2016: Year in Review

2016…what’s that one saying? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? LOL! I have a feeling that 2016 is going to be a year that will stand out in many people’s minds for years to come.

For us, 2016 was spent getting all of our organizational ducks in a row, and thanks to PATTERN’s super badass Board and the dedication of one very brave graduate assistant, we’ve been able to do just that. Probably the most important development of 2016 was receiving our 501c3 public charity status for which we applied at the end of 2015. We waited a long time to move forward with the application, wanting to make sure that we had our mission and goals clearly defined before taking such a big step, so deciding to file, and then getting the application approved on our first try was a really big deal. Having the 501c3 designation will allow us to apply for a much wider variety of grants, as well as open the door to new donor interactions.

But there were lots of other victories and exciting happenings worth talking about, so in no particular order, in 2016 PATTERN…

  • Received a capacity building grant from the Lilly Endowment
  • Participated in SOFA Chicago, exposing PATTERN magazine to hundreds of fresh eyeballs
  • Celebrated 5 years of PATTERN magazine and 2.5 million dollars of impact that the magazine has had over it’s lifespan
  • Hosted 6 educational meetups connecting over 450 members and industry supporters with one another, paying projects, answers to questions, and industry resources
  • Won a National Silver ADDY for Magazine Design of our vol. 8, The Makers Issue
  • Continued to generate awareness through local & national press for our community and brands
  • Hosted our first annual Street Expo attracting 19 Indy-based street wear brands, and over 200 shoppers
  • Partnered with CICF and the Indianapolis Foundation on the InLightIn Festival, overseeing the creation of 16 custom garments by 8 local fashion designers, and helping to raise awareness of the local independent fashion scene
  • Continued to draw attention to Indy’s fashion community outside of Indianapolis, by hosting our first non-Indy PATTERN magazine launch in Chicago. 
  • Partnered with the local chapter of AIGA, and Indy Film Festival to host the screening of Maker, A documentary on the maker movement.
  • Hosted and provided invaluable hands-on internship experiences to 15 college students and recent graduates interested in working within the fashion industry
  • Sold out both of our Magazine Launch Party events with a combined attendance of over 500 people
  • Partnered with Garfield Park Arts Center to host founding creative director of Def Jam Records, Cey Adams, to discuss Hip Hop, and Street Art
  • Promoted over 80 events, pop-ups, sales, and more for our members
  • Showcased and promoted the work of over 100 local creatives through our website, magazine, social media channels and events

So what are we looking forward to achieving in 2017? Oh man! Now that we’re a lean, mean, 501c3 fighting machine, we’ve got some big goals!

First, we’ll be working on securing a bigger location for the PATTERN workshop. One that will allow us more flexibility of use, and more opportunities to host meetups, music events, pop-ups and photoshoots! We’re incredibly grateful to our Trailside host Riley Area Development Corporation for providing us space these last two and half years, but at this time we’ve outgrown the space and are ready to move on. The Mass Ave space is now closed (there will be a hair salon going in), and we will be temporarily based out of the Speakeasy co-working space until we finalize our location plans in the early spring.

Our next big goal for 2017 is to complete the work we started in 2016 along with partner EmployIndy on launching Indy’s first Industrial Sewing Certificate program. If you’re interested in this initiative either as a business that requires skilled workers with sewing skills or as someone who is interested in learning this trade, please complete this short survey and we’ll keep you in the loop and let you know of any upcoming informational meetings.

Finally, 2017 will see us do our very first official fundraising event. Can’t divulge any details yet, but if you’re familiar with our launch parties – think that…on steroids! Can’t wait!

There are lot of other things on the docket as well, but the three above are going to be the “big projects” of 2017.

We’re excited to continue fashioning a community of creatives and impacting our city in unique and fun ways, helping grow culture as well as create jobs within the fashion industry. Needless to say, we cannot do this without your help!

If you have the means and the inclination, we sure would appreciate your financial support! You can DONATE HERE. Also, we’re looking for in-kind donations of furniture, office supplies, used Macs and photography equipment. Anything you donate goes directly towards helping us execute our mission.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has participated in PATTERN in the last 12 months – there are hundreds of you and without your enthusiasm, support, tenaciousness and entrepreneurial spirit, we’d be nowhere.

Happy Holidays to everyone! See you next year!

0 replies on “2016: Year in Review”