Made in DC: A QUICK NOTE

February 25, 2016

We are BEYOND thrilled to be helping support the launch of Made in DC: a citywide campaign to promote and support businesses and individuals that design, make, and assemble P R O D U C T S in the District of Columbia. It's helmed by a partnership between DC's Department of Small and Local Business Development and Think Local First, a DC-based, non-profit advocacy group whose mission is to help locally-owned businesses thrive.

Lemme break the fourth wall for a sec – I'm Morgan, and I'm founder + director of A Creative DC. I'm so proud to announce that I'll be serving as Made in DC Program Director for Think Local First + DSLBD: they're incredible organizations who are both all about THIS CITY, and who are focused on inclusion and equity. I'm a third-generation DC small business owner and perhaps the largest reason A Creative DC came about is because I wasn't able to find the city I knew, loved, and wanted to discover/rediscover over and over again presented on social media in a way that I truly felt connected with. Since growing the A Creative DC team we've been able to extend that digital connectedness both IRL and onto this website; the DC maker community, from where I'm standing, is in need of as much acknowledgment, championing, and promotion as the city's creative scene at large – and I am thrilled to be able to work on just that as we spend the next few months getting the Made in DC Program off the ground.

So what does this mean for A Creative DC? Well, mostly nothing (other than we're learning A TON) – we're not merging with Made in DC, and it's business as usual for our team over here. For the next few months at least, though, you WILL notice mention of @ThisisMadeinDC whenever we organically post imagery from the #aCreativeDC feed that's a fit, and we definitely want to keep the makers + doers in our audience posted about ways the program can support them – and, perhaps more importantly, ways in which our audience can support the program, and the makers + doers who are part of it. Because when small business thrives, we all do. We're in it together to DO/MAKE/NOTICE, LIVE/GATHER/CREATE, SEE and BE LOCAL – and we can't thank you enough for supporting this new partnership.

Your life looks good here (and it's #MadeinDC!): #aCreativeDC

White House Ornament 2015

December 22, 2015

We were honored to be part of the team behind the social media imagery for this year's White House Christmas Ornament! Learn more about the ornament (honoring President Calvin Coolidge) at the White House Historical Association website, and snag yours (BECAUSE HISTORY) here. And because the best part of any project is the OUTTAKES, please see: above and below.

THIS WEEK/NEXT WEEK

June 05, 2015

The A Creative DC Newsletter mailed out this week! Featuring y-o-u-r TRANSPORTATION imagery from the #aCreativeDC feed, it also announced the theme for next month's newsletter: WELLNESS. It's a topic we'll be asking all of our INTERVIEW subjects about over the course of this month, and one we'll have our eyes peeled for in the #aCreativeDC feed.

We'll feature our fave WELLNESS images in July's Newsletter, so tag your yoga poses + your zen moments; your healthful foods and your schnikes all throughout the month of June. Above, we peeped a few images from this photo set by Malik Cherry (@MogulMalik) ft. Meng Wang (@m3ngyy) in the #aCreativeDC feed last month and had to share. "Malik Cherry, 22 year old photographer & cinematographer, born & based in Washington, D.C.. Photography for me is the closest I'll ever get to time travel. It might sound a little funny, but I enjoy the emotional effect pictures & videos can have on people several years down the line."

We CAN'T EVEN with the sheer number of events going on this weekend in the District. Good luck navigating your options. Weekend-spanning events include the Our City Festival and the kick-off of the (almost month-long) Source Festival; otherwise our dream Saturday involves: yoga at the Botanical Gardens (!!!!), a 3PM artist talk with Dawne Langford at Transformer and then wandering into the very caszh BLACK WHOLE at Black Whiskey, getting down with ~cOoL vIbeS~ at The Cool DC's DIY vintage pop-up, and then late afternoon-ing it at Hole In The Sky for STREET MEAT / heading to Mount Rainier for the Fantastic Planet Exhibition. What is a weekend?

SUNDAY? NEXT WEEK? Local crafter Katie Stack of Stitch & Rivet is at the Luce Center at American Art, the D.C. Jazz Festival starts Wednesday, and the DC Punk Archives is having its fifth BASEMENT SHOW (all ages! free!) on Thursday. And now we're mic-dropping it, re: events and sending you over to the professionals: get down with BYT and Going Out Guide and East City Art and OMG, it's all easy-listening from here on out:

LOCAL READS: Applause for Randi Gloss of GLOSSRAGS for the Fast Company feature, and to D.C. designer + hand-letterer Carolyn Sewell on her interview at HOW Design. Lots of solid career advice there, regardless of your field. Tilling Phase: Reviewed, and LAST ONE: BEER.

OF GENERAL INTEREST: How Stussy Became a $50 Million Streetwear Brand Without Selling Out, and senior citizen artists are the focus in this piece at W Magazine.

Enjoy the weekend – and tag it! #aCreativeDC.