Studio fire recovery for Steven, Zoë & Angela

Update (08/12/2023) - Hi everyone, it's been a second. Since we launched this fundraiser at the end of October, we've received an unbelievable outpouring of love and support from all over. We're still coming to terms with it, and figuring out how best to say thank you, to so many of you. To everyone who donated, shared, sent caring words... we are eternally thankful to you. Thank you - thank you. We wanna look you all in the eyes and say it, but in lieu of the ability to do that we're here sending it out in this little way. If we've seen you in person and we didn't say it directly, it's only because the offerings and names are so staggering it's a lil hard to keep track. But we know and feel what you've done, and it reminds that the occasional chaos of this life can be met by a bulwark of kindness, community, and care.

Your funds have helped us make first steps toward getting our hands on some much needed new gear and equipment, pay for miscellaneous costs along the way, be compensated for lost work, and generally make it through some of this treacherous financial time - one we know most are feeling these days.

Because of the unexpected distance granted by your donations, we feel it's fair and satisfying to lower our goal to $10,000 down from $13,000 (we're only 1K away from that mark). This last stretch will help each of us in our own ways, and help us steady for January. This season is a financial burden for many, and with all kinds of upheaval abound, we don't want to ask much more of anybody. If you're even just able to share this fundraiser, it would - once again, difficult to articulate what it would - mean to us in our little studio/art-practice-discovery/dazey-world.

With love,

Steven, Zoë, and Angela

(Originally posting below):

______________________________________________________

Hi there,

my name is Steven and I’m writing on behalf of myself, and my studio-mates Zoë and Angela. Two weeks ago, a large electrical fire broke out on the upper floor of our studio space; under which Zoë and Angela run a clothing design & fabrication studio, and I, a visual art & screenprinting studio. Fire trucks were dispatched to the area/location, where several firefighters battled the fire on shifts for 45+ minutes. Most thankfully, no one was physically harmed in the event. Being that our shared space was located in the basement of the building, water from fire hoses poured in from above into our studio, along with smoke and off-gasses; damaging thousands of dollars worth of equipment, artwork, clothing, stock materials, and other ephemera. Not only have we lost crucial equipment and materials to this event, we have had to collectively halt all of our current projects and efforts, and have in fact lost entire works in progress. This has meant a loss of months of work, a loss in necessary income, loss of vital workspace; not to mention a substantial and confounding strain on our collective emotional and mental wellness.

It’s taken several weeks for things to settle, for us to gather our thoughts and make a plan, and unfortunately, being that the three of us and our space were uninsured; we’ve made the difficult decision to ask you for help. We would be remiss if we didn’t offer that we are collectively aware that given the current state of global and local tragedies abound, this call for help may not appear the most pressing. We are very humbly asking for whatever you can do - if it’s one dollar, it’s a huge help to us.

We plan to put the funds towards recouping damaged/destroyed equipment, materials, products/final pieces; recoup loss of income from destroyed work and lost time; and in the case of Zoë and Angela; help them find a new workspace (I, Steven, have moved my studio into my home for the time being).

We are artists and makers, working and sharing within our community and abroad. We each work with a wide-array of local and international shops/stores, musicians, artists, designers, organizers, et al., and despite this saddening loss, we look forward to continuing our work. This request is a broader appeal to you, our friends, loved ones, collaborators, collectors, and supporters; for an extra helping hand.

We sincerely and humbly thank you for your time - even just the time you’ve given in reading this; and for any and all other support.

With Love,

Steven, Zoë, and Angela