0:00:02.580,0:00:08.500 >> HRAG: Welcome, everyone to the final forum that we have been doing this month with the 0:00:08.500,0:00:14.670 Craft Council. The topic today is "Design Solutions for an Equitable and Sustainable 0:00:14.670,0:00:21.810 Craft Economy." So I just wanted to welcome everyone and we're going to have some chance 0:00:21.810,0:00:25.460 for questions afterwards. We're going to try to do introductions and other things pretty 0:00:25.460,0:00:30.590 quick so we can get to the questions, because last time those were cut short a little bit. 0:00:30.590,0:00:35.760 I'm going to introduce Scott Pollock from the American Craft Council to say a couple 0:00:35.760,0:00:37.650 opening words. Scott. 0:00:37.650,0:00:44.590 >> SCOTT: Thanks, Hrag. Thanks for doing this and thank you for joining us. This is the 0:00:44.590,0:00:49.760 final installation of the American Craft Forum, the second series that we have done. You know, 0:00:49.760,0:00:55.080 as a lot of people joining the call, or rejoining us, have been able to participate in the sessions, 0:00:55.080,0:00:59.220 it's been a chance for the American Craft Council to get everybody together again. It’s 0:00:59.220,0:01:04.720 sort of a strange time, we're not meeting in person, we're not having events, and we're 0:01:04.720,0:01:10.320 not hosting exhibitions or we're not doing marketplace events. American Craft Council 0:01:10.320,0:01:13.760 is committed to galvanizing everybody and bringing people together when and where we 0:01:13.760,0:01:19.250 can. I think this topic today, which we're excited about hosting, is especially important 0:01:19.250,0:01:24.900 to the American Craft Council, especially as COVID hit us, you know, unexpectedly and 0:01:24.900,0:01:30.130 shut down a lot of our operations. You know, one of the elements that the American Craft 0:01:30.130,0:01:35.850 Council offers to artists are opportunities for people to connect and sell their work 0:01:35.850,0:01:41.770 at the American craft shows. And I think like a lot of people, you know, we as an organization 0:01:41.770,0:01:46.290 have been affected adversely, and we're trying to come up with solutions for what it’s 0:01:46.290,0:01:51.900 going to look like when we do return in this “new normal” post-COVID. So this topic 0:01:51.900,0:01:57.690 is really interesting and important, not just for the Craft Council but the field, and we're 0:01:57.690,0:02:03.450 happy to have conversations around additional ways artists and makers are supporting themselves. 0:02:03.450,0:02:09.420 Having to rethink what they're doing and how they show up on e-commerce, or collectively 0:02:09.420,0:02:15.030 through organizations and brick and mortar stores and galleries, and again, to the craft 0:02:15.030,0:02:22.120 shows and festivals that we've been so used to having at our fore. So, this will be a 0:02:22.120,0:02:28.200 great conversation. I'm excited about it. I want to recognize the incredible partners, 0:02:28.200,0:02:34.069 including the Critical Craft Forum. We heard from them last time. We also are really indebted 0:02:34.069,0:02:39.599 to the folks at the Socially Engaged Craft Collective who have been hosting post-forum 0:02:39.599,0:02:45.060 conversations on Wednesdays -- and a note to everybody, the Socially Engaged Craft Collective 0:02:45.060,0:02:51.220 will host their own event next Wednesday. You’re invited to join that conversation 0:02:51.220,0:02:56.280 online and hopefully somebody might be posting some information about that conversation. 0:02:56.280,0:03:01.650 So that will be happening next week, Wednesday as well. But also we're indebted to the organization, 0:03:01.650,0:03:05.550 the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and I just want to go ahead and 0:03:05.550,0:03:11.250 turn this over to Halle Butvin, director of special projects at the Smithsonian. Thanks 0:03:11.250,0:03:14.280 for helping with this project. 0:03:14.280,0:03:20.901 >> HALLE: Thanks so much, Scott. Hi, everybody. Thanks for the warm welcome and I just want 0:03:20.901,0:03:25.890 to thank American Craft Council for hosting this series. We are absolutely thrilled to 0:03:25.890,0:03:29.890 be part of it. So I just want to say welcome to all of us joining you -- or joining us 0:03:29.890,0:03:34.459 today. It's hard to see without faces this time. The Smithsonian Center for Folklife 0:03:34.459,0:03:43.959 and Cultural Heritage is a research center based in Washington, D.C. We promote greater 0:03:43.959,0:03:48.580 understanding and sustainability of cultural heritage across the United States and around 0:03:48.580,0:03:52.530 the world through research, education, and community engagement. 0:03:52.530,0:03:57.150 So like our colleagues at our museums, and many of you, I expect, we are teleworking 0:03:57.150,0:04:02.250 these days and I am talking to you from my home in Maryland. I want to acknowledge with 0:04:02.250,0:04:09.390 respect the Piscataway people whose traditional territory we live on, their relationship with 0:04:09.390,0:04:14.920 the land west of the Chesapeake Bay continues today. Many of you know the center for the 0:04:14.920,0:04:19.870 annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an event that takes place on the national mall each 0:04:19.870,0:04:25.189 summer for over 50 years. This year we're digital, not on the mall, and our team is 0:04:25.189,0:04:31.020 offering a range of daily programming exploring how communities draw upon cultural practices 0:04:31.020,0:04:36.599 to address environmental challenges, and adding to the national conversation about racism, 0:04:36.599,0:04:40.469 intersectional discrimination, and building an equitable and just society. 0:04:40.469,0:04:45.360 Rachel is going to drop a link to the programming in the chat and I encourage you to check it 0:04:45.360,0:04:50.759 out. We have daily programming for the next week, through July 4th. Last year, at the 0:04:50.759,0:04:55.689 center, we launched a new cultural sustainability program. While globalization connects people 0:04:55.689,0:05:02.419 across the world in new ways, we know it threatens the world's cultural diversity. Social, economic, 0:05:02.419,0:05:08.830 political forces, like urbanization, oppression, war, genocide, climate change, and mass production 0:05:08.830,0:05:15.659 of culture push for assimilation. And COVID-19 adds another layer of crisis. In the face 0:05:15.659,0:05:20.719 of these challenges, communities persist in preserving and practicing their living cultural 0:05:20.719,0:05:24.889 heritable and our program aims to bolster these efforts. 0:05:24.889,0:05:32.069 Artisans and makers are central to work. Many met Diana N’Diaye and learned about her 0:05:32.069,0:05:37.280 “Will to Adorn” and “Crafts of African Fashion” programs. We have been piloting 0:05:37.280,0:05:41.710 different projects with makers in other parts of the world. In Armenia, we've supported 0:05:41.710,0:05:54.259 makers to transition to their practices from hobby to business. In China we supported ethnic 0:05:54.259,0:05:59.759 Tibetan makers with similar training and workshops. In these projects, and more, we learned some 0:05:59.759,0:06:05.830 important lessons. First, that local markets truly matter. From a cultural heritage perspective, 0:06:05.830,0:06:10.960 objects have meaning for local communities. Strong local market connections help shield 0:06:10.960,0:06:17.699 makers from instability and volatility, whether change in global trends or COVID-19. Second, 0:06:17.699,0:06:21.369 makers must diversify their income streams. I think we all know that. Again, a lesson 0:06:21.369,0:06:26.819 that impacted makers worldwide after COVID. From participating in in-person sales events, 0:06:26.819,0:06:31.500 to online retail, to teaching and learning opportunities both online and off, we know 0:06:31.500,0:06:36.960 that diversification builds resilience. Finally, relationships matter. As we have seen through 0:06:36.960,0:06:41.939 this forum and in our own communities, and even as individuals, when difficulties arise, 0:06:41.939,0:06:47.780 we need people to turn to for support, guidance, and advice. We have been in dialogue about 0:06:47.780,0:06:52.039 these issues with our partners and also with American Craft Council and I'm really looking 0:06:52.039,0:06:56.479 forward to today's discussion as we work to find solutions to build a more equitable and 0:06:56.479,0:06:59.279 sustainable craft economy. 0:06:59.279,0:07:10.039 >> HRAG: Great, thank you, Halle. I want to say a special thanks to Jason Samuels, the 0:07:10.039,0:07:16.530 tech guru for this event, as well as Rachel Messerich, who is moderating the chat room. 0:07:16.530,0:07:20.040 And I do want to just sort of remind people that we have some really great experts. These 0:07:20.040,0:07:23.780 are specialists in their field. They're a great resource and I hope you take advantage 0:07:23.780,0:07:27.870 by asking questions. And if you don't know how to do that, the bottom of your screen, 0:07:27.870,0:07:32.539 the chat room will pop up a window, and you'll have an opportunity to ask a question, and 0:07:32.539,0:07:38.080 we will most certainly be looking at those. So the program today, each of the three different 0:07:38.080,0:07:43.610 segments will start with a short video, and then I'll introduce the speakers and we'll 0:07:43.610,0:07:49.000 present for a few minutes followed by questions. And I do welcome to ask your questions, and 0:07:49.000,0:07:54.110 if I can I'll integrate it into the conversation. At the end if we have time we'll have general 0:07:54.110,0:08:00.219 questions for everyone. So let's get started. The first topic... the question we approach 0:08:00.219,0:08:05.279 this with is: Can we find resiliency in a collective approach? We're going to start 0:08:05.279,0:08:12.050 with a video about Open Works in Baltimore, which is a maker space and local 3D maker 0:08:12.050,0:08:18.339 creating printing devices for Splash Mask and cloth mask coordination with different 0:08:18.339,0:08:23.470 Baltimore-based organizations. We'll start with that. 0:08:23.470,0:08:26.569 [Not] In Isolation Film: Open Works >> My name is Will Holman, executive director 0:08:26.569,0:08:32.560 of Open Works, a nonprofit community maker space located in Baltimore Maryland. We were 0:08:32.560,0:08:42.849 forced to close by government order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to layoff allof 0:08:42.849,0:08:48.500 our part-time staff, which is 21 folks. That was a hard time for the space and for our 0:08:48.500,0:08:54.810 community. At the same time we had been receiving mass sanction on social media, and emails 0:08:54.810,0:09:01.000 about maker efforts to create personal protective equipment using digital fabrication technology. 