Spaceworks Creative Kickoff May 16

Join Spaceworks Tacoma, the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber to kick off the latest Spaceworks Projects during the 3rd Thursday Artwalk/Mingle, May 16th from 5-8pm. Come see what our creative entrepreneurs are up to, check out the new installations at the Woolworth Windows and and visit 1312 MLK Way for a performance by N. Dybevik and special guests from 6-6:30pm.

There will be lots to see with a bit of ground to cover! Walking maps will be available that day at the Farmer’s Market and the Woolworth Windows, as well as online.

Applications Now Available!

How would you change the face of Tacoma? Apply to Spaceworks and be a part of the conversation.

Spaceworks Tacoma is currently seeking applications for its three tracks: Artscapes, Creative Enterprise, and Special Projects Residencies. Artists, organizations, community groups and creative entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply. Through this application cycle, participants will be identified to fill no- and low-cost temporary vacant spaces in Tacoma through 2013. Deadline: June 10, 2013

Summer Internship with Spaceworks

We’re looking for a 20hr/wk summer intern at Spaceworks Tacoma!  The Arts & Economic Development Intern will work on projects assigned by the Spaceworks Coordinator. This is an opportunity to learn about the panel preparation and selection process, as well as gain knowledge about local and regional artists and creative entrepreneurs.

For more information and a detailed job description, visit:
http://www.tacomachamber.org/content/chamber-hiring

The deadline is next Friday, May 17 so hurry and apply! We look forward to hearing from you!

Pasticcio Design Interview on TV Tacoma

Debbie and Tom Pitzer at Bryson Speer Salon (Federal Way, WA) in front of a 25 foot wall finish that she created using a hybridized plaster mix and a special tool she created to apply over concrete blocks. She used a metallic rust finish on the two supports to make them look like iron beams.

Spaceworks currently has about a dozen awesome projects that we are working to find vacant space for in downtown Tacoma. One of those projects is Pasticcio Design, an artistic interior design business owned by Debbie Pitzer. Pasticcio creates custom finishes for interior surfaces; walls, ceilings, floors, windows, furniture, etc.

She was recently interviewed on the “Business Matters” show on TV Tacoma. It is airing now and we invite you to check it out!

You can find it on Ch. 12 (Tacoma residents) and Channel 21 (Pierce County residents):
Mondays, 2am & 3pm
Tuesdays, Midnight, 3pm & 10pm
Wednesdays, Noon & 9pm
Thursdays, 4pm & 11pm
Fridays, 4am, Noon & 6pm
Saturdays, 4am, 9am, 3pm & 9pm
Sundays, 11am & 6pm

Or click here to video stream it anytime  (click on the April 16-May 15 video).

Thanks to advice and resources she received through partners of the Spaceworks program Debbie recently launched her first website: http://www.pasticciodesign.com/ 
Keep up the great work Debbie!

Fun Spaceworks Fundraiser Needs You!

Wii Tennis, Beer, Pizza and Supporting Spaceworks…it doesn’t get any better than that! Won’t you join us? Here are the details:

Friday, April 26, 2013
Registration at 5:30pm, Tournament at 6pm
BLRB Office, 1250 Pacific Ave, Suite 700, Tacoma, WA

Bring your “A” game and retro tennis apparel (optional) to the 4th annual 2013 AIASWW Wii Tennis Tournament. Join Spaceworks staff, friends and supporters for a fun night of Wii Tennis at the cool offices of BLRB in downtown Tacoma. Spaceworks will appreciate your support through your entry fee of $20 for players or $10 for spectators, which includes both food & drink.

Please RVSP on our Facebook page or drop an email to: aia@aiasww.org
Presented by Emerging Leaders Group (American Institute of Architects South West Washington Chapter)

Write@253 Upcoming Offerings

Spaceworks’ Creative Enterprises have transformed spaces throughout downtown Tacoma, and one of those enterprises was Write @ 253. The free, nonprofit community writing center filled a vacant storefront at 1310 Martin Luthur King, Jr Way from April to October 2012 through the Spaceworks program. They transitioned into a lease for that storefront and are still there today providing resources and support to the Tacoma students who stop by.

They have three workshops and two tutoring programs happening in the near future. Maybe one of them will strike your fancy.

Join Spaceworks for a Public Art Walk

Please join us! Spaceworks is sponsoring the next Walk Tacoma event, a Public Art Walk, led by the Tacoma’s very own Arts Administrator Amy McBride. This 1.5 mile walk will be held on Wednesday, April 17 at 5:15 p.m., starting at the Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway,  Tacoma, WA 98402.  Participants will learn about many of the art pieces and installations placed throughout downtown, including art work in the Convention Center, Tollefson Plaza, UWT, and the Woolworth Windows.  Spaceworks Coordinator Heather Joy will also be on-hand to share an overview of the Spaceworks program. The event will include a post-walk social at the Gallery at BITE Restaurant located in the Hotel Murano.  There is no pre-registration necessary, just join the group at the start.

