So far, you’ve heard a lot from us at MaxFun, but we’re certainly not the only ones who think the co-op model is great for the creative industry. This week, we’re sharing insights from worker-owners at a few other wonderful creative co-ops, and we’re really, really excited about it!
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
This week of Co-Optober aligns with principle #6 of the Seven Cooperative Principles: Cooperation Among Cooperatives.
We’re so pleased to have been able to speak to worker-owners at five co-ops in the creative industry! We’ll be posting an interview on the blog each day this week, starting with…
Artisans Cooperative is a brand-new artist-owned alternative to Etsy! I had a great chat with Valerie from Artisans about the cooperative’s founding, corporate greed, and how she hopes the cooperative will grow.
“I really want [to be part of a cooperative] because I will have that governance control to make sure that it stays a good platform and doesn’t charge too much in fees and stays inclusive and stays broad. I don’t just want a seat at the table to talk about things, I want us to own the table. I want us to actually earn the value that we are providing by creating these beautiful and interesting items, all of us, and putting it there in one place.”— Valerie, Artisans Cooperative
Creative Co-Op Roundtable
Friday, October 20
2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET
We’re hosting a discussion on creative co-ops this Friday with a great line-up of special guests. The discussion will cover some of the advantages (and challenges!) of the cooperative model, especially at a time when creative work is being systematically undermined.
Our guests for the panel include:
Jasper Wang, co-owner and VP of Revenue & Operations at Defector, a worker-owned journalism website created by former Deadspin staffers and home to the Normal Gossip podcast.
Michelle Sadler, worker-member and Director of Co-op Operations at Stocksy, a progressive royalty-free stock photo and video agency.
Evan Edwards, CEO of Project Equity, the nonprofit that helped MaxFun convert to being a co-op.
And the panel will be moderated by Bikram Chatterji, CEO of MaxFun.
If you want to hear more about how artists can respond to corporate greed, the threat of AI, and short-sighted bosses, make sure to tune in Friday over on our YouTube channel!
Volunteer Week
Next week, MaxFunHQ staff are going to be volunteering at our local food bank—and we encourage you to do the same!
October 23-29
Get together with other local MaxFun fans to do good in your local communities. For more information on how to arrange a volunteer event, check out our Volunteer Week page.
ICYMI
Here’s a few things from last week that you may have missed…
Meetup Day
Last week, there were meetups all across the U.S. (plus one in Copenhagen, pictured at the right!), including one in Los Angeles, MaxFun’s hometown. It was a blast! Big shout-out to everyone who organized a meetup. It’s always so much fun to see our community come together like this!
If you missed this one, don’t worry—there will definitely be more meetup days in the future. Keep an eye on the newsletter to keep updated on when the next one will be, or have one in your town whenever you want to meet some pals!
Blog Post Roundup
We published a few blog posts that dive into what the hosts and worker-owners at MaxFun think about the network transitioning to a co-op, including an interview with the first president of the board!
- Interview with K.T. Wiegman, MaxFun’s First President of the Board
- Get to Know the Worker-Owners of MaxFun
- MaxFun Hosts Share Thoughts on the Co-Op
I want to take a second to thank everyone who’s bought Co-Optober merch, shared kind words on social media, and shown their enthusiasm for MaxFun becoming a co-op. This is a really exciting time for everyone here at MaxFunHQ, and it truly does mean so much to us to have your support.