0:09:01.240,0:09:07.000 We put a social media message out asking for printers to volunteer at home. The response 0:09:07.000,0:09:16.020 went viral and we recruited over 350 people with access to over 650 printers all over 0:09:16.020,0:09:26.100 Maryland to print parts for face shields and send them to us or drop them off at our facility. 0:09:26.100,0:09:34.200 We sanitize and assemble them with a laser-cut visor piece and elastic band, clean them, 0:09:34.200,0:09:48.000 quality control, check, package them and distribute them. We have made 17,114 face shields and 0:09:48.000,0:09:54.010 distributed just over 16,000 of them. >> I have been assembling face shields, doing 0:09:54.010,0:10:01.150 a lot of elastic cutting, and also making DYI at-home tutorials for folks that are stuck 0:10:01.150,0:10:05.290 at home. Working at Open Works right now and working on this project has meant a lot to 0:10:05.290,0:10:10.510 me. It makes me feel like I can do something during this time. It's been giving me a lot 0:10:10.510,0:10:14.430 of agency and purpose. >> Since our maker space has been forced to 0:10:14.430,0:10:20.100 close doors to the community, my role shifted to focus on communicating with our community 0:10:20.100,0:10:26.320 digitally and keeping our network of at-home 3D printers motivated, connected and updated. 0:10:26.320,0:10:31.450 I keep track of who is sending in face shield parts and other donations. As we look towards 0:10:31.450,0:10:36.060 wrapping this project up, I'm currently preparing rewards packages that will be mailed to all 0:10:36.060,0:10:42.000 the makers who participated in making this project possible. Being a part of this project 0:10:42.000,0:10:46.890 makes me feel empowered and inspired. We're regular people that have come together and 0:10:46.890,0:10:52.150 been able to solve big problems. >> I was brought into Open Works specifically 0:10:52.150,0:10:56.200 for this project with the makers staff. I've been putting together all the parts and assembling 0:10:56.200,0:11:04.000 them into the final product here. And I'm really grateful to be here, because I'm glad 0:11:04.000,0:11:09.000 that I have a good reason to put on pants and get out of bed in the morning. 0:11:09.000,0:11:14.540 >> What I'm currently doing as part of the project is sterilizing all of the donated 0:11:14.540,0:11:18.672 parts that come through. They come from all over, so to protect the staff here in the 0:11:18.672,0:11:24.000 building, we UV sanitize everything that comes in. This is our donations that have yet to 0:11:24.000,0:11:27.330 be sanitized and this is where we stack up everything that we are currently checking 0:11:27.330,0:11:35.000 in. We do it in batches of 75 for the assemblers, and this project has meant a lot to me. I've 0:11:35.000,0:11:40.470 been involved in disaster response my whole life, and to be able to work on a local community 0:11:40.470,0:11:46.200 level in a crisis that my skills normally couldn't help with, but still lend a hand 0:11:46.200,0:11:50.000 and my involvement has meant the world to me during all this. 0:11:50.000,0:11:58.000 >> Basically, in this space we're going to receive the printed parts. We're going to 0:11:58.000,0:12:06.000 disinfect them in alcohol. And then we're going to log them on the iPad before it goes 0:12:06.000,0:12:14.000 to the rest of the building. >> I have been cutting the actual visor. Being 0:12:14.000,0:12:19.000 able to work here and work on something has given me at least something to take my mind 0:12:19.000,0:12:24.000 off things happening, being able to use my skills, use my knowledge to help in some sort 0:12:24.000,0:12:25.500 of way. 0:12:25.500,0:12:56.150 [ music playing ] 0:12:56.150,0:13:04.550 >> HRAG: So thank you. So first we have Katy Stanton, the program and membership director 0:13:04.550,0:13:10.730 of Urban Manufacturing Alliance, a national organization advocating for local manufacturing, 0:13:10.730,0:13:15.579 and centering maker movement in the community. So, Katy, you have the floor. 0:13:15.579,0:13:22.930 >> KATY: Thanks so much. This is a classic moment of COVID working from home. My cat, 0:13:22.930,0:13:28.020 who has been asleep all day, literally just jumped on my desk. If you see him, he's very 0:13:28.020,0:13:37.040 friendly, and I'm sorry. So, I love that video. Thanks so much for putting our work in that 0:13:37.040,0:13:43.310 context. I am actually not based in Baltimore but I am wearing my "made in B-more" shirt 0:13:43.310,0:13:49.740 from the city-wide youth development organization that's based there. I'm going to share my 0:13:49.740,0:14:05.590 screen with you all. Just let me know if you can't see that. So, again, my name is Katy 0:14:05.590,0:14:10.760 Stanton, program director for Urban Manufacturing Alliance. UMA is a national coalition that 0:14:10.760,0:14:16.210 believes making and manufacturing can create more equitable communities in neighborhoods 0:14:16.210,0:14:24.170 through building wealth through employment, ownership, and entrepreneurship. And we define 0:14:24.170,0:14:32.090 making and manufacturing as anything from food, to biotech, to medical devices, to clothing, 0:14:32.090,0:14:35.820 to machinery, to jewelry, and it can be at a scale from in your own home all the way 0:14:35.820,0:14:42.350 up to large at-scale factories. And really, UMA exists to create a natural ecosystem where 0:14:42.350,0:14:48.540 service providers that we call “practitioners” can come together and learn from each other. 0:14:48.540,0:14:54.710 So these practitioners are folks like economic development agencies, workforce non-profits, 0:14:54.710,0:15:00.360 and maker spaces -- Open Works is one of our members. We have lenders, retailers, community 0:15:00.360,0:15:05.520 development corporations, anyone who is supporting and manufacturing business can be a UMA member. 0:15:05.520,0:15:10.570 Membership is free and we do that really intentionally because just like the theme of this panel, 0:15:10.570,0:15:16.130 our whole -- the whole ethos behind UMA is collective power and how can we work together 0:15:16.130,0:15:22.840 intentionally to create more equitable and inclusive economies. So just really briefly, 0:15:22.840,0:15:26.710 as an organization, we do a couple of types of work. We do collaborative research with 0:15:26.710,0:15:31.990 place-based partners and we do a lot of storytelling to recast the narrative of manufacturing to 0:15:31.990,0:15:36.040 tell people what it looks like today. So it looks more like Open Works than sort of your 0:15:36.040,0:15:41.750 grandfather's factory. And then, of course, we bring people together -- formerly in person, 0:15:41.750,0:15:48.000 currently online, but hopefully both in future. I want to take a minute to talk a little bit 0:15:48.000,0:15:56.120 about two pieces of our work that really demonstrate the collective approach. So, one, in the photo 0:15:56.120,0:16:02.711 on the left comes from our local branding community of practice. A local brand is is 0:16:02.711,0:16:08.110 a Made in Baltimore, SF made in San Francisco, and made in NYC, and these groups are not 0:16:08.110,0:16:14.370 only building ecosystems of service providers and businesses and connecting them and creating 0:16:14.370,0:16:18.830 resources, but they're also, you know, resource providers themselves. They're creating market 0:16:18.830,0:16:24.330 access, they’reproviding workforce training. And this piece moving towards equitable maker 0:16:24.330,0:16:29.980 ecosystems came out of the desire to show how these local brands can even be more embedded 0:16:29.980,0:16:36.041 in their communities and what strategies these local branding organizations are taking. Then 0:16:36.041,0:16:41.410 the report on the right, which is Foraging Fairness, this came out of the Pathways to 0:16:41.410,0:16:47.740 Patient Capital Program, which is all about how do you get more flexible creative capital 0:16:47.740,0:16:52.970 in the hands of makers and manufacturers, particularly of color. So this is a group 0:16:52.970,0:17:00.450 of 11 community-based lenders. Community development financial institutions or CDFIs, non-profit 0:17:00.450,0:17:07.909 lenders, and government agencies who are experimenting with, okay, how can we move from a debt framework, 0:17:07.909,0:17:15.320 and only talking about loans, to a more creative approach to financing businesses, particularly 0:17:15.320,0:17:20.610 those who are starting, and might not have a friends and family network to rely on, all 0:17:20.610,0:17:25.230 the way up to those who are looking to scale, or perhaps are even looking for venture capital 0:17:25.230,0:17:31.369 or equity. And so both of the approaches, the local branding community of practice and 0:17:31.369,0:17:37.240 Pathways to Patient Capital Program are steeped in the desire to make sure we're bringing 0:17:37.240,0:17:42.119 people together to crowdsource solutions that are actually working and actually embedded 0:17:42.119,0:17:46.769 in the community and really responsive in order to make the maker ecosystem and manufacturing 0:17:46.769,0:17:53.380 ecosystem more collaborative and more resilient. So I think that was my two to three minutes, 0:17:53.380,0:17:58.820 so I'll stop sharing, and really excited to just be in conversation with you all. 0:17:58.820,0:18:05.039 >> HRAG: Great. So I wondered if you could say a little bit about, like, what are some 0:18:05.039,0:18:09.419 of the advantages for makers to work with these different kinds of organizations? And 0:18:09.419,0:18:13.440 I know when we were talking previously to this, you mentioned the Creative Business 0:18:13.440,0:18:18.210 Accelerator in Pittsburgh, as well as the mountain Biz Works in Asheville, just examples 0:18:18.210,0:18:23.870 of different kinds of organizations. And what are the advantages of working with organizations 0:18:23.870,0:18:24.909 like this? 0:18:24.909,0:18:30.400 >> KATY: Well, I mean, I think everyone can... you know, who is on this call -- are probably 0:18:30.400,0:18:36.760 familiar with how much work it takes to actually be a maker, or a crafts person, or an artisan. 