Join Swoon in transforming a building into a work of art, a center for creativity, and a place for new beginnings.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Braddock Tiles: A year later
over 9 years ago
– Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 02:22:24 PM
Hi friends!
A year ago, you backed Braddock Tiles on Kickstarter. Over 800 people came together to fund our dream of building a ceramics workshop in North Braddock, Pennsylvania that would be an economic anchor for the community and hire & train local young adults to hand-make beautiful ceramic tiles.
The past year has been exciting and challenging.
Here’s the fun part:
The Kickstarter campaign was the first time we released Braddock Tiles products -- and Braddock Tiles' ceramicists spent the next few months cranking out nearly 1,000 hand-made tiles for backers.
Since then, ceramicists KT Tierney, Katie Johnson, and I have been working on new designs for silkscreened artists' tiles and architectural tiles that will be the base for Braddock Tiles to grow as a social business. KT and Katie have also been working on the systems and processes of hand production. Each of the tiles we have been developing has it’s own unique process, and requires it’s own set of tools to be devised, bought, invented, and re-invented. The past year has seen a lot of sweat and ingenuity going into building up the means of production to create pieces that will be tiny works of art that are also practical for a home.
On the community side of things KT and Katie have been working with local kids and young adults. This summer, they took on a team of local teens from the Braddock Youth Project, who made tiles and designed a mural for a local park.
We have also hired 3 youth apprentices from the Braddock Youth Project, and we're working to professionalize and expand this apprenticeship program. KT and Katie are learning how to make ceramics into a teaching tool, and here’s what we’ve learned in the process — the jobs we provide through the Braddock Tiles company are useful not just for the hard skills of slab rolling, silk screening, glazing and firing that apprentices learn, but also the soft skills of engaging in their first work environment, and getting recommendations that can carry them through to the next stop on their career paths.
We're really proud of this work, and we're eternally grateful to you for making it possible!
Tijuana Ware, one of three current youth apprentices, learning to cut slabs for tile making.
Here's the challenging bit:
Immediately after the Kickstarter campaign, we hit an unexpected brick wall in our goal to renovate the church basement that we hoped would be Braddock Tiles' new home. We've been working all year to get permits and a zoning change that would let Braddock Tiles operate in the church. We have our architect’s plans ready, and an application in for a zoning ordinance to be changed.
But a year later, we have still not broken ground on the new studio in the church -- and we're not sure when we will. While we've made some progress, it's been agonizingly slow and at this moment we don't have a clear path forward.
I’ve been working on the church a little bit at a time for almost 10 years now, and by now I have learned that it’s a big fish to fry, and that it’s slow work. In the long run, we will be looking to federal funding or other large partnerships to make real progress on such a large structure.
On the one hand I feel a bit disappointed to have not gotten further on this aspect of our original goal by this point. On the other hand, I know we’ve have made the most of the slow down. Truth be told, on it’s own, the goal of incubating a startup business that will make a beautiful product while training youth in it’s community is no small goal! So, we’re taking this one a chunk at a time.
This week we will be releasing 3 new silkscreened tiles, as well as a new line of architectural tiles, so check them out on our brand new website:
And again, thank you for believing in us, and for jumping in on the first phase of the endeavor. We're learning and growing, and we couldn't have even started this work without you.
Onward!
Callie, and the Braddock Tiles team
Braddock Tiles update & Pittsburgh events - this weekend!
almost 10 years ago
– Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 11:54:20 AM
Last fall you backed Braddock Tiles on Kickstarter. In the months since, we've made some great progress and hit a few roadblocks. Permitting for construction has taken longer than we thought, so we've extended the timeline for opening the Braddock Tiles ceramics workshop in the church basement.
In the meantime we're focused on developing products and building capacity. The Kickstarter campaign opened lots of doors in the greater Pittsburgh community, and we remain eternally grateful for the love and support you showed!
We are having two fun events in and around Braddock this weekend -- if you're nearby, please come out!
We'll keep you updated in the months ahead make progress on the ground. Thank you again for backing Braddock Tiles -- great things are ahead.
All the best,
Callie, KT, Katie, Ryan & the whole Braddock Tiles team
P.S.: If you have not received your Kickstarter reward by now, something went wrong. Either you never completed the Backerkit survey
, or your package was lost / damaged by the post office, or it somehow fell through the cracks in Backerkit. Either way, write us at [email protected] and we'll figure it out.
Happy new year!
about 10 years ago
– Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 08:25:39 AM
Hi everyone!
Hope your year is starting out beautifully. Just a quick update on Braddock Tiles reward fulfillment.
As of today, every single print, scarf, and patch is out the door. The last batches of tiles are coming out of the kiln this week, and we will be shipping tiles out as fast as we can throughout January. We expect to have all the tiles delivered by early February at the latest.
About 5% of you never answered the survey that allows us to ship your reward. If you're one of those few, don't miss out! You can access the survey any time at http://braddock-tiles.backerkit.com/
Thank you for your patience!
-- Callie, KT, Ryan, Bryan & the whole Braddock Tiles team
Braddock Tiles: Shipping & surveys
over 10 years ago
– Mon, Dec 14, 2015 at 07:48:20 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Still glowing!
over 10 years ago
– Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 10:05:03 PM
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
We took the weekend off to rest and recuperate and let sink in what had just happened.
We are so overwhelmed with gratitude by your show of support! We knew we needed $100,000 to really make a dent in North Braddock -- but we were afraid to ask for that much, because asking is scary, and Kickstarter campaigns are always such a big risk.
We couldn’t have been more surprised and elated when, in the last 4 hours of the last day, we received a huge swell of pledges that got us past our stretch goal. It was incredible!
Now the real work begins.
We have been working slowly and steadily on the church in North Braddock since 2008. Fundraising a little bit at a time, we have been able to make many small repairs, and to save the church from demolition.
Now, with the incredible support we just received from each of you, we are on our way to true progress.
These next few months will see us filling orders for pledges, developing more tile series, and working to get the permitting, code, and construction processes finished so we can open the doors to the Braddock Tiles tile workshop in North Braddock, PA. The trajectory that you guys have set us on is truly huge, for all of us.
Here's some practical details about your rewards:
1. Kickstarter should already have charged your pledge. If the credit card you have on file is expired or incorrect, they'll follow up with you to make a correction.
2. Later this week, you'll get a survey from our partners at Backerkit to confirm your mailing address and reward selection. You MUST complete the survey before we can ship your reward. It should take no more than 3 minutes.
3. We'll start shipping prints, patches & scarves in late November (but only if you complete the Backerkit survey).
4. Our team of ceramicists are still making tile rewards in the Braddock Carnegie Library's ceramics studio. We'll start shipping tiles in mid-December (again -- only after you complete that survey)!
5. We'll send you updates from North Braddock as we make progress!
That's it! Any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch.
With thanks --
-- Callie, KT, Ryan, Bryan & the whole Braddock Tiles team
