How the MakerSpace Helped Launch Commercial Wraps LLC  

Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library  

When Megan Karl lost her job in early 2024 as a vinyl wrap installer, she was unsure of her next career steps. After visiting the Downtown Main Library’s MakerSpace, her life trajectory changed.  

“It helped rebuild my confidence and create my business with cheaper materials,” Megan said. “I eventually launched my company, Commercial Wraps LLC, and it wouldn't exist today without the MakerSpace.”  

By the summer of 2024, Megan became an Avery Dennison Certified Installer and shortly after earned her 3M Preferred Installer certification. By September, she began instructing a vinyl wrap installation course at the Great Oaks Career Center. In October of 2025, she officially launched Commercial Wraps LLC.   

At 42 years old, Megan likened founding Commercial Wraps to being a newborn baby.   

“The world wants to tell us that, at a certain age, we’re done learning, too old to try something new, or that the door is closed,” Megan said. “I am standing here as living proof that the door is never closed. Sometimes we just need be encouraged to turn the handle.”  

For Megan, that encouragement came from the MakerSpace. From the equipment provided to the accessible materials and helpful staff, the MakerSpace helped Megan begin her small business journey.  

“It’s not just in the MakerSpace,” Megan said. “You see all the possibilities around you [at the Library]. You see other businesspeople utilizing the same tools. I started thinking, ‘If they can do it, maybe I could do it.’”  

Making Creating Accessible   

In her previous position, Megan did not have experience with the printing side of vinyl. The MakerSpace gave her the opportunity to learn how to use large-format vinyl printers.   

Along with learning the ropes of vinyl printing, staff also assisted Megan with learning how to get started with Adobe Illustrator, including providing a handout that she took home to study.   

“It was a whole new world. I started getting creative,” Megan said. “The staff was really kind. I don’t know where these people come from! I would even say, ‘You guys are like angels. How are you so kind and wanting to help?’”   

Eventually, after familiarizing herself with the software at the Library, Megan felt confident enough to take the leap of buying the Adobe Creative Suite for use at her home as she started to form her business.   

Megan’s first client through Commercial Wraps LLC involved installing wraps on moving trucks for a local moving company. Having underestimated the cost to the customer, she used the Library’s MakerSpace to finish her first order.    

“If I never had the MakerSpace available, none of this would have happened,” Megan said. “I wouldn’t have been able to learn Adobe Illustrator. I wouldn’t have been able to make the massive mistakes that I made. It would have been financially impossible.”   

Bent on Creativity — and Community  

In Megan’s view, when you’re at the MakerSpace, you have no other choice than to create something. And if you’re up for the challenge, staff are ready to help.  

“There’s professional-grade equipment that is accessible to everybody,” Megan said. “If you’re willing to learn it, you have people here that will teach you everything you need to know. To have that for free is incredible.”   

Megan’s small business journey started with goals and discipline. The MakerSpace reminded her to be curious and stay open to learning.   

“If anyone is out there and is feeling too old or too late or their moment has passed, I just want them to hear this: You are not too old. You are not too late. You are not behind. You are becoming,” Megan said. “I am 42, starting something from scratch and I’m building something I’m proud of.”    

We insist on being a library for all. All minds. All modes. All needs. More than 2.4 million visits are made to the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library each year from customers living in and working in our diverse, vibrant, and unique neighborhoods. Our series Meet a Library Customer shares the stories that minds of all kinds have each day at CHPL.