The Public Art Walk is part of Walk Tacoma, an eight walk series, sponsored by Franciscan Health System, held on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from April through August.  The fun, themed walks, now in their fourth year, encourage downtown employees and residents to exercise and enjoy the outdoors by discovering the different walking routes and parks in downtown Tacoma.  Click here to see the entire Walk Tacoma schedule.

Feather and Oar Highlighted in South Sound Magazine

South Sound Magazine’s writeup of Feather & Oar

Have you been to Feather & Oar yet? If not, you should! Spaceworks alum Feather & Oar started as a Spaceworks Creative Enterprise a few blocks away at 311 S. 7th over the holiday season and in January 2013 they found a new space, dialed it in*, opened their doors January 21st, and have been going gangbusters ever since. Owners JD Elquist and Travis Pranger will make your experience in the store an enjoyable one, along with the other talents they have gathered in the mix: stylist Drew Collier, bespoke tailor MacLachlan, CFO Robert Taylor, Ricky the tailor, and leather maker Stephen Jones. Buy some cool men’s clothes, have some alterations done, pick up a pound of coffee, snag a leather iphone holder, have your hair done, or just chat with these folks and walk out feeling good! Your thoughts about fashion or the potential of Tacoma will be uplifted.

* Dialing it in included hauling over 10,000 lbs of material (layers upon layers of flooring, sheetrock, and more) out of the space to reveal the 1911 character of the building.

Feather & Oar is open six days a week, Monday – Saturday 10-6 at 759 Market Street – Tacoma, Washington 98402.

Spaceworks Tacoma is thrilled to highlight its Creative Enterprise projects that started in a vacant commercial Spaceworks space and have transitioned into being paying lease holders in the city of Tacoma! It shows that Spaceworks works!

Do you have an idea that would transform a vacant space in Tacoma? We’d love to hear about it! Applications for the next Spaceworks round will be available May 1st. Email Spaceworks Coordinator Heather Joy to get on our notification list.

Spaceworks Hires New Coordinator!

Heather Joy and the Woolworth Windows

Spaceworks Tacoma is pleased to announce Heather Joy Helbach-Olds as its new coordinator. Heather Joy will facilitate the three Spaceworks tracks: Creative Enterprise, Special Projects and Artscapes. Heather comes to Spaceworks with a wide array of skills and knowledge thanks to over 12 years of experience as an artist, small arts business owner and arts administrator in the Puget Sound region. She has worked with hundreds of artists on the business side of art, most notably as the manager and coordinator of Artist Trust’s EDGE Professional Development Program. As a small business owner, Heather understands what it takes to get a business up and running and keep it running. And as an artist, she finds inspiration from working with other artists.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing project! I look forward to working with the Spaceworks artists and creative entrepreneurs to share their talents with the Tacoma community as well as provide them the support they need to reach their goals. Plus, I am excited to build from the more than two years of success that Spaceworks has under its belt and help grow it into an even stronger program.”

 To learn more about Heather Joy, visit: http://www.tacomachamber.org/content/chamber-welcomes-new-spaceworks-coordinator

Rodney Raccoon to launch multimedia enterprise

We’re all familiar with the ways of raccoons – they’re clever, inquisitive and playful creatures. No wonder then, that this ring-tailed varmint is the animated mascot for educational media produced by Rodney Raccoon and BYTM (Building Youth Through Music)/WayOut Kids, a non-profit whose mission is to teach children and youth through music and multimedia. BYTM has developed the “Rodney Raccoon” character, curricula and outreach into an award-winning model that successfully involves youth and the community in social change through the delivery of information to diverse groups of children, parents and local educators. Spaceworks is proud to support Rodney Raccoon and company with a six-month Creative Enterprise Residency at 717 Tacoma Avenue South through June 15, 2013.

Image courtesy of Rodney Raccoon/BYTM.

Rodney Raccoon and BYTM were the creation of Frederick “JD” Davis, a music producer with a desire to enrich local community while helping alleviate what he believed to be a learning gap for diverse children. In 2005, his then-company, WayOut Records, Inc., launched WayOut Kids to explore the process of educating through music. Through the record company, Davis began hosting a national WayOut Fun Day. Next, he implemented an annual food drive which would provide Thanksgiving meals to needy families. Finally, he began developing creative media to help children with learning.