0:18:36.760,0:18:42.520 So there's no reason for you to do it alone. So these organizations like you pointed out, 0:18:42.520,0:18:48.970 the Creative Business Accelerator in Pittsburgh or Mountain Biz Works in Asheville, North 0:18:48.970,0:18:53.899 Carolina, but there are dozens and dozens, those are just two great examples. So the 0:18:53.899,0:18:59.770 Creative Business Accelerator really focuses on a couple things. They provide mentorship, 0:18:59.770,0:19:04.889 physical space, access to new markets, and a couple others. But particularly for makers 0:19:04.889,0:19:11.570 of color through a program there called Origins. So really they're becoming these hubs of information 0:19:11.570,0:19:16.559 where makers and manufacturers can go to make their lives a little bit easier, whether it's 0:19:16.559,0:19:23.139 around how to find a new type of capital or shared piece of equipment. Similarly in Asheville, 0:19:23.139,0:19:28.710 with Mountain Biz Works, they're a CDFI, a community development financial institution, 0:19:28.710,0:19:33.100 really dedicated to being part of the community and really helping those under-resourced and 0:19:33.100,0:19:39.030 under-valued businesses get the resources they need to create the family sustaining 0:19:39.030,0:19:41.049 wage paying jobs in manufacturing. 0:19:41.049,0:19:47.570 >> HRAG: I know a lot of conversation around makers is also access to lending and also 0:19:47.570,0:19:52.760 different financial resources. What are the challenges? And how do these organizations 0:19:52.760,0:19:53.760 help? 0:19:53.760,0:19:58.759 >> KATY: Yeah, so we did a study a couple years ago called The State of Urban Manufacturing. 0:19:58.759,0:20:04.249 We did it in six different cities: Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Portland, 0:20:04.249,0:20:10.809 Oregon, and Milwaukee. And I had this in my slides, but I only had three minutes, so I 0:20:10.809,0:20:16.080 had to cut it down. But there's a chart in our Detroit city snapshot that shows all the 0:20:16.080,0:20:22.059 respondents who answered the survey. The question was, "Have you accessed -- what kind of capital 0:20:22.059,0:20:29.279 have you accessed?" One option was bank loans, and 100% of the survey respondents who identified 0:20:29.279,0:20:35.139 as white had tried a traditional bank loan, and 0% of black entrepreneurs and makers of 0:20:35.139,0:20:43.029 color tried. And whether that's because, you know, they were unbanked, and even though 0:20:43.029,0:20:47.510 they had a successful business, maybe they just didn't think they had the right paperwork, 0:20:47.510,0:20:52.399 or maybe they were just sort of anticipating being denied because of the historic and systemic 0:20:52.399,0:21:01.600 racism that so often plagues our more traditional institutions. And so that statistic, those 0:21:01.600,0:21:08.299 people, those human beings really inspired us to create that group Pathways to Patient 0:21:08.299,0:21:14.440 Capital. And that's a group of folks like Mountain Biz Works and Build Institute in 0:21:14.440,0:21:19.419 Detroit, a number of about eight other groups are in, really trying to figure out how to 0:21:19.419,0:21:28.669 lower the barriers. Maybe it's thinking of different ways to calculate risk. You know, 0:21:28.669,0:21:32.401 maybe it's not a credit score. Maybe it's how often you paid your cell phone bill. Maybe 0:21:32.401,0:21:38.889 it's finding local champions who can sort of back up your work and back up your idea 0:21:38.889,0:21:44.009 so that you have some sort of credibility or collateral, community-based collateral 0:21:44.009,0:21:50.100 credibility. So those are just some ways that institutions can provide extra layers of support 0:21:50.100,0:21:53.450 to makers and manufacturers looking to access capital. 0:21:53.450,0:21:57.679 >> HRAG: And there's one question. Someone is asking whether the organization tracks 0:21:57.679,0:22:02.650 the models of successful craft entrepreneurs used to sustain themselves and if there's 0:22:02.650,0:22:07.669 any place they can look at those, or do you know an organization that does something like 0:22:07.669,0:22:08.669 that? 0:22:08.669,0:22:15.789 >> KATY: To track the models that craft entrepreneurs use to sustain themselves. By that, I'm wondering 0:22:15.789,0:22:19.669 if they mean, you know, what kind of different products or diversification 0:22:19.669,0:22:21.299 >> HRAG: Business model. 0:22:21.299,0:22:26.869 >> KATY: Business model? Yeah, I think there's -- we don't track that specifically. I think 0:22:26.869,0:22:33.279 our local branding organizations like Made in Baltimore SF Made, Seattle Made, could 0:22:33.279,0:22:40.179 probably speak better to that. I think a majority of them are either, you know, LLCs or for-profits, 0:22:40.179,0:22:45.409 and then some I think -- a minority would be like B corporation or social impact groups, 0:22:45.409,0:22:48.250 but I don't know off the top of my head. 0:22:48.250,0:22:49.720 >> HRAG: Thank you so much, Katy. 0:22:49.720,0:22:51.789 >> KATY: Thanks for having me. 0:22:51.789,0:22:57.669 >> HRAG: So next we're going to invite Dominick Davis and Steven White, makers and entrepreneurs 0:22:57.669,0:23:05.460 and designers and the co-owners of Different Regard. So, gentlemen you have the floor. 0:23:05.460,0:23:06.460 >> [ muted ] 0:23:06.460,0:23:16.510 Hello, how are you doing? I am Steven White, creative director and co-founder for Different 0:23:16.510,0:23:23.190 Regard located in the community of Mount Vernon, Baltimore. My primary role is design and educate 0:23:23.190,0:23:24.470 mentor and -- 0:23:24.470,0:23:30.720 >> HRAG: Steven, can I ask you to turn your video on? It doesn't appear to me. 0:23:30.720,0:23:39.440 >> STEVEN: Sorry. Are we there? I turned the video on. Let's see... 0:23:39.440,0:23:41.860 >> HRAG: Yes, that's working. Thank you so much. 0:23:41.860,0:23:50.220 >> STEVEN: Sorry, my connection just got a little wonky. Anyway... I'm Steven White, 0:23:50.220,0:23:56.981 director and co-founder for DifferentRegard located in Baltimore, Maryland. We are pretty 0:23:56.981,0:24:02.059 much located in the community of Mount Vernon, in the midtown area of Baltimore. My primary 0:24:02.059,0:24:08.059 role here is to design, educate, mentor, and bring brand awareness to the company. Since 0:24:08.059,0:24:15.239 2011, DifferentRegard designed and manufactured wardrobes with sustainable clothing for your 0:24:15.239,0:24:22.640 personal professional and your social lifestyle. We are a zero waste company as well. I'm not 0:24:22.640,0:24:28.360 sure if Dominick wants to introduce himself before I go further. 0:24:28.360,0:24:33.210 >> DOMINICK: Hello, everyone. I'm Dominick Davis and I'm the art director and founder 0:24:33.210,0:24:37.930 of DifferentRegard, and as Steven said, we design and manufacture our product right in 0:24:37.930,0:24:43.769 mount Vernon Baltimore. So, traditionally, we make clothing for your professional, personal 0:24:43.769,0:24:49.929 and social lifestyle. But since COVID hit, we had to pivot our operations, dealing with 0:24:49.929,0:24:57.039 a lot of uncertainty as a global pandemic, and just in the fashion industry, we realized 0:24:57.039,0:25:01.750 there was something we could add, too, the value we can add is our skills and the team 0:25:01.750,0:25:09.020 that we had. So collectively we partnered together with our local organizations such 0:25:09.020,0:25:14.340 as Made in Baltimore, just other local community members, and we tried to figure out what we 0:25:14.340,0:25:21.990 could do to assist in this pandemic. So for the past 13 or 14 weeks now we've been manufacturing 0:25:21.990,0:25:33.389 PPE. We made over 28,000 masks and counting, and we made over about 15 -- about 2,000 gowns 0:25:33.389,0:25:38.440 and counting. So that's how we pivoted our operations so far. 0:25:38.440,0:25:43.690 >> STEVEN: That is absolutely true. 0:25:43.690,0:25:48.749 >> DOMINICK: You have a slide show you want to show them some pictures, Steven? 0:25:48.749,0:25:51.449 >> STEVEN: I should already be running. 0:25:51.449,0:25:56.940 >> HRAG: I can't see the slide show. I'm not sure if it's visible to others. 0:25:56.940,0:26:01.669 >> JASON: At the bottom of your screen, there should be a share screen button in green and 0:26:01.669,0:26:09.020 then select. Once you hit that, it will ask you what you want to share, either your whole 0:26:09.020,0:26:15.029 desktop or single women and you need to confirm and it should pop up. 0:26:15.029,0:26:23.069 >> STEVEN: Okay. Yeah, my apologies. 0:26:43.000,0:26:46.690 >> HRAG: While you're doing that, Steven, do you mind if I ask a question to Dominick... 0:26:46.690,0:26:51.270 oh, it started. Go ahead. 