• June 15, 2013: Above the Pavement: A City Fair

    above-the-pavement2

    Saturday June 15 • 1pm -7pm
    Maria’s and Pleasant House Bakery Parking Lots
    960 W 31st Street​
    Admission: free​

    Join members of the Small Manufacturing Alliance at Version Festival 13: An Urban Operating System.  Version festival is producing a one day outdoor/indoor mini festival that will become an annual event for the neighborhood of Bridgeport. It is the SMALLest city fair in the world! Imagine a boutique flea market with good food meeting a county fair without rides and throw in some live music and community building, and it becomes: .​

    Above the Pavement will take place in Bridgeport during the day from 1pm – 7pm-ish at the intersection of 31st and Morgan Street, in the Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar and Pleasant House Bakery complex & parking lots. Members of the Small Manufacturing Alliance (SMAll) will be vending their wares and local chefs will be serving food from both Pleasant House and Maria’s.​

    Participants include:

    Animalia Bizarre, Blue Cabbage Designs, Bonnie, CALM, Cheshire Kat, Civic Goods Company, Cubivino, Debbie Carlos, Debra Vaccaro, Elixir of Love, Emily Schroeder Willis, Envision Arts, Fourth is King, Hello Sleepywhale, Katherine-Anne Confections, Kevin Riordan, King Onye, Laura Lombardi Jewelry, Legacy Frameworks, Megan Pryce, Morgan Martinson, Nick Paul, Paul Crisanti Jewelry, Pear Tree Preserves, Pleasant House Bakery, Pubic Media Institute, Puffs of Doom, Red Belly Studio, Ricki Hill Design, Ruth and Phil’s Ice Cream, Shift x Tania Rodamilans, Squasht by Les, Stu’s Kitchen, The Plant / Alewyfe Apothecary, The Wool Dispensary, Working Bikes + others​

    ​Saturday June 15 • 8pm – 1am
    Above The Pavement After Party
    Co-Prosperity Sphere
    3219 S Morgan Street
    Admission: $5 suggested donation

    Join us at The Co-Prosperity Sphere gallery for more performances and have A look at the Urban OS exhibition.

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    Small Ordinary Shop at the Chicago Cultural Center

    Come by if you haven’t checked it out yet. We are open from 11-5:30 everyday.

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    Dec 8: SMALL Symposium and Tasting

    by  • December 3, 2012

    December 8, 2012 12:30-3:30 pm
    Chicago Cultural Center
    Claudia Cassidy Theater and Gar Rotunda / Second Floor
    Presentations: 12:30-2:30
    Tasting: 2:30- 3:30

    In Chicago there are thousands of people who have started their own small companies to share their artisan made products as well as food and beverages to the public. Some of them started out as artists who used their skills to create hand crafted products. Others are trained chefs and designers who left their day job to pursue their dreams. To share these stories and to inspire you to join the growing movement of localism the Small Manufacturing Alliance is organizing our first SMALL Symposium.Using the Pecha Kucha style format of presenting a dozen members of the Alliance will share their stories in the Claudia Cassidy Theater. The Symposium is followed by a tasting of some of the great stuff being made here in Chicago.

    Participants include:
    Matthew Hoffman • Duncan MacKenzie/ Citizen Brick • RX Made • Betty Bot • Working Bikes • Mayana Chocolate • Industry of the Ordinary • Morgan Martins • Twisted Hippo • Strand Design • Envision Arts • 22 Berwyn  • Legacy Frameworks •  Zak Rose • CALM • + more

    Tastings at 2:30pm by: Betty Bot • Twisted Hippo • Mayana Chocolate • Pear Tree Reserves • Flesh for Food • Great American Cheese Company

    Please join us. And stop by the SMALL Ordinary Shop to see what we are up to.

    SMALL is an organization that promotes companies and individuals making locally manufactured products and it was created by the Public Media Institute. The goal of the organization is to amplify awareness of products made in the Chicago Metropolitan area through events, pop up shops, media, showrooms and trade shows.

    SMALL recently opened the SMALL Ordinary Shop which is part of the Sic Transit Gloria Mundi: Industry of the Ordinary show taking place in the Chicago Cultural Center. The Shop is located on the first floor, re-imagining the former Cultural Center gift shop.

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    Photos from the SMALL Showroom of Furniture and Functional Objects

    by  • October 15, 2012

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    The SMALL Ordinary Shop

    by  • October 11, 2012

    Please join us on Friday October 12 from 5:30-7:30pm for the soft opening of the SMALL Ordinary Shop. It’s Public Media Institute’s latest project and it will blow yer socks off.

