ABOUT ONE YEAR HAS PASSED SINCE OUR LAST UPDATE ON THIS SITE. DURING THAT TIME, THE AUTONOMOUS DESIGN UNION RESPONDED TO THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC AND ECONOMIC CRISIS BY LAUNCHING A WORK-FROM-HOME INITIATIVE THAT ENGAGED OUR NETWORK OF STITCHERS TO SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY PRODUCE NEARLY ONE THOUSAND REUSABLE PPE MASKS, WHICH WERE DISTRIBUTED AT COST TO ESSENTIAL WORKERS AND THE PUBLIC DURING THE INITIAL MASK SHORTAGE OF 2020.

 

SINCE THE COMPLETION OF THAT INITIATIVE, ADU HAS FOCUSED ON SERVING THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF MEMBERS OF OUR NETWORK IN A STAGE OF REFLECTION AND RESEARCH. AS MEMBERS OF A SELF-ORGANIZING WORKFORCE, WE BELIEVE THAT EFFECTIVE AND GENUINE ORGANIZING MUST BE HIGHLY RESPONSIVE AS WELL AS DEEPLY GENERATIVE. WE ALSO FEEL THAT TIMES OF CRISIS REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY FEATS OF IMAGINATION, AS WE COLLECTIVELY DESIGN OUR PATHS FORWARD TO A MORE UNIFIED FUTURE.

 

MOVING INTO 2021, ADU WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE TO BRING THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY TOGETHER SAFELY VIA SHARED POWER OVER SHARED RESOURCES. OUR FOCUS THIS YEAR IS AN INCLUSIVE, EQUITABLE, & ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL DATABASE PROJECT, WHICH WILL PRODUCE A FREE ONLINE DIRECTORY & KNOWLEDGE BANK TO

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A) COLLECT THE REPRESENTATIVE POWER OF OUR WORKFORCE IN ONE PLACE

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B) RENDER OUR SKILLS, PRODUCTS, & SERVICES MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ONE ANOTHER, AS WELL AS POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.

 

OVER TIME, WE HOPE TO BUILD OUT THE KNOWLEDGE BANK TO INCLUDE STANDARD MINIMUM RATES, CONTRACT TEMPLATES, SAMPLE PRODUCTION TIMELINES, AND OTHER RESOURCES TO EDUCATE BOTH THE CREATOR AND THE CONSUMER ON EQUITABLE & SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION METHODS. AS MEMBERS OF THE CREATIVE WORKFORCE, WE KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT CAN BE TO VALUE OUR OWN WORK APPROPRIATELY UNDER THE CONSTANT DEGRADATION OF CAPITALISM. REINFORCING TO OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER HOW VALUABLE OUR WORK TRULY IS IS CRITICAL TO NAVIGATING A CAREER AS A TEXTILE ARTIST. BY PUBLISHING STANDARD MINIMUM RATES FOR ALL TYPES OF TEXTILE LABOR & PROVIDING FREE ACCESS TO GATE-KEPT INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE, ADU INTENDS TO UPLIFT AND UNIFY ALL CREATIVES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR DEVELOPING DIRECTORY PROJECT, PLEASE SEND US A NOTE ON OUR CONTACT PAGE, AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU DIRECTLY.

 

IN SOLIDARITY,

 

MARGUERITE WOODWARD & LEO MARGOLIS

ADU ORGANIZING/OPERATIONS MEMBER-MANAGERS