0:26:51.270,0:26:57.759 >> STEVEN: Pretty much we currently have two different locations in Baltimore. Of course, 0:26:57.759,0:27:01.820 we have a showroom, located right here, on 825 North Charles Street. In our showroom 0:27:01.820,0:27:09.970 we actually house all of our product that we manufacture here in our manufacturing space, 0:27:09.970,0:27:17.860 which is 841 North Howard Street. Since COVID hit, we have pivoted just like a lot of other 0:27:17.860,0:27:28.040 companies. We have felt resilience and creating a new income stream. But also, you know, making 0:27:28.040,0:27:39.139 PPE. So this next slide just shows you some articles that we were featured in, the Baltimore 0:27:39.139,0:27:51.809 Sun, this is right before COVID hit, Dominick and myself, we’re one of the youngest black 0:27:51.809,0:27:58.019 manufacturers in Baltimore. So we were just honored to see this in the Baltimore Sun, 0:27:58.019,0:28:03.070 and featured also in the Washington Post. But the reason I show this is because, you 0:28:03.070,0:28:10.109 know, when this was featured, COVID hadn't hit. So we weren't really maximizing our manufacturing 0:28:10.109,0:28:15.979 to the fullest potential that we could have. I think we only had like five people at the 0:28:15.979,0:28:24.240 time, and we were just producing ready-to-wear and custom clothing. Of course, when COVID 0:28:24.240,0:28:31.419 hit, like everyone else, you know, we decided to hop on board with PPE. This right here 0:28:31.419,0:28:39.080 is an image where the Made in Baltimore organization who has been just a great partner for DifferentRegard 0:28:39.080,0:28:46.629 featured us on an LED board since we were one of the operations who has jumped in in 0:28:46.629,0:28:50.710 response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They featured our company. 0:28:50.710,0:28:53.820 >> DOMINICK: We also were awarded -- 0:28:53.820,0:28:55.059 >> STEVEN: Dominick. 0:28:55.059,0:29:01.470 >> DOMINICK: Sorry, Steven, I wanted to conveniently note that DifferentRegard, we were also one 0:29:01.470,0:29:10.690 of the companies awarded actual city grants for manufacturing in Baltimore as well. So 0:29:10.690,0:29:15.350 that's also something to be proud of. 0:29:15.350,0:29:23.229 >> STEVEN: Yes. Yes, we were, which afforded us to get more machinery, which helped us 0:29:23.229,0:29:31.081 actually produce even more PPE. The numbers Dominick gave you earlier were from before 0:29:31.081,0:29:37.340 we got the machinery. This is some of the PPE that we create. This type of mask, which 0:29:37.340,0:29:46.429 is made of, like, a copper material, and is anti-viral, anti-microbial. We were making 0:29:46.429,0:29:53.330 these... we made over 25,000 of these that were dispersed throughout the city of Baltimore, 0:29:53.330,0:29:59.149 and the DMV, and the east coast of the United States, actually. We also made over 5,000 0:29:59.149,0:30:07.629 of our DifferentRegard designer masks, you’ll see those pop up on the screen. We are now 0:30:07.629,0:30:16.989 actually producing isolation gowns, Tyvek ware for hospitals, anyone who needs that 0:30:16.989,0:30:26.129 type of PPE. At DifferentRegard, we're fortunate to have a huge diverse team. You know, having 0:30:26.129,0:30:33.710 diversity in the workplace definitely showed us the importance of being able, you know, 0:30:33.710,0:30:42.120 to be -- being able to pivot during a time of this pandemic, you know, everyone has had 0:30:42.120,0:30:50.200 their own personal skill set. It was almost like all hands on deck, which allowed us to 0:30:50.200,0:30:55.220 actually create and produce all the product that was needed. 0:30:55.220,0:31:02.059 This next slide, this is one of our designer masks. Since COVID hit, our online sales were 0:31:02.059,0:31:16.309 flooded because we were in a lot of media and press. So we were getting maybe 60 mass 0:31:16.309,0:31:22.200 orders at a time, and so we started to create our own designer mask as well. Because a lot 0:31:22.200,0:31:29.600 of our clientele like to look stylish when they're wearing their clothing. So we decided 0:31:29.600,0:31:43.669 to incorporate fashion with PPE, while playing it safe. This is some of the -- just some 0:31:43.669,0:31:49.460 sample pictures of some of the business that we've been doing. Funeral homes, churches, 0:31:49.460,0:31:59.330 flower shops, gyms. We have also dedicated our showroom now to actually highlight a section 0:31:59.330,0:32:09.239 for our PPE. This is a picture of our gown and a sample of our mask that we produce. 0:32:09.239,0:32:18.189 I just want to thank you for inviting us. Dominick, did you have anything else? 0:32:18.189,0:32:23.249 >> HRAG: Thank you. Sorry, go ahead, Dominick. I apologize, go ahead. 0:32:23.249,0:32:29.169 >> DOMINICK: No, I just wanted to say thank you for having us and just for this opportunity, 0:32:29.169,0:32:32.220 just to showcase exactly what we do. And we actually love what we're doing, being able 0:32:32.220,0:32:40.960 to make and manufacture in the United States, in Baltimore, it just means so much, you know. 0:32:40.960,0:32:49.029 People spoke about this. We're recent graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 SKB program and 0:32:49.029,0:32:54.649 -- sorry, it's my neighbor's dogs, if you can hear them. We spoke about how people feel 0:32:54.649,0:32:59.070 great when they can be part of something. It's a community, you know, where you can 0:32:59.070,0:33:03.109 make -- you just feel great to be part of something, and we're honored for you to acknowledge 0:33:03.109,0:33:05.700 us today. Thank you. 0:33:05.700,0:33:11.159 >> HRAG: So I have a couple of questions. I found your website -- I took a look at your 0:33:11.159,0:33:14.590 websites and the masks are very attractive. Congratulations on those. I hope everyone 0:33:14.590,0:33:19.210 checks those out. I have a question, because “pivoting” is definitely something we 0:33:19.210,0:33:26.080 hear everyone doing, including the organization I'm part of. But my question is: What were 0:33:26.080,0:33:31.590 the challenges of that pivoting for you as well as was it able to fill the hole that 0:33:31.590,0:33:37.639 the pandemic created? I mean, this is the question a lot of makers are asking. 0:33:37.639,0:33:44.330 >> DOMINICK: You know, I just think that just getting it done, you know, just really sharing 0:33:44.330,0:33:50.529 that vision. Initially we created our -- well, we had to think about, what is our mission? 0:33:50.529,0:34:00.730 What is our vision with this? And just staying true to that. It continued to keep us in the 0:34:00.730,0:34:06.080 right direction we needed to go, I would say. You know, just focus on making PPE. This is 0:34:06.080,0:34:11.390 actually saving people's lives. We think about that. We didn't realize on the team, wow, 0:34:11.390,0:34:16.830 we're really essential, guys, and we're putting out on the line but to help other people, 0:34:16.830,0:34:18.649 I think that was really it. 0:34:18.649,0:34:28.120 >> STEVEN: I agree. I think since COVID-19 hit, once it hit, our showroom was completely 0:34:28.120,0:34:35.419 shut down for weeks. We were affected with 90% of our sales gone. When we were afforded 0:34:35.419,0:34:43.790 the opportunity to create PPE, that definitely helped us and brought resilience to our company. 0:34:43.790,0:34:48.220 >> HRAG: Somebody is asking where the name "DifferentRegard" comes from. I'm dying to 0:34:48.220,0:34:50.230 know as well. 0:34:50.230,0:35:00.730 >> DOMINICK: In French it would mean "regard different" but we turned it around in English. 0:35:00.730,0:35:07.490 It went better off the tongue when you put "different regard." Look different, but now 0:35:07.490,0:35:08.710 it's different look. 0:35:08.710,0:35:14.040 >> HRAG: And I have a question about masks in general. Because I know it's strangely 0:35:14.040,0:35:20.290 a very political issue for a lot of people. Particularly with a lot of black men who are 0:35:20.290,0:35:24.810 talking about, you know, the fact that wearing masks, sometimes there's been animosities 0:35:24.810,0:35:31.040 in public spaces. Now, what -- has there been anything that you have done or addressed in 0:35:31.040,0:35:36.210 terms of making people more comfortable with masks or any of those? That's a question that 0:35:36.210,0:35:37.310 we had in the chat room. 0:35:37.310,0:35:43.830 >> STEVEN: I guess that would be Dominick to answer as well. But for me that's one reason 0:35:43.830,0:35:50.290 why I felt passionate about having designer masks, because the designer masks actually... 0:35:50.290,0:35:57.520 you know, it gives you some sort of individuality. It's fun. It's refreshing. I feel as though 0:35:57.520,0:36:06.440 a designer mask is more approachable. I feel as though you may be possibly less judged 0:36:06.440,0:36:11.220 with a DifferentRegard designer mask. So that's one of the reasons I felt passionate about 0:36:11.220,0:36:13.350 designing the designer masks. 0:36:13.350,0:36:19.740 >> DOMINICK: Steven, I think your point was great. I mean, that is everything. Lots of 0:36:19.740,0:36:25.430 times -- that is a thought we had, you know, that was like... it was months ago. Wow, just 0:36:25.430,0:36:30.680 imagine, you know, people of color, especially men wearing masks... I said, that might get 0:36:30.680,0:36:36.470 a little strange, you know, some strange encounters. But we talked about what Steven said, you 0:36:36.470,0:36:41.480 know, just having designer masks at least. It’s almost like people -- like wearing 0:36:41.480,0:36:47.290 clothing, people judge you on first impressions and if you look a certain way, people tend 0:36:47.290,0:36:54.370 not -- although we don't want to be judged, but we all do at times. Sometimes we do. Hopefully 0:36:54.370,0:37:00.560 the mask helps protect and lets down the barriers, I would say. 0:37:00.560,0:37:05.840 >> HRAG: Absolutely. One of the things I have been hearing a lot during the pandemic in 0:37:05.840,0:37:10.180 general is just the ways communities have gone out to support things they believe in. 0:37:10.180,0:37:14.360 And judging by your work, I imagine there has been a lot of support from the community 0:37:14.360,0:37:18.550 because of what you're doing. Has there been any surprises in that, in terms of the way 0:37:18.550,0:37:24.150 people have shown their support for DifferentRegard and the different things you're working on? 0:37:24.150,0:37:26.890 >> DOMINICK: There's love over here. 0:37:26.890,0:37:30.490 >> STEVEN: Absolutely. I would say -- Dominick, what did you say? 0:37:30.490,0:37:35.630 >> DOMINICK: It's all love, you know. It's love over here, yeah. 0:37:35.630,0:37:40.290 >> STEVEN: Absolutely. I would definitely say from the Goldman Sachs community network, 0:37:40.290,0:37:46.369 they have supported a great deal. We have been supported by the city of Baltimore, the 0:37:46.369,0:37:52.880 diversity inclusion program at Made in Baltimore has supported us, the BBC, a host of clients 0:37:52.880,0:37:58.780 have supported lately with the whole Black Lives Matter movement. We had a ton of people 0:37:58.780,0:38:05.870 reach out to us as well, to just support and feature us on different diverse -- a lot of 0:38:05.870,0:38:10.340 people didn't know about DifferentRegard in Baltimore. Since we spent a lot of our years 0:38:10.340,0:38:13.880 perfecting the product, we weren't marketing a lot. 0:38:13.880,0:38:19.460 >> HRAG: And out of curiosity, what is -- how do you see the role of social media get the 0:38:19.460,0:38:23.210 message out? Because I know a lot of makers have been leaning a lot on social media in 0:38:23.210,0:38:28.090 order to communicate what they do. Now, do you see that as an integral part of what you're 0:38:28.090,0:38:31.630 doing, or is it -- I would just like you to talk a little about that, because I think 0:38:31.630,0:38:35.890 a lot of people are grappling with that question too. 0:38:35.890,0:38:43.850 >> STEVEN: I would definitely say it's, you know, for us, it's definitely an outlet to 0:38:43.850,0:38:51.050 show people what we do. It also helps people connect with us more. A lot of people didn't 0:38:51.050,0:38:58.640 know that we were creating PPE, and social media helped by spreading the word that we 0:38:58.640,0:39:04.730 are creating it. Some people may have thought we just shut down due to the city being on 0:39:04.730,0:39:10.300 lockdown, but we actually shut down because we were manufacturing and producing a lot 0:39:10.300,0:39:15.680 of gowns and masks, and really we were just putting ourselves out there to focus on where 0:39:15.680,0:39:20.600 the need was great. But I definitely say social media has been a great outlet for us, even 0:39:20.600,0:39:26.430 for the masks, the sales of the masks, just the branding of the organization as well. 0:39:26.430,0:39:33.310 Social media has impacted DifferentRegard in all great -- it’s been all great things. 0:39:33.310,0:39:38.350 >> HRAG: Great. Thank you, both of you. And a link to the website is in the chat room 0:39:38.350,0:39:43.820 if anybody would like to check it out. They're really beautiful. And it's great to hear. 0:39:43.820,0:39:45.210 Thanks so much, Dominick and Steven. 0:39:45.210,0:39:47.370 >> DOMINICK: Thank you guys. 0:39:47.370,0:39:54.430 >> HRAG: So now we're moving on to the next topic. So this topic we're going to be starting 0:39:54.430,0:40:00.230 with a short film about the Carolina Textile District, which is governed in a district 0:40:00.230,0:40:04.700 network whose mission is to revitalize the American textile industry in a way that builds 0:40:04.700,0:40:10.260 on local people, assets and heritage. So we'll watch that now. 0:40:10.260,0:40:14.950 [Not] In Isolation Film: Carolina Textile District 0:40:14.950,0:40:23.230 >> I own a small sewing manufacturing company called Sew Co. and our entire mission was 0:40:23.230,0:40:29.400 to preserve the skill of sewing in the domestic manufacturing economy. We were able to start 0:40:29.400,0:40:35.140 Sew Co. in this beautiful oriole mill I'm sitting in, creating lovely products, and 0:40:35.140,0:40:42.300 do contract manufacturing. We were always a very small team and knew that was a scale 0:40:42.300,0:40:47.240 that we felt comfortable in, so when we were invited into the Carolina Textile District 0:40:47.240,0:40:50.626 as a partner, we were able to have a greater impact through community, through our allies, 0:40:50.626,0:41:01.380 and through doing work collectively, which was really cool. The COVID-19 impact has turned 0:41:01.380,0:41:08.590 us upside down in our work. We've completely turned all of our production to masks and 0:41:08.590,0:41:16.360 PPE. Making those products instead of the ones that we're used to making. With the Carolina 0:41:16.360,0:41:20.600 Textile District we've always been a network of manufacturers, we've always been a community, 0:41:20.600,0:41:24.800 and we've always been connecting the supply and the demand through our services. That 0:41:24.800,0:41:32.410 hasn't changed, but it's been so much more concentrated, and so much more intense with 0:41:32.410,0:41:39.200 this crisis. I think what CTD is so great at is organizing. They've been able to bring 0:41:39.200,0:41:48.200 this organized pool of manufacturers to the table to create a bigger supply to this overwhelming 0:41:48.200,0:41:57.410 demand for PPE and for masks. Our pedestrian mask is an antimicrobial cotton poly-blend 0:41:57.410,0:42:04.530 and it's breathable and lightweight. Then we have some really great high tech textiles 0:42:04.530,0:42:10.950 that are more in our disposable line but they really create a lot of protection. For CTD 0:42:10.950,0:42:20.710 lately, I've been acquiring textiles that are medical grade, learning about all of these 0:42:20.710,0:42:24.900 different certifications for the different textiles and what is appropriate for what 0:42:24.900,0:42:30.880 products. I think the hardest thing was finding the textiles that were medically appropriate, 0:42:30.880,0:42:36.850 getting those tested has been really hard. There's very few testing facilities. So doing 0:42:36.850,0:42:43.860 that quickly but also doing that thoughtfully was definitely a challenge. 0:42:43.860,0:42:48.640 When I started Sew Co. I did that because I wanted the skill of sewing to survive domestically. 0:42:48.640,0:42:55.720 There is so much empowerment in making sure that we do need to preserve these skills so 0:42:55.720,0:43:01.690 that we can respond when necessity strikes. I think what is really interesting about sewing 0:43:01.690,0:43:06.451 is there's just so much you can do with that one operation. But if we don't know how to 0:43:06.451,0:43:12.330 do it, you know, then we can't serve as that food-clothing-shelter, those necessities of 0:43:12.330,0:43:19.980 life. I think what has been great is seeing this rallying of community, which is always 0:43:19.980,0:43:25.310 willing to help and willing to show their love through their work. We always have been 0:43:25.310,0:43:30.670 this small network, very intimate, and values align. Now we're seeing there's this greater 0:43:30.670,0:43:36.390 awareness and there's this greater community feeling around helping and responding and 0:43:36.390,0:43:59.690 it's just been really rewarding. [ music playing ] 0:44:07.000,0:44:13.840 >> HRAG: So the topic for this section is essentially what does participation look like. 0:44:13.840,0:44:19.400 We have Keith Recker, who is an author and editor, creative director of the Santa Fe 0:44:19.400,0:44:25.680 based international Folk Art Market, as well as -- he has a job that I always aspired to 0:44:25.680,0:44:30.720 -- which is a color forecaster as well. Maybe you can talk about that. Keith you have the 0:44:30.720,0:44:31.720 floor. 0:44:31.720,0:44:40.910 >> KEITH: Hi, Hrag. It's an honor to be with you all. Am I unmuted? Yes. So it's really 0:44:40.910,0:44:46.010 an honor to be with you all, and I thought maybe it would be easier to tell my story 0:44:46.010,0:44:52.410 in pictures rather than words. Jason, if you could bring up the presentation. I asked for 0:44:52.410,0:44:56.090 help in sharing my screen because everything I touch breaks when it comes to technology. 0:44:56.090,0:45:04.230 So here it comes... as Hrag mentioned, I'm creative director, volunteer creative director, 0:45:04.230,0:45:10.040 for the International Folk Art Market based in Santa Fe. This would have been the 17th 0:45:10.040,0:45:15.580 year for the International Folk Art Market, but unfortunately it's been cancelled. This 0:45:15.580,0:45:21.410 means, kind of, a significant dent in the income of about 185 artists who come from 0:45:21.410,0:45:28.760 over 50 countries, across a 2.5-day event. The artists sell about $3.4 million in product, 0:45:28.760,0:45:36.630 and they take between 80 and 90% of that home with them too. In many cases that creates 0:45:36.630,0:45:42.650 change at home through clean water supplies, better access to healthcare --a few of the 0:45:42.650,0:45:46.760 organizations have banded together to create their own healthcare insurance programs. It's 0:45:46.760,0:45:53.390 a tremendous organization that really creates a huge amount of change. We're pivoting this 0:45:53.390,0:46:01.860 year to some virtual formats, including auctions in -- July 8th, I believe, is an auction of 0:46:01.860,0:46:05.940 artist products and donated products, and we'll be moving towards other options throughout 0:46:05.940,0:46:14.230 the year. In no way will this replace the income that the organization generates for 0:46:14.230,0:46:20.320 artists. We are looking really seriously at finding some way that we can be present 365 0:46:20.320,0:46:27.550 days a year, instead of just three days a year, so that we can build a really meaningful, 0:46:27.550,0:46:34.920 long-term virtual source of sales. Can we go to the next slide? 0:46:34.920,0:46:42.780 Next slide. There we go. I'm also founder and editor of HandEye Magazine. HandEye has 0:46:42.780,0:46:48.950 been talking about the work of artists, crafts people, and designers without any regard whatsoever 0:46:48.950,0:46:54.720 for the traditional academic distinctions between those fields. I felt really early 0:46:54.720,0:47:02.050 on, this is 20 years ago, that we were getting in our own way by separating those disciplines. 0:47:02.050,0:47:07.240 That we really needed to back up and dissolve the hierarchy, and look at creativity, look 0:47:07.240,0:47:14.800 at the value that is created, look at the way culture is harnessed and expressed, and 0:47:14.800,0:47:21.210 offered up freely and willingly and hopefully for exchange. So handeyemagazine.com is still 0:47:21.210,0:47:27.450 there as a resource. We're in hiatus right now trying to figure out how we face the future, 0:47:27.450,0:47:33.330 but it's there for everybody and a lot of artists have told us over the years that they 0:47:33.330,0:47:38.310 have -- customers have found them through coverage on HandEye and dreams of commerce 0:47:38.310,0:47:45.340 and aid and respect have been struck up and that makes us very, very happy. Next slide. 0:47:45.340,0:47:50.680 Hrag mentioned the color forecasting part. I've been so lucky to be able to work with 0:47:50.680,0:47:59.360 PANTONE for almost 20 years. Trying to look two, three, and five years ahead to the visual 0:47:59.360,0:48:05.780 thirsts that consumers will feel. And I have to say that every chance I have had, I've 0:48:05.780,0:48:13.210 been pushing for transparency, for environmental sustainability, for an embrace of the handmade 0:48:13.210,0:48:21.710 as a way to broaden people's access to commerce, to success. And, you know, over the years 0:48:21.710,0:48:26.340 I have to say the environments change. Maybe it's some good that has been done through 0:48:26.340,0:48:37.210 all this thinking. I wrote a book PANTONE: the Twentieth Century in Color.. I wrote that 0:48:37.210,0:48:46.040 with my colleague Isaacson. It's out of print, but you can still find it. Next slide. And 0:48:46.040,0:49:00.080 this is my most recent publication, called True Colors. You’re the first group to see 0:49:00.080,0:49:05.770 this. This is the cover of the second edition which will come out in September with a new 0:49:05.770,0:49:12.620 chapter, and I have to admit some corrections. So I'm excited about that. Next slide. 0:49:12.620,0:49:20.090 As Hrag mentioned I'm editor-in-chief of TABLE Magazine. I wanted to talk about TABLE Magazine, 0:49:20.090,0:49:27.360 because we are trying to step into this difficult moment of lack of face-to-face connection, 0:49:27.360,0:49:32.960 which I know really gets in the way of artists, designers, and crafts people selling their 0:49:32.960,0:49:42.400 work. We have come on this idea that every time we have a photo shoot, it's a mini-craft 0:49:42.400,0:49:49.760 show. We work really hard to bring together five, six, seven, eight different makers, 0:49:49.760,0:49:53.970 we take over a home, and we try to be super clear about the attribution. Where to get 0:49:53.970,0:50:01.670 those things? Why they make them? Etc.And I'm thinking there's some way for all of us 0:50:01.670,0:50:08.530 here on this call to band together to create these kinds of virtual events, if you will, 0:50:08.530,0:50:13.900 right? As long as people get exposure to these things, and their imaginations are sparked 0:50:13.900,0:50:17.770 by how to live with them [craft/handmade] and can provide really clear click-throughs 0:50:17.770,0:50:23.930 for purchasing, we might be able to sustain some ground level of awareness,storytelling, 0:50:23.930,0:50:31.720 and value, and maybe business too. So that's what I was really coming here to talk about, 0:50:31.720,0:50:37.670 right? Stepping into the breach and finding ways for us all to support each other by creating 0:50:37.670,0:50:43.280 opportunities that maybe we wouldn't have gone to. 0:50:43.280,0:50:51.250 >> HRAG: Thank you. I think seeing the images we know why you're a color forecaster because 0:50:51.250,0:50:57.890 things are brilliantly colored. One of the topics we wanted to discuss, and I think you're 0:50:57.890,0:51:02.200 well-suited to ask, particularly in terms of an online marketplace is that, I think 0:51:02.200,0:51:07.760 we're hearing more and more about online marketplace and the transition. Now, that is not necessarily, 0:51:07.760,0:51:12.830 you know, an easy transition for a lot of makers. Now, what are the challenges you have 0:51:12.830,0:51:17.240 seen, and what is advice for makers you would give about moving into an online marketplace? 0:51:17.240,0:51:24.540 >> KEITH: Well, one of the first challenges is, honestly, photography. Unless you're a 0:51:24.540,0:51:30.440 photographer, that's not necessarily your medium. I think smartphones have made a nice 0:51:30.440,0:51:36.530 dent in that barrier because you can do an awful lot with a smartphone. I would say figuring 0:51:36.530,0:51:42.170 that out, working in partnership, working in barter, with a photographer -- to somehow 0:51:42.170,0:51:46.580 overcome that first barrier so your work is beautifully documented -- it really is the 0:51:46.580,0:51:52.050 first thing. Then, I have to say, the other thing that is a pretty significant barrier 0:51:52.050,0:51:57.370 is that act of marketing, right? Just because you build it doesn't mean people will come. 0:51:57.370,0:52:00.920 So just because you have good pictures, good product, and you have a website, you know, 0:52:00.920,0:52:06.150 you're still standing by the side of the road waiting for a car to go by. I think really 0:52:06.150,0:52:11.850 reaching out and using Instagram as a marketing tool, figuring out a way for that to stick 0:52:11.850,0:52:17.610 into commerce is everybody's challenge, right? Rather than just being eye candy. Using Facebook 0:52:17.610,0:52:21.980 in the same way. Banding together to create these kinds of events so that everybody's 0:52:21.980,0:52:26.840 followings are channeled into an awareness that something special is going on. Learning 0:52:26.840,0:52:32.830 how to define these special events with a time frame so that people know they have to 0:52:32.830,0:52:39.350 buy in seven days, or five days, rather than having forever to take action. Behaving more 0:52:39.350,0:52:46.920 and more like, I have to say, a retailer. Turning the evil skills of retail to good 0:52:46.920,0:52:49.809 to create opportunities for yourself is really important. 0:52:49.809,0:52:57.070 >> HRAG: Great. And also in terms of, you know, dealing with accessibility issues. I 0:52:57.070,0:53:02.390 mean, any advice you would give to people who are thinking about exactly what you're 0:53:02.390,0:53:03.410 talking about? 0:53:03.410,0:53:04.900 >> KEITH: Define accessibility for me. 0:53:04.900,0:53:09.960 >> HRAG: I think accessibility could be many things. Like, for instance, people who are 0:53:09.960,0:53:15.600 visually impaired, work on screens, you know, particularly when it comes to buying and dealing 0:53:15.600,0:53:20.350 with the marketplace, but then also dealing with, you know, whether it's consumers of 0:53:20.350,0:53:29.770 different technology levels, age levels, these types of things. There seems to be some challenges, 0:53:29.770,0:53:35.710 and people are asking in terms of makers' economies because there are different buyers, 0:53:35.710,0:53:37.640 how things may have changed. 0:53:37.640,0:53:44.240 >> KEITH: That's a very good question. I think there are no super easy answers because the 0:53:44.240,0:53:49.620 first place that we all turn at this point is online, right? Because there are still 0:53:49.620,0:53:56.160 many tools that are relatively low cost of entry, it is hard to get online to be anything 0:53:56.160,0:54:02.440 other than what it is, right? Which is pretty much a visual medium. I would say that we 0:54:02.440,0:54:08.880 are seeing, of all of the things I'm working on, the need to translate what we do into 0:54:08.880,0:54:15.930 an emailable or even desktop-printable and physical mailable format, so a small percentage 0:54:15.930,0:54:22.680 of the people who need us, right? As an information source. Paper hasn't gone away. So if you 0:54:22.680,0:54:26.840 have to channel yourself into a decent desktop printed product, then that's what you have 0:54:26.840,0:54:31.950 to do in order to catch up to that certain percentage of people who can't have, or don't 0:54:31.950,0:54:36.410 want to have, the online experience. Not a great answer to be really honest with you 0:54:36.410,0:54:41.610 to a great question, but these are the barriers, right, of living in a virtual world right 0:54:41.610,0:54:42.610 now. 0:54:42.610,0:54:45.730 >> HRAG: I think everyone is dealing with the same issue. I wanted to add in our own 0:54:45.730,0:54:50.960 experience often people discount email lists, and what a role that plays in terms of marketing 0:54:50.960,0:54:55.630 to a core group. So I just want to sort of put that out there. People sometimes rely 0:54:55.630,0:55:01.330 on Instagram and the other social networks, which are great and useful, but email is also 0:55:01.330,0:55:07.940 a great tool. I wanted to add that. Thank you so much, Keith. We appreciate your insight. 0:55:07.940,0:55:12.870 So we're going to move to the final topic. What is the future of e-commerce post-pandemic 0:55:12.870,0:55:17.980 and what types of spaces do we expect to see artists' stories and brands emerge on? So 0:55:17.980,0:55:24.730 we're going to start with a small video about Maggie Thompson focusing on how studio practice 0:55:24.730,0:55:28.340 entrepreneurial goals and dreams have shifted recently. 0:55:28.340,0:55:34.320 [Not] In Isolation Film: Maggie Thompson & the Ribbon Mask Project 0:55:34.320,0:55:39.490 >> My name is Maggie Thompson and I'm a textile artist currently living in St. Paul, Minnesota. 0:55:39.490,0:55:46.000 In addition to my fine arts practice I run a small network business called Makwa Studio. 0:55:46.000,0:55:57.130 I focus on hats and towels but hope to expand to apparel. Before COVID-19 I was scheduled 0:55:57.130,0:56:04.720 to go to Germany to get one more certification in industrial style knitting. I was there 0:56:04.720,0:56:11.670 last fall and looking forward to completing my last class, but it was delayed. During 0:56:11.670,0:56:16.690 the same week I also had gotten a phone call from my work. I work at this amazing local 0:56:16.690,0:56:22.860 company focused on green cleaning. My practice was cleaning during the day and going to the 0:56:22.860,0:56:29.830 studio in the afternoons and evening to do knitwear and work on any other fine arts projects 0:56:29.830,0:56:37.680 or shows that I might have coming up. So after everything started shutting down, I was hearing 0:56:37.680,0:56:43.990 folks in New York talk about how there's a shortage of PPE. So I was like, all right, 0:56:43.990,0:56:50.740 I'm not working, I'm just knitting. I have a bunch of material left over in my studio, 0:56:50.740,0:56:57.020 I'll start sewing masks. Officially put out a call to our local hospital asking folks 0:56:57.020,0:57:03.980 to start sewing masks. So I started making them for friends, and then it kind of grew 0:57:03.980,0:57:09.180 out of that, and other individuals started to approach me. Being a fine artist, I was 0:57:09.180,0:57:17.590 kind of responding more artistically, and I like to put time and effort and thought 0:57:17.590,0:57:22.780 into things I make. I was running out of materials. I was putting in, you know, 14-hour days. 0:57:22.780,0:57:28.950 In order to sustain this practice, I'm going to start selling these ribbon masks in an 0:57:28.950,0:57:35.590 effort to sustain the work of donating them. So I came up with this model for every ribbon 0:57:35.590,0:57:42.960 mask sold I'll be donating two regular cotton CDC compliant masks. Since launching the ribbon 0:57:42.960,0:57:50.060 mask project over 300 ribbon masks have been sold, 600 regular cotton donated masks have 0:57:50.060,0:57:54.920 been sent into communities, and also I have been able to hire help. A photographer and 0:57:54.920,0:58:01.110 writer, another native artist, and my good friend, Emma who graduated from Rhode Island 0:58:01.110,0:58:06.960 School of design a couple years behind me in textiles. So additional volunteers, which 0:58:06.960,0:58:14.050 includes my mom, and a couple of her friends, have been able to really push these masks 0:58:14.050,0:58:19.320 out into the communities. I feel like as a maker, during this stressful time, people 0:58:19.320,0:58:28.470 want to help, it's thinking about the skills that you have and applying them to the situation. 0:58:28.470,0:58:32.690 Back in the day, you know, when the French settlers came and introduced ribbon to the 0:58:32.690,0:58:39.121 Great Lakes tribes you know, they were introduced to this new material and quickly adapted it 0:58:39.121,0:58:44.570 into their own clothing and culture. Everyone is learning how to adapt and survive through 0:58:44.570,0:58:51.030 this pandemic. By wearing a ribbon mask you either identify with it or you're supporting 0:58:51.030,0:58:58.351 this culture. And I think it's a way for folks to connect. My hope is that folks won't feel 0:58:58.351,0:59:03.000 alone and they'll feel proud wearing it and that will be able to give them some extra 0:59:03.000,0:59:08.000 strength to get through this time. [ music playing ] 0:59:27.820,0:59:39.090 >> HRAG: Great. So I'm going to invite Vallejo Gantner to come in and talk about his work, 0:59:39.090,0:59:44.260 the executive director of Onassis Foundation as well co-founder of HireArtists, which you 0:59:44.260,0:59:48.010 can find at hireartists.org. Vallejo. 0:59:48.010,0:59:53.720 >> VALLEJO: Thanks for having me. 0:59:53.720,0:59:57.460 >> HRAG: You can go ahead. 0:59:57.460,1:00:05.590 >> VALLEJO: Can you hear me? Suddenly it was just me on the screen, and it threw me. Actually, 1:00:05.590,1:00:12.870 I wanted to talk about two different initiatives. One, the Onassis Foundation -- and I think 1:00:12.870,1:00:19.900 this is something that as a presenting programming organization we were really happy about -- it’s 1:00:19.900,1:00:27.300 typically a grant making foundation in the U.S. It's a Greek-founded organization that 1:00:27.300,1:00:33.310 was set up with the estate of Aristotle Onassis. We’ve had Onassis, and a program in New 1:00:33.310,1:00:41.590 York, for some decades but more recently focusing on questions thinking around -- focused on 1:00:41.590,1:00:48.110 a much more contemporary identity. And we had, like everybody, a suite of things that 1:00:48.110,1:00:54.270 were going to be rolled out over the last three months, and the next six. About three 1:00:54.270,1:01:01.900 weeks in, one of our teams, Sophia, came up with an idea that we jumped on both in Athens 1:01:01.900,1:01:10.310 and New York, which was really about positively commissioning, reaching out, and making things 1:01:10.310,1:01:18.090 happen, andstarting to interrogate what this looks like after the pandemic. As we all have 1:01:18.090,1:01:24.040 pivoted to respond to the now, I think what was interesting is that we started asking 1:01:24.040,1:01:28.330 questions about, well, what is going to change with audiences afterwards? And what is going 1:01:28.330,1:01:37.560 to happen next? And critically, as an organization, with resources, as all of us with organizations 1:01:37.560,1:01:44.640 haven't always been financial. We set out to try and figure out how best to deploy those 1:01:44.640,1:01:49.920 in service to supporting artists to continue to make work, and supporting audiences to 1:01:49.920,1:01:57.410 continue to engage with work. And it was really important that those two things combine. So 1:01:57.410,1:02:04.680 we created the program "Enter," a series now upwards of 50 micro-commissions, $1,500 bucks 1:02:04.680,1:02:10.210 each, not a lot of money. The work had to be made in a limited period of time and it 1:02:10.210,1:02:16.460 had to be made as a condition of the contract in conditions of lockdown for audiences who 1:02:16.460,1:02:22.260 were the same. The question we asked of all of these artists was really to reimagine what 1:02:22.260,1:02:28.980 their relationship to an audience would be, to try and move beyond the flood of documentation 1:02:28.980,1:02:39.050 of performance and art that was crashing through on so many platforms. To start reimagining 1:02:39.050,1:02:46.700 how people will engage with the idea of aliveness, of interactivity, of connection, and how to 1:02:46.700,1:02:53.880 find people. I want to show a short video, if I could, of a work that goes live next 1:02:53.880,1:03:02.210 week that was created in part by Emily Mast, a Los Angeles based artist, where they in 1:03:02.210,1:03:12.240 turn commissioned 15 different LA-based artists to respond to a series of prompts, affirmative 1:03:12.240,1:03:17.500 prompts, that were inspired in part by Von Reiner's famous negative prompts from the 1:03:17.500,1:03:27.470 1960s. So I'm going to share my screen. Here it is. It's -- this is on Instagram at the 1:03:27.470,1:03:33.500 moment, and the whole project goes live next week. 1:04:00.000,1:04:06.000 >> VALLEJO: Over the course of... now I'll stop sharing the screen. There we go. Thank 1:04:06.000,1:04:12.800 you. Over the course of the last three months, writers, filmmakers, theater makers, choreographers, 1:04:12.800,1:04:18.860 performance makers of all descriptions and non-performance makers have generated work 1:04:18.860,1:04:26.710 that range from instructions of how to build a heterotopic garden in one's own space, to 1:04:26.710,1:04:33.060 short films, to live theater performances that happened remotely. Risa Puno in New York 1:04:33.060,1:04:41.270 created an entirely new Dungeons and Dragons game, and so on and so on. It was a way of 1:04:41.270,1:04:47.960 trying to sustain energy and momentum, to not just curl up into the fetal position and 1:04:47.960,1:04:53.540 kind of wait for it all to pass over. And, of course, redistributing resources to the 1:04:53.540,1:05:00.000 artists around us. We also partnered with a whole bunch of institutions as well, the 1:05:00.000,1:05:10.690 Chocolate Factory, new museums, incubator spaces, and others. So that's been an exciting 1:05:10.690,1:05:17.170 program that I think, whether large or small ways, has challenged us as an organization 1:05:17.170,1:05:22.510 that typically is pretty focused on getting hundreds of people in a room together to rethink 1:05:22.510,1:05:28.990 how we might sustain a relationship both with the sort of process and production of artwork, 1:05:28.990,1:05:36.000 but critically with audiences, and try and build bridges between the two. The website 1:05:36.000,1:05:49.330 for that -- I can post, but it is Onassis.org /enter. I will put it there in just a moment. 1:05:49.330,1:05:55.720 The other project I wanted to talk about -- I'm not sure if I'm jumping ahead too fast. 1:05:55.720,1:05:58.400 >> HRAG: No, go ahead. 1:05:58.400,1:06:12.810 >> VALLEJO: Sorry. I'm going to share the screen again and jump across to... jump across 1:06:12.810,1:06:23.760 to... HireArtists. Shortly after this happened, we, of course, realized, just through all 1:06:23.760,1:06:31.190 of our conversations, how dire the situation was for artists across the spectrum, and that 1:06:31.190,1:06:40.840 this wasn't as -- this certainly wasn't simply a three-month problem. That in the live arts 1:06:40.840,1:06:46.610 anyway, work was being cancelled not just three months out, but six months, a year, 1:06:46.610,1:06:52.080 two years in advance. And the work that would have been built, touring opportunities and 1:06:52.080,1:06:57.550 co-producing opportunities down the track was all being cancelled. People literally 1:06:57.550,1:07:05.170 watched hundreds of thousands of dollars go up in smoke, and not to return. As I know, 1:07:05.170,1:07:12.990 people across so many sectors did. With a couple former colleagues, we -- well, it was 1:07:12.990,1:07:20.490 inspired initially by me trying to think about how to help a choreographer friend whose work 1:07:20.490,1:07:26.680 had dried up, and she's an amazing French teacher. It's been a long time since I should 1:07:26.680,1:07:33.960 have begun learning French, so I started paying her to teach me French. I'm in a job, I'm 1:07:33.960,1:07:39.940 secure, I'm fine. So I should be deploying my time and my resources to try and help, 1:07:39.940,1:07:44.780 and this is a way of doing that that was, in fact, mutually kind of incredibly beneficial. 1:07:44.780,1:07:50.810 I started thinking about all the skills, and all of the talents, that the artists that 1:07:50.810,1:07:57.400 I had worked with have, in addition to their core activity of making dance, making theater, 1:07:57.400,1:08:04.240 making performance. So we built this website called hireartists.org, where people can offer 1:08:04.240,1:08:13.150 services or skills. Again, those delivered remotely, but there's an incredible kind of 1:08:13.150,1:08:24.560 array of different kinds of things, from foraging classes, cooking lessons, music lessons, languages 1:08:24.560,1:08:32.839 of all sorts, IT, video editing, script editing, acting classes, yoga, of course, writing coach, 1:08:32.839,1:08:42.040 people mixing pandemic playlists, virtually deejaying party, virtually deejaying virtual 1:08:42.040,1:08:50.250 parties in some cases. In a way it was trying to figure out how to create a vertical transfer 1:08:50.250,1:08:55.730 of resources from those of us who have not lost their jobs, have not lost their income, 1:08:55.730,1:09:03.560 have not lost their resources, to those who have. And to try and do so in a way that wasn't 1:09:03.560,1:09:10.470 simply, you know, a handout, as important as those have been through the funds that 1:09:10.470,1:09:17.839 have been set up, but actually fill people’s days, particularly in a period when there 1:09:17.839,1:09:24.730 was a lot of time to fill. And increasingly, it seems to me that this could be something 1:09:24.730,1:09:29.670 that continues into the future. We're not sure yet. We haven't figured it out. I think 1:09:29.670,1:09:35.860 it's problematic, of course, as well. There's a danger of replicating the gig economy, which 1:09:35.860,1:09:42.759 can be... you know, which we need to be careful of, because I think we could all agree that 1:09:42.759,1:09:49.150 that has been problematic historically. So thinking about that and thinking about how 1:09:49.150,1:09:54.909 to continue helping has been a really big part of the last few months of time. 1:09:54.909,1:10:01.170 >> HRAG: Great. I have a question. Have there been any surprise successes in this hireartists.org 1:10:01.170,1:10:06.540 in terms of what people are eager to buy or pay for? 1:10:06.540,1:10:12.540 >> VALLEJO: You know, initially it was like... I thought, oh, I need someone to do my accounting. 1:10:12.540,1:10:18.450 I need someone to teach me French. I need someone to do this or do that. What has been 1:10:18.450,1:10:23.280 interesting is that the things that people are buying are not so much "I need someone 1:10:23.280,1:10:30.170 to do..." it's "I really want to do." It's stuff kind of out of the box, whether it's 1:10:30.170,1:10:38.120 the deejay set, running on FaceTime you as you wander around prospect park or Central 1:10:38.120,1:10:45.650 Park or, you know, by a river upstate, showing you which plants are edible, which have medicinal 1:10:45.650,1:10:55.040 value. Louisen, who runs the Invisible Dog in Brooklyn, who is a self-taught extraordinary 1:10:55.040,1:11:03.310 chef, magic lessons. It's stuff that kind of, I guess, feels somehow frivolous, but 1:11:03.310,1:11:09.380 at the same time it feels so liberating, and that has become emotionally such a point. 1:11:09.380,1:11:16.090 Also I think the things that we're seeing succeed are the things that actually, perhaps, 1:11:16.090,1:11:21.460 use that artistic talent that people were bringing to the work, and the creative strategies 1:11:21.460,1:11:27.900 that they were bringing to their work, rather than using the skill that they had from their 1:11:27.900,1:11:34.340 gig job that was separate to their creative practice. And that's been kind of wonderful. 1:11:34.340,1:11:41.410 It's also -- it's a much harder ask. You know, it's a much harder offer to kind of create. 1:11:41.410,1:11:47.490 And I think we're seeing those kinds of offers pop up in other environments, like Airbnb 1:11:47.490,1:11:54.370 experiences and other places. So it's interesting. It's an interesting moment as the experience 1:11:54.370,1:12:00.420 economy moves into an experience that we have to have by ourselves and within a particular 1:12:00.420,1:12:04.000 defined -- very defined geographic area. 1:12:04.000,1:12:08.280 >> HRAG: One of the people in the chat room defined it, I think, pretty well. There seem 1:12:08.280,1:12:12.920 to be things that nurture the spirit, people want those right now, at a time when it's 1:12:12.920,1:12:17.560 sort of like we're looking for those things. I have one last question. Of course, the time 1:12:17.560,1:12:22.220 is over, of course, but just one quick question. I wanted to ask about the foundation, and 1:12:22.220,1:12:27.720 just in general, how it's adapted with some of the things that it has been doing in terms 1:12:27.720,1:12:33.290 of micro-grants or any other types of activities that you just give people a bit of insight. 1:12:33.290,1:12:38.610 >> VALLEJO: The micro-grant program was a really big focus. You know, I'm so proud, 1:12:38.610,1:12:43.510 actually, of this organization right now. Unlike a lot of organizations, everybody who 1:12:43.510,1:12:51.530 was cancelled was paid in full. Shows that we had documented were then reedited, the 1:12:51.530,1:12:58.480 sound was tweaked, everything was done beautifully. They were paid for us -- they were paid screening 1:12:58.480,1:13:06.410 rights fees for us to put it on our YouTube channel. We have been busy strategizing what 1:13:06.410,1:13:12.090 the next phase of “Enter” will look like, which I think will hopefully be a series of 1:13:12.090,1:13:18.310 more ambitious commissions that will delve even further into the kind of possibilities 1:13:18.310,1:13:26.290 of interactivity and what that means. You know, it's really strange, because from here, 1:13:26.290,1:13:33.130 we're watching our core, our big venue in Greece, it can open a lot sooner than we can 1:13:33.130,1:13:39.140 over here (chuckling). So some of it will go back to normal, I think, much faster than 1:13:39.140,1:13:48.440 we might expect, sadly, in the United States. I think pivoting, adapting, and figuring out 1:13:48.440,1:13:56.660 how to create new kinds of events that are pandemic-proof, perhaps. I think it's a design 1:13:56.660,1:14:02.381 challenge. I think we need to kind of add a design challenge there to the world. How 1:14:02.381,1:14:09.210 do we create festivals? How do we create theaters? How do we create performance spaces that are 1:14:09.210,1:14:18.469 able to adapt, keep the people working in them safe, and keep the audience safe. 1:14:18.469,1:14:21.150 >> HRAG: That's a great note to end on. So thank you so much. 1:14:21.150,1:14:22.580 >> VALLEJO: Thank you. 1:14:22.580,1:14:27.239 >> HRAG: Appreciate it. So I'm just going to say thank you to everybody, and I just 1:14:27.239,1:14:35.340 want to introduce Sarah Schultz for some closing remarks on behalf of the American Craft Council. 1:14:35.340,1:14:46.350 >> SARAH: Thanks, Hrag. This was an amazing conversation, and as always, I have pages 1:14:46.350,1:14:54.840 of notes and there's no way I can sort of adequately go through all of the key highlights 1:14:54.840,1:15:01.560 for me. I do want to say, when we first started this series back a few months ago, there was 1:15:01.560,1:15:07.351 this sense that somehow people would refer to this moment as kind of a great loss, and 1:15:07.351,1:15:14.590 that that would return. I think what actually has become really clear, and I think really, 1:15:14.590,1:15:20.790 really animated in this conversation, is that we're not really looking at a pause and a 1:15:20.790,1:15:26.580 return, but, in fact, we're moving through, as I'm starting to understand it, this series 1:15:26.580,1:15:32.830 of phases, a first response that we see when people are coming forward to respond to the 1:15:32.830,1:15:39.130 moment and make PPE, a kind of reimagine of our work and how we do it. I think as we go 1:15:39.130,1:15:42.830 forward, there's going to be this interesting moment of thinking about what it means to 1:15:42.830,1:15:47.781 reemerge, you know, back into the world, and what that will look like differently. So I 1:15:47.781,1:15:54.180 just want to thank everybody today for their -- for, kind of, touching on all of the elements. 1:15:54.180,1:15:58.570 And to the people in the chat who have asked if we'll continue the forum series, I don't 1:15:58.570,1:16:04.590 see how we can't. I think that idea of what we're going to reemerge into, and how we're 1:16:04.590,1:16:10.510 going to reimagine and reemerge, is the continuation of all our work together. So my hope is that 1:16:10.510,1:16:17.440 we'll all continue to gather and reimagine and reemerge into something, you know... something 1:16:17.440,1:16:24.480 fabulous and new. And that what we'll carry forward is a lot of positive change and lessons 1:16:24.480,1:16:28.880 that we're seeing here, and that we don't lose them, but we carry them forward in new 1:16:28.880,1:16:34.210 and powerful ways. I really want to thank everybody for coming. I want to thank Hrag. 1:16:34.210,1:16:41.380 I want to thank Halle. I want to thank all of the speakers. It's been an incredible series, 1:16:41.380,1:16:48.290 and all I can say is, you know, "to be continued." And the one last question about ACC reimagining, 1:16:48.290,1:16:56.190 how it's going to reimagine its markets... absolutely. Look for the notices coming soon. 1:16:56.190,1:17:00.980 We have been deep in these conversations as well and want to create opportunities for 1:17:00.980,1:17:04.620 craft artists and makers all over. 1:17:04.620,1:17:15.890 >> HRAG: Thank you, everyone, for attending. Thank you to the Craft Council and everyone 1:17:15.890,1:17:21.670 involved for sharing your expertise. Because right now is a time where we have to share 1:17:21.670,1:17:26.790 our knowledge as we’re all trying to figure out ways forward. And thank you again.