Colorama Workshop Donation Fund
Donation protected
Colorama Workshop is a community riso printing and bookbinding studio that aims to make the process of printing and binding books, zines and other printed matter as accessible as possible. Johanna Maierski, a printer, and Lauria Joan, a bookbinder, run the studio, which is part of the Haus der Statistik community of artist & workshop spaces in Berlin.
On the night of October 21st, someone broke into our studio and stole all of the money that we had made so far through workshops and printing.
We (Johanna & Lauria) officially opened Colorama Workshop in September 2020, but also spent the summer building up this space from a bare, empty room to "the prettiest room at Haus der Statistik". We, along with our friends, put in hundreds of hours of labor and thousands of our own Euros into making this Workshop a space where people could learn to print and bind, while keeping prices accessible. And it was going really well! After six weeks, five printing & binding workshops and over twenty new members of our little workshop, we had saved up almost $550 that was meant to be put towards material, rent and heating costs. All of that is gone now.
This donation fund is primarily to help us regain our footing and bring us back to the financial level that we were at before this robbery. If you have any money to give, we would sincerely appreciate your generosity <3
This incident has also made us reconsider the financial sustainability of Colorama Workshop. We never wanted to ask for donations. We thought we could build this space using our own money, our own free labor, the kindness of our friends, and then fund material/utility costs through the workshops we teach. Unfortunately, that vision has become unrealistic. We need a more sustainable financial plan and money that we can rely on in order to keep Colorama Workshop afloat.
We are two stubborn, determined, Piscean ladies. An hour after we discovered the robbery (after a bit of crying, because Pisces), we were on the roof speckling tar over cracks in the ceiling so that the Colorama Workshop studio doesn’t get any water damage. Colorama Workshop is a labor of love. We don’t get paid to do this! We just believe that having an accessible printing & binding space is something that is worth the time and effort we’ve put into it.
This space was envisioned as a place where everyone and especially marginalized or excluded voices can learn how to make books and zines, how to self-publish their work, how to make their voices heard. Our vision is a community, where people learn and create together. So if we are so determined to bring accessible spaces and tools to the community, maybe it isn’t so bad if we ask that same community for help when we need it.
So, this donation fund is about more than just trying to get back the money we lost today. We have set some stretch goals for donations that we would use to help maintain Colorama Workshop in the long term.
$1000 – we recoup the money that was stolen, plus install a more secure steel door and finish some much-needed light fixture maintenance.
$3000 – Johanna and Lauria have personally put $2000 into starting Colorama Workshop, so any profit that we gain from workshops or printing is still just trying to cover that loss. Money donated beyond $1000 and up to $3000 will mean that we can start operating with a true profit; this means all the profits from the workshops we teach will go directly back into buying materials. This reinvestment means buying more types of paper, more inks and binding tools for people to use!
$6000 – any money we receive past $6000 will go towards the long-term maintenance of Colorama Workshop; i.e. rent and heating costs. Our room at Haus der Statistik is precarious, since it is a fluctuating space with a lease that only lasts until July 2021, so donations will also go towards a moving fund in case we need to find a new space for Colorama Workshop.
Any money that you can donate is appreciated. You can also sign up for one of our workshops and join our little community by doing a Printing or Binding orientation! Colorama Workshop is not going to stop because of this setback, so jump on and join our lil Piscean dream.
Today was a bad day. But it won’t be the last one for Colorama Workshop, we can promise you that :)
Also, a big thank you to our friends at Haus der Statistik who supported us and helped us today. We are so grateful that there are generous people around us who took the time to help us and sit with us when we were at our lowest.
On the night of October 21st, someone broke into our studio and stole all of the money that we had made so far through workshops and printing.
We (Johanna & Lauria) officially opened Colorama Workshop in September 2020, but also spent the summer building up this space from a bare, empty room to "the prettiest room at Haus der Statistik". We, along with our friends, put in hundreds of hours of labor and thousands of our own Euros into making this Workshop a space where people could learn to print and bind, while keeping prices accessible. And it was going really well! After six weeks, five printing & binding workshops and over twenty new members of our little workshop, we had saved up almost $550 that was meant to be put towards material, rent and heating costs. All of that is gone now.
This donation fund is primarily to help us regain our footing and bring us back to the financial level that we were at before this robbery. If you have any money to give, we would sincerely appreciate your generosity <3
This incident has also made us reconsider the financial sustainability of Colorama Workshop. We never wanted to ask for donations. We thought we could build this space using our own money, our own free labor, the kindness of our friends, and then fund material/utility costs through the workshops we teach. Unfortunately, that vision has become unrealistic. We need a more sustainable financial plan and money that we can rely on in order to keep Colorama Workshop afloat.
We are two stubborn, determined, Piscean ladies. An hour after we discovered the robbery (after a bit of crying, because Pisces), we were on the roof speckling tar over cracks in the ceiling so that the Colorama Workshop studio doesn’t get any water damage. Colorama Workshop is a labor of love. We don’t get paid to do this! We just believe that having an accessible printing & binding space is something that is worth the time and effort we’ve put into it.
This space was envisioned as a place where everyone and especially marginalized or excluded voices can learn how to make books and zines, how to self-publish their work, how to make their voices heard. Our vision is a community, where people learn and create together. So if we are so determined to bring accessible spaces and tools to the community, maybe it isn’t so bad if we ask that same community for help when we need it.
So, this donation fund is about more than just trying to get back the money we lost today. We have set some stretch goals for donations that we would use to help maintain Colorama Workshop in the long term.
$1000 – we recoup the money that was stolen, plus install a more secure steel door and finish some much-needed light fixture maintenance.
$3000 – Johanna and Lauria have personally put $2000 into starting Colorama Workshop, so any profit that we gain from workshops or printing is still just trying to cover that loss. Money donated beyond $1000 and up to $3000 will mean that we can start operating with a true profit; this means all the profits from the workshops we teach will go directly back into buying materials. This reinvestment means buying more types of paper, more inks and binding tools for people to use!
$6000 – any money we receive past $6000 will go towards the long-term maintenance of Colorama Workshop; i.e. rent and heating costs. Our room at Haus der Statistik is precarious, since it is a fluctuating space with a lease that only lasts until July 2021, so donations will also go towards a moving fund in case we need to find a new space for Colorama Workshop.
Any money that you can donate is appreciated. You can also sign up for one of our workshops and join our little community by doing a Printing or Binding orientation! Colorama Workshop is not going to stop because of this setback, so jump on and join our lil Piscean dream.
Today was a bad day. But it won’t be the last one for Colorama Workshop, we can promise you that :)
Also, a big thank you to our friends at Haus der Statistik who supported us and helped us today. We are so grateful that there are generous people around us who took the time to help us and sit with us when we were at our lowest.
Organizer and beneficiary
Lauria Galbraith
Organizer
Berlin
Johanna Maierski
Beneficiary
