She Makes Chicago

Our mission is to cultivate a community that gives womxn makers and entrepreneurs of Chicago a space to support and empower one another. In offering curated programming and digital networking opportunities, we provide a social and digital platform to form connections and entrepreneurial discourse between our members. She Makes Chicago is committed... to social activation within our community, focusing on investing in Chicago communities through targeted partnerships and outreach. We believe in fostering a flexible, inclusive and supportive space. This outlook is achieved by organizing within our community in the following ways: She Makes Chicago unofficially began in the summer of 2019, on sketchbooks and notepads, appearing as fervently written notes during meetups at street fests and bars. Together, we had ideas of gathering women in our community through creative, leisurely activities. It was through this banter and exchange of ideas that we discovered the need for purpose, and conversation quickly turned to brainstorming how to connect women in our city through shared, meaningful experiences. What was initially thought to be a book club, or perhaps a gardening group, and at one point even a collaborative artists cookbook receeded in priority while ideas of social activation, business mentorship, and supportive community became the forefront of our mission. What it has become - a social and digital platform built to unite women makers and entrepreneurs, promote entrepreneurial and educational discourse, and engage in Chicago communities through acts of service - has widened our perspective on how we can impact and redesign the landscape within our city to better serve women in creative industries and small business ownership. We had no idea when we met in the spring of 2016 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that we would soon become great collaborators and over time, better friends. As working artists and designers, we have had the unique experience for our businesses and talents to intersect and ...Read More