Meet our Current Entrepreneur-in-Residence: Marina Marmolejo

Marina Marmolejo’s style of entrepreneurship uniquely centers people, love, and creativity. She sees innovative thinking as a form of liberation and is excited to work in partnership with local entrepreneurs to achieve a more equitable, fun, and inclusive New Haven.

Marina is also the founder and Executive Director of DreamKit, a web-based app that teaches youth experiencing homelessness independent living skills, financially rewards their growth, and shares their progress with the community. She is excited to have more conversations about empathy-driven solutions within entrepreneurship, in order to benefit our most vulnerable communities.

As a first-time female founder and Collab graduate, Marina can’t wait to help other entrepreneurs combat imposter syndrome and unlock resources to help build their confidence and resilience. Since Marina graduated from the Yale School of Public Health and is now a New Haven resident, she is deeply interested in building bridges between these two communities. Marina is particularly excited to support New Haven entrepreneurs in leadership development, public speaking, customer discovery, grant writing, team management, and impact measurement.

EIR Office Hours – Virtual Meetings
Office Hours Tuesdays 4-6 pm and Thursdays 9-11 pm

 #EntrepreneurshipFAILS – Pro Entrepreneurs’ Perspectives on How to Fail Forward  Tuesday – Friday, January 18 – 22nd, 12-12:30 pm
It’s literally impossible to be an entrepreneur without failing at times. In reality, if you fail as an entrepreneur, that might mean you’re on the right track.

Come join us each day, Tuesday to Friday the third week in January (19th to 22nd) at 12 pm to listen to local New Haven entrepreneurs chat about their experience with failure and how they’ve practiced resilience to overcome it.

Speaker Lineup:
-Tuesday: Alikiah Barclay, Founder of ReRent
-Wednesday: William Ruiz, Founder of Bequest
-Thursday: Eric Rey, Co-Founder of Sopa
-Friday: Barb Nangle, Founder of Higher Power Coaching and Consulting

If you are having trouble with Zoom, we will also be hosting this event on our Facebook live at facebook.com/nhfpl

Meet our Current Creative-in-Residence: Nadine Nelson

Chef Nadine Nelson, Green Queen of Cuisine, is the eco chef and social entrepreneur of Global Local Gourmet, a roving community-supported kitchen. Chef Nadine was born in Toronto, Canada of Jamaican Heritage. She has always loved cooking and vegetables. She has studied the culinary arts in Paris at the Ritz Escoffier, has a certificate in food styling from the New School and a certificate in fundraising and philanthropy from New York University in New York, and earned a teaching degree from Tufts University in Boston, consequently, she brings a worldly perspective to seasonal food.

She is a social activist, cooking instructor, chef, writer, recipe developer/tester, food consultant, experiential epicurean event producer, and culinary artist. She is an expert in interactive cuisine and has worked with such clients as Harvard University, The Apollo Theater, the City of New Haven, Boston Office of Conventions and Tourism, The National Park Service, The Food Project, Disney, Bain and Company, Columbia University, International Association of Culinary Professionals, and the Tobago Jazz Festival designing and delivering cooking classes, culinary team building, wellness workshops, culinary tours, and epicurean event planning.

MacArthur Genius Will Allen, Executive Director of sustainable giant Growing Power said of her work “I have been a lot of places and seen a lot of things, but I have never seen people having the community come together and cook their meal together, that was something new. That put New Haven on the Map. The organizer is ingenious”. Nadine has been privileged to cook for various celebrities and dignitaries. She enjoys making you a star in your own kitchen where you can cook up delicious adventures far from expected yet close to home.

CIR Office Hours – Virtual Meetings
Office Hours Tuesdays 12-2 PM

Co-Create
Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm
Each week during Wednesday office hours, Creative–in-Residence Nadine Nelson will use MakeHaven as her studio space to work on a variety of projects. Simultaneously, another creative will be working in their own space on their own project. You are invited to be a voyeur on both artist’s processes and to ask questions about your creative projects.  Artists announced at the beginning of each month.

January 13: Katalina Riegelmann, Fitness Trainer and Owner of Katalina’s Bakery. http://katalinasbakery.com/

January 20: James Estrada, founder of Dreaming Collective, a collaborative, distributed research and art studio. https://dreamingcollective.org 

January 27: Lani Asuncion works in video, sculpture, performance, and digital storytelling that explores the sociopolitics of the community. https://laniasuncion.com/ 

2021 Nurture U: Self – Spa Mini Retreat  – Virtual Program
Saturday, January 16, 2-4 pm  
Turn your home into a spa with these totally easy ideas. Learn to make spa potions with ingredients you have in your pantry along with recipes that will have you impressing yourself as your own personal chef. 

• Home Spa Make and Take 2-3  
• Spa Cuisine at Home 3 – 4 

Meatless Monday: Pt. 1  – Virtual Program
Monday, January 25, 7-8:15 pm 
The Meatless Monday movement is quickly growing around the world. Come cook and learn about the benefits of going meatless in this monthly series. 

Part 1: Plant-Based Cooking and Eating Styles: Plant-based diets can help reduce your risk of heart disease, but they’re not all created equal. Learn about the different styles while Chef Nadine cooks several dishes to inspire you. 

The Switchboard is the welcoming front door for individuals to connect their interests to opportunity, services, databases and resources inside and outside the Library.

Community Mixtape Project

Gather your favorite songs & spread joy through the NHFPL Community Mixtape Project! To join in, simply create a 30min Spotify playlist & share it with us. We will feature your mix on social media & in the library cafe upon reopening. More Details

The Exchange offers an entrepreneurial and social space for collaboration and co-working around business, civic and community issues.

Exchange Resources

Collab Office Hours -By appointment – Please visit collabnewhaven.org to make an appointment

Collab is a small business, nonprofit, and for-profit support program committed to serving Connecticut entrepreneurs. Get one-on-one advice about obtaining capital, mentorship, and other resources for entrepreneurs based in Connecticut. For more information about Collab, visit collabnewhaven.org.
Set an appointment

The Tinker Lab provides the training and tools for experimentation and an introduction to the world of creating and making, an essential element of the 21st-century learner.

Tinker Lab Resources

Learn to Code: Build an App  with Page Swanson

Office hours every Monday from 6:30-8:30 pm, starting January 11. Virtual Meetings
Meet with full-stack developer Page Swanson to consult on any questions you may have about computer programming.

Learn to Code: Animated Life in the Browser – Virtual Class
Join full-stack developer Page Swanson to learn the basics of computer programming. This program will be held virtually via Zoom.  Bring your questions and learn about a new topic each week!

Jan 12 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm Register

Jan 26 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm Register

Take and Make Project Kit – Request Your Kit
Request a kit with everything you need to make a new project. The kit includes all the supplies, plus a link to an instructional video that you can watch on Creativebug or another platform, which is free to use with your library card or join us for a virtual class. To schedule an appointment to pick up a kit, please call the Ives Squared department at 203-946-8130 ext 140. There are a limited number of kits available, and they will be given out first-come, first-served, with a limit of two kits per family.

Home Spa – January 4–January 15
Learn to make spa potions with ingredients you have in your pantry. Register for the Spa Mini Retreat program on Saturday, January 16 from 2-4 pm.

Hydroponic Gardening – January18–January29
Learn to grow plants without soil!  Are you ready to grow your indoor garden? Register for the Hydroponic Gardening program on Friday, January 29 from 1-2 pm. 

To schedule an appointment to pick up a kit, please call the Ives Squared department at 203-946-8130 ext 140. There are a limited number of kits available, and they will be given out first-come, first-served, with a limit of two kits per family.

Designing 3D models with TinkerCAD  – Virtual Program
Friday, January 8, 3-4 pm
TinkerCAD is an easy-to-use design program that you can use from any internet computer to make 3D models. We’ll show you how to get started, and then you can request to have us 3D print your model. 

Intro to Audio Editing with Audacity – By Virtual Appointment
Make a one-on-one appointment to learn the basic skills of editing sound with Audacity, an audio editing software. Audacity is a free, open-source, “Digital Audio Workstation” with an intuitive interface and a large community of users worldwide. It is a great program for learning basic audio production skills and concepts. To arrange a time for instruction, email Austin at alarkin@nhfpl.org 

Equipment Certification ***Please note: All equipment training sessions are currently suspended due to building closure. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Please stay tuned! 

3D Printer Makerbot Level 1

3D Printer Prusa Level 2 Note: ***You must be certified with the Makerbot before you may take the Prusa class.

Laser Cutter Basics Level 1

Laser Cutter Rotary Attachment Level 2 Note: ***You must be fully certified with the laser cutter before you may take the rotary attachment class.

Vinyl Cutter Note: We are currently performing maintenance on our vinyl cutter.  Thanks for your patience!

Carving Machine

Spanish Certification: By appointment only.

Low-Cost Maker Software

Lynda Maker Classes

Making Masks with Celeste

The Café and patio are currently closed. We look forward to re-opening The Orchid Cafe soon. Please stay tuned! 

We are excited to announce the arrival of our new partner, Orchid Café on the Green.  Orchid Café actively employs graduates and current students of ConnCAT’s culinary arts program and is intended to help local talent “transform their lives” through culinary arts. Orchid Café on the Green, located at the New Haven Free Public Library’s Ives Main Branch, will be their second café location to open. In this partnership, we are excited to support community-focused programming and exceptional hospitality.  Stay tuned for updates, special events, and more!

 The Café is an ideal spot for networking and social gatherings offering beverages and snacks to relax and recharge as well as a patio overlooking the New Haven Green.

Ives Squared Usage Policy

If you have any questions you can call 203.946.8130 ext.140