Bring an idea. Find a place to start.
The JuxtaHub Innovation Exchange is a place for businesses to explore an idea or a challenge with artists, makers and technologists who see problems from different angles. No technical background or finished plan required.
What is the JuxtaHub Innovation Exchange?
Most businesses have a problem that keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Maybe it’s a part nobody makes anymore, a space that’s hard to plan around, or a product idea that never made it past the sketch. The JuxtaHub Innovation Exchange is where you can bring it.
We start with what your business needs, not with a piece of technology. From there, JuxtaHub’s shared tools and our deep bench of subject matter experts and creatives help you figure out what’s possible and what a practical next step looks like.
The Exchange welcomes businesses of all sizes, especially small and midsize businesses across the Greater Lehigh Valley and beyond.
Who you’ll work with
Your first conversation is with John Oetting, JuxtaHub’s Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. John starts by listening: what your business does, what’s getting in the way, and what a good outcome would look like.
Then he brings in the right people from JuxtaHub’s deep bench of subject matter experts and creatives. Artists, makers, designers and technologists look at the same challenge from different angles, so you get practical options you might not have found on your own.
What you could explore
Recreate a hard-to-find part. Explore whether a part that’s out of production can be scanned and reproduced.
Plan with a digital version of your space. Use a digital representation of a space for planning or inspection before you commit time and money.
Invite people to join from anywhere. Create a three-dimensional visit to a property, museum or historic site.
Try out a new product idea. See how digital design and fabrication tools could help you develop something new or improve how you work.
Get to know emerging technology. Learn what extended reality and spatial computing are, and where they might actually fit your business.
These are only starting points. If your challenge isn’t on this list, that’s exactly the kind of conversation we want to have.
“Businesses don’t always have the time, tools, or expertise to explore a new idea on their own. What makes JuxtaHub special is that it brings people with different perspectives together. The Innovation Exchange gives businesses a place to ask questions, discover possibilities, and consider approaches they might not have explored otherwise.”
— Kerry Kulp, co-founder of Velaspan and JuxtaHub board member
How it starts
- Reach out. Email JIE@juxtahub.com with a few lines about your idea or challenge. Rough is fine.
- Talk it through. Meet with Chief Technology and Innovation Officer John Oetting to walk through your business and what you’re hoping to solve.
- Find the next step. You get practical options from the experts and creatives best suited to your challenge. Together, you’ll look at how shared resources or emerging technologies could help, and what makes sense to try first.
Your first conversation with the Innovation Exchange is free. If you want to go further, we’ll talk through scope and pricing based on the outcome you’re looking for.
Come see it for yourself
Free introductory sessions
Thursday, Nov. 19 · 6–7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 10 · 6–7:30 p.m.
In JuxtaHub’s Convergent Makerspace at 375 S 10th St in Emmaus.
Tour the Convergent Makerspace, see spatial computing, 3D printing and digital fabrication up close, and think through how they could support your idea or challenge. Bring a question, bring a colleague, or just bring your curiosity.
Built on the Convergent Makerspace
The Innovation Exchange draws on JuxtaHub’s Convergent Makerspace, where traditional making meets digital tools. Current resources include 3D printing, laser cutting, extended-reality tools, sewing and embroidery equipment, photography and electronics.
With new grant support, we’re adding a second laser cutter and developing resin-printing and electroplating capabilities.
Are you an artist, maker or community member? Explore current classes and workshops or contact the Convergent Makerspace at CMS@juxtahub.com.
Looking ahead
The Innovation Exchange is part of a bigger conversation. JuxtaHub is planning a symposium on spatial computing and extended reality for spring 2028, exploring what these technologies can do for creative work, learning and business. Details will be shared as they’re confirmed.
Questions
Who can participate? Businesses of all sizes are welcome, with a particular focus on small and midsize businesses.
Who will I be working with? You’ll start with John Oetting, JuxtaHub’s Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. He connects you with subject matter experts and creatives from our community based on what your challenge needs.
Do I need a technical background or a finished idea? No. A question or a rough idea is a great place to start.
What does it cost? The introductory sessions are free. If you want to go further, we’ll talk through scope and pricing based on the outcome you’re looking for.
How do I get started? Email JIE@juxtahub.com or come to a free intro session.
I’m interested in supporting or partnering with this work. We’d love to talk. Contact Ryan Hill at ryan.hill@juxtahub.com.
The JuxtaHub Innovation Exchange is supported by a $150,000 Innovation and Impact Grant from Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.
