4th Annual Summit, Friday July 30 – Celebrating New York Makers and Their Materials
- Hybrid format with those that are able meeting in one location; and others joining virtually
- Free admission for all students (of all ages) with student ID or as registered by their teacher.
- Possible Keynote speaker or a panel of speakers: Farming or maker market leaders
- Show Sheep of the Hudson Valley videos interspersed throughout the Summit program.
- Learn about new Cornell Cooperative Extension Program Work Team for animal fiber.
- Updates on including plant and animal fiber in NY Grown & Certified branding efforts
- Information on how to get your products placed in New York Makers and Taste NYstores.
- Introduce and update on HVTP’s new initiatives for 2021 including youth, BIPOC, andbeginning farmer/maker mentoring initiative.
- Discuss on-going and future projects: Wool scouring, mushroom fabric and others
Diversity Awareness and Inclusion Planning and Programming
- Mentoring programs – such as Ulster BOCES student engagement with Summit and post-Summit networking. See work of HVTP member Mark Grigalunas with Careers in Textiles Symposium for Handweavers Guild of America.
- Education and training on marketing and financing fiber-related small businesses such as developed by Vogue Knitting for the LIVE Launchpad program
- Workshops and field trips on how dyers, designers, makers can access locally sourced and processed materials; and highlighting successful examples as case studies
- Grants, scholarships, cost sharing such as through Loveland Foundation and others TBD
- Role of The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region and members of the Catalysts for Change Leadership Program cohort in program and fund development.
- How to make Festivals more inclusive for BIPOC vendors and attendees
Three tiers of engagement and exposure to locally sourced fiber and sustainably processed textiles
1 Fiber Tasting Event
- via Zoom with famous guest host;
- showing the videos/slides
- Showcase at least one BIPOCfarmer, designer or maker ineach tasting package.
- People would pay to attend andreceive the materials to be discussed (or could attend for free without the materials)
2 HV Fiber Box for Crafters
- Comes out 4 times/year
- 2021 planning, advertising, andpre-sale
- roll-out/launch at Rhinebeck.
- Possible partnerships with TasteNY, New York Makers, andFulton Stall Market;
- direct to consumer (will needfulfillment plan).
- 5-6 items/box that intentionallyincludes one or more BIPOCdesigners
- categories of items for boxes (see Seasonal Slow Knitting)
3 Home or Fashion Accessory Challenge
- Planning committee to determine rules
- A list of designers or just certain patterns?
- Showcase at least one farmer, designer or maker of color.
- See The Wooly Thistle Colorwork Accessory KAL as example; or “Shave Em to Save Them” Passport.
On-going and Routine Initiatives
- Continue regional/community promotions grants – up to $250 per award
- “Did you know” series for Instagram
- Directory of fleece and fiber available in the region and how to acquire, including possible collaboration with NYS Grown & Certified
- Website and social media updates
- Wool scouring capacity development including partnerships with other regions andfund development through grant seeking
- Fiber Animals of the Hudson Valley Video Series – expand to alpacas, goats and fine wool group
- Improve utilization of the HVTP photo library
Maybe more than can be done this year, discuss at Summit
- Climate change initiatives include synthetic fiber waste in landfills, microfiber run-off and communications around soil-to-soil concepts
- Farm to Fashion event or week in NYC – stand-alone or in conjunction with other NYS visibility efforts at Textile Month and Fashion Week
- Bast fiber growing and processing R&D; and demonstration projects and partnerships
- Bio-fabricated materials including mushroom fabric
Contact us for more information or to volunteer to help out with any of these projects.