Thoughts on our first Mechanism launch party, a reissue of our State of Urban Manufacturing report, