PORTLAND, OR. the most notable thing i took from getting aquatinted with the folks of Stumptown Printers is a unique enthusiasm for the collective community. and they expressed ardent support for my project documenting local collectives. interestingly, they were instrumental in getting the Portland Alliance of Worker Collectives (P.A.W.C., often pronounced “pawk” or “posse”) off the ground, and printed the brochure that spreads the word about the collectives involved in the alliance. i received a warm welcome from Stumptown and constant thanks simply for my interest in doing a project on collectives in portland. they made a great effort to give me access to their shop and answer questions. my only regret is not meeting with them sooner.

every collective i’ve met with so far has been zealous about collectives and community, but Stumptown was one of the most positive about being involved in a project documenting their organization. they saw it from a community angle. it wasn’t a selfish, self-promotion thing. being in their shop was like being welcomed into someone’s home where you are immediately offered food and coffee and a place to sleep if need be. perhaps their enthusiasm was because they are the first artists i’ve involved in my project, their craft & service completely entangled in the creative spirit. most collectives and cooperatives i’ve documented have approached my project from business angles–food distribution, bicycle service, public social space. when i thanked Stumptown, they thanked me for working on such a documentary.

this feeling is really hard to describe, but i wanted to try to get it down… hopefully i will engage with their collective more and get some of this feeling recorded. i seem to get deeper and deeper into this project after meetings like this.