DesignShed

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

With celebrations in every corner of this rainbow-filled state — we'll see you at
JUNE 11! — we're honoring the rainbow diva himself!

Meet Gilbert Baker: flag maker, activist, drag queen. Thank you for putting before prejudice. 💜❤🧡💛💚💙💗🤎🤍🖤
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"Gilbert Baker was a soldier from Kansas, stationed in San Francisco at the start of the gay liberation movement. When he was honorably discharged from the military, he decided to teach himself to sew.
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In the mid-1970s, gay activists in the Castro District of San Francisco were trying to come up with a symbol for their movement. Baker didn't like two symbols they were using: The Greek letter lambda seemed too obscure, and the pink triangle that the N***s had forced gay prisoners in their concentration camps to wear was too dark.
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Harvey Milk, the first openly gay San Francisco supervisor, urged Baker to come up with a symbol of hope, according to Baker's online bio. The first flags had eight color stripes, but Baker removed pink and turquoise because those fabrics were more expensive. The six simple panels of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple would become a universal beacon of pride for gay and transgender communities.
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In 1979, Baker went to work at Paramount Flag Co. in San Francisco and created 'flamboyant window displays,' according to his online biography. Dianne Feinstein, now a U.S. senator, saw them and commissioned him to design flags for her first inaugural as mayor. Baker liked to joke that he was the 'gay Betsy Ross.’
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He moved to New York in 1994 and created a mile-long rainbow flag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, widely viewed as the start of the gay liberation movement. In 2003, for the 25th anniversary of the symbol, he built his largest flag yet — stretching across Key West from the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Strait. Five years later, he returned to San Francisco to re-create the 1970s banners for the movie ‘Milk.’” .
- Adapted from Baker’s obituary in the LA Times, written by Joe Mozin

TODAY! Two back to back events that swirl into one! Up your innovation game with some innovation games! Then put those new skills to work in an all-hands-on-deck workshop to rethink one of Montclair's touchiest subjects: PARKING!

Join Emergent Futures Lab co-founders for two extraordinary events, starting today at 4p!

We can't express how excited we are to see you. Exclamation points don't do this moment justice!!!!!!!!

Come out and see what moves you from this year's 40 offerings - from panels, kids events, workshops and demos to parties, installations, films and tours, there is truly something for everyone, even if it's outside your comfort zone.

Tickets are already going fast so don't delay. Because the future we want won't design itself. See you there!

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POST DEDICATION
It takes so many talented and dedicated people who believe in our mission without question, and who give of their time, dollars and talent so generously.

We dedicate this post to all of you who have stepped up to push your curiosities in places that move you, renew your joy, empower you and change you. You are our supporters, volunteers, incubators and miracle workers. You are what makes MDW what it is today, and that's not an exaggeration.

Since 2018, when a small group of people banded together to produce our first edition of MDW, we went in without knowing how or what would make a meaningful difference in our collective lives, but we knew we had to try. They are and will always be our MDW pioneers:
Anne Burt
Matthew Graham
Joe Shand
Jennifer Rittner
Carol Moskot
Iain Kerr
Daren Rogers
Andrea Panico
Marisela Santiago
Marissa Rothkopf Bates
Julie Harris
Dan Zimerman
Patrick Mulligan
Sarah Barrett
Megan Downing
Jose Alcala
Joanna Seltzer
Tracey Diamond
Nina Cooke John
Barbara O'Dair
Chris Jaworski

A very warm thank you to all of you for pioneering this endeavor and bringing it to life. You are the spark that made this happen.
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