Octavia Lab & DIY Memory Lab

What You Can Make

Walk into Octavia Lab and you enter a working creative studio. Ten Apple computers line one wall, all loaded with Adobe Creative Cloud for graphic design and video editing. Two large 3D printers hum in their corner, slowly building objects layer by layer from digital files. The laser cutter sits ready to burn precise patterns into wood, leather, or acrylic. Sewing machines wait at another station for fabric projects.

The layout feels open and accessible. Equipment stations spread throughout the 3,000-square-foot space, each with instructional materials nearby. You can watch someone laser-cutting custom wine glasses at one table while another person edits a podcast recording in a soundproof booth. A father and daughter might be designing a 3D-printed train track replacement. The mix of projects makes it clear that people use this space for real work, not just casual dabbling.

The recording studio gets booked weeks in advance. Musicians come to track full albums. Students edit documentary films. Podcasters record interviews with professional microphones and mixing boards. The photography studio provides backdrops, lighting equipment, and cameras for product shots or portraits. Two smaller podcast booths handle voice recording and livestreaming.

Learning By Doing

Staff won’t hold your hand through projects. This works as a do-it-yourself space where you figure things out. Computers have access to LinkedIn Learning tutorials and other online resources. Instruction manuals sit on shelves near each equipment station. Staff members set up equipment, handle troubleshooting, and answer technical questions, but they won’t teach you step by step.

Most people adapt quickly. The laser cutter needs a vector design file, which you can create using free software like Inkscape. The 3D printers accept standard STL files. The sewing machines work like any other sewing machine. If you already know the basics of design or fabrication, you can jump right in.

Preserving Memories

The DIY Memory Lab occupies its own section in the back. This specialized station converts old media into digital files. VHS tapes, cassette recordings, printed photos, Super 8 film, 16mm reels, all can be digitized here using archival-grade equipment. People bring shoeboxes of family photos from the 1950s or home movies from childhood that exist only on degrading film stock.

Using the Memory Lab requires attending an orientation session first. The equipment handles delicate materials and the staff wants everyone to know proper procedures. Book your orientation and digitization sessions by phone. Some staff assistance is available Wednesday afternoons and Friday afternoons.

Making It Work For You

Call (213) 228-7150 to reserve specific equipment. Popular items like the recording studio need booking a week ahead. The 3D printers and laser cutter work on two-hour time blocks. Most projects fit that window.

Bring your own materials. The lab provides filament for 3D printing, but you need to supply wood for laser cutting, fabric for sewing, or vinyl for the cutter. This keeps the service free while giving you control over materials quality.

The first three hours of 3D printing cost nothing. After that, prints run 50 cents per 30 minutes, capped at $10 maximum. Everything else stays completely free. One free poster print per week comes with membership.

Save your work to a flash drive. The computers wipe their hard drives between users for privacy. Video projects might need an external hard drive given file sizes.

Other Labs

The Los Angeles Public Library also provides the Koreatown Media Lab within the Pio Pico Koreatown Library. “The Koreatown Media Lab is a makerspace and business center with high-quality, professional-grade computer hardware, software, and equipment to support library patrons with their educational, entrepreneurial, and creative endeavors.”