    From October 15, 2012  through January 1, 2013 The Small Manufacturing Alliance will create and operate the SMALL Ordinary Shop. The Shop is part of the Sic Transit Gloria Mundi: Industry of the Ordinary show taking place in the Chicago Cultural Center. The Shop will be located on the first floor, re-imagining the former Cultural Center gift shop.

    SMALL is an organization started by Public Media Institute that promotes companies and individuals making locally manufactured products. The goal of the organization is to amplify awareness of products made in the Chicago Metropolitan area through events, pop up shops, media, showrooms and trade shows.

    At the SMALL Ordinary Shop we are featuring jewelry and accessories, apparel, gift items, housewares, body products, furniture, prints and other artisan made and hand crafted items by over 100 different SMALL member artists, designers and companies.

    Think of the SMALL Ordinary Shop as an experiment in organic modernism meeting up-cycled urban manufacturing.

    Local craft beer, Ginger beer and food by Pleasant House Bakery and SMALL vendors will be on hand at the soft opening shin dig.

    The Chicago Cultural Center is located at 78 East Washington Street  Chicago, IL 60602.

    The SMALL Ordinary Shop will be open Monday through Saturday 11am to 6pm. Noon to 5pm on Sundays.

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    The SMALL Showroom of Furniture and Functional Objects • October 5, 2012

    by  • September 13, 2012

    October 5, 2012 : 5-9pm 
    ONE NIGHT ONLY!
    Bridgeport Art Center
    5th floor
    1200 West 35th St.

    Join The Small Manufacturing Alliance for a pop up showroom in the Skyline loft of the Bridgeport Art Center to view stunning locally made work by: Studio 1AM, Strand Design, Rebuilding Exchange (RX), ism-Furniture, M26 Studio, Modern Industry, Lagomorph Design, Michael Dreeben Furniture & Fine Objects, Bridgette Buckley Studio, Zachary A. Design, McBride Housewrights, Blake Sloane, Sharchitecture, Crawford Customs, Pawel Smal, Zak Rose, Don Wood, Work Bench Designs, 900 Blok, Mike Slattery, Merkled Studio, Roger Grimes and others.

    Complementary beverages will be served. This event is part of the official Chicago Artists Month Opening extravaganza in Bridgeport.

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    Announcing the SMALL is Ordinary Shop

    by  • July 18, 2012

    Introducing the SMALL is Ordinary Shop.

    From October 15, 2012  through January 1, 2013 The Small Manufacturing Alliance will create and operate the SMALL is Ordinary Shop. The Shop is part of the Sic Transit Gloria Mundi: Industry of the Ordinary show taking place in the Chicago Cultural Center. The Shop will be located on the first floor, re-imagining the former Cultural Center gift shop.

    SMALL is a new organization that promotes companies and individuals who make locally manufactured products. The goal of the organization is to amplify awareness of products made in the Chicago Metropolitan area through events, pop up shops, media and trade shows.

    For the SMALL is Ordinary Shop we will feature jewelry and accessories, apparel, gift items, housewares, body products, furniture, prints and other artisan made and hand crafted items.

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    The Small Showroom on Flickr

    by  • June 28, 2012

    Please check out some selected photos from our first Showroom project in The Co-Prosperity Sphere during May 2012.

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    Small Manufacturing Alliance (SMALL)

    by  • January 25, 2012

    Friday, May 25, 2012 5pm- 9pm

    Closing of SMALL Showroom
    Co-Prosperity Sphere

    3219 S Morgan Street
    smallma.org
    Hours: 5-9pm
    Admission: Free

    Join us on the last day of the SMALL Showroom for tastings and demonstrations of some products made by some of the over 100 members of the Small Manufacturing Alliance. Few Spirits, Lagunitas Beer Company, Koval Distillery, Cocomori, Jo Snow Cones, Puffs of Doom, Arize Kombucha, Curry’s Kitchen, Bot Bakery and WannaHavaCookie.

    The Small Manufacturing Alliance (SMALL) was launched during Version Festival 12. SMALL is a new organization that promotes companies and individuals that make locally manufactured products and provide services to small businesses and creators. To showcase these products we opened The SMALL Showroom from May 4th  to May 26, 2012 at the Co-Prosperity Sphere. We think of the Showroom as a People’s Macy’s.

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    If you are interested in being a big part of SMALL please email ed(at)smallma.org. We are currently focused on identifying manufacturers and producers to develop a directory of Made in Chicago products. And we will be releasing a new SMALL
    A printed SMALL directory  is available upon request.

     

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