
go from here?
First, they should not assume they
will be OK. Most likely, they will be
used to get through a transition and
then summarily dismissed. So it is time
for them to get cracking and look for
new jobs now with heightened urgency.
It is critical that they spend a signifi-
cant amount of time doing primary
research into organizations that align
with their skills and experience. This
will require a prodigious effort that
can’t be started too soon.
Now is the time to respond to Mr.
Pearson, not react.
So let’s get to work.
Make predator Valeant limit the damage to B+L
PCBURKE61@gmail.com
Patrick
Burke
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