San Juan Island Makers Circle
Notes from San Juan Island Visioning Circle, Feb 5th, 2023
Key values: Community Connections
Education – learning and teaching
Building a year round Economy
Community Notes:
Mission
The purpose is to live meaningful and fulfilling lives in order to support and nurture a thriving community.
Needs
Leadership to facilitate community connections
Space and tools to make and create
Grant opportunities
Business/management tools
Relational tools / Inter and intra personal
Grower and Makers Village
“Slow the Folk Down” re: Folk Life Magazine from BC Island
Directory to find like minded makers and artist networking
Building community through gatherings, i.e. Grange Potlucks
Physical community bulletin board, possibly online
County Fair as a good platform bringing lots of people together
Utilize Makers Guild Diretory to connect people
Welcoming committee and resources for new residents
Combined recycle, reuse, maker space, repair, classes, store front
Combined approach to marketing: social media, email, flyers, word of mouth
Obstacles: ways to get the word out, Internet vs flyers; need common gathering places
Education Group notes
Needs:
Teach the community more sustainable skills
Adult ed. Youth ed. Apprentice programs.
People with skills need to teach, they are valuable
We want more educational experiences, hands on skills, for other makers to take.
Maybe a rotating troop teaches.
Finding mentors for budding artists who want to learn from each other.
Challenge is to bring people together, focus artists, build community
Create educational opportunities under exisiting organizations
Material swap fair
Educate tourists
Provide help with making, repairing, food preserving
Obstacles: need teaching and gathering spaces
Economy notes:
Can we create a culture of sustainability in our work?
Enhance recycling and repair
We need to build an economic model that works outside the summer season, inclusive of locals.
Can we facilitate connection among makers to support other makers? e.g. builders promoting local artists.
Pooling resources. Shared spaces. Shared equipment. Shared epertise (marketing, buisness,accounting etc).
Judicious use of resources.
Localized economy.
Local discounts.
Coop shops to sell locally made things.
Apprenticeships – local business to offer positions with pay.
Knowing who does what.
Promote makers guild.
Reclaim word of mouth tradition.
What crafts are needed?
Need an infrastructure plan.
We are in transition – construction.tourism to makers, growers, keepers
Photo from SJI Grange Repair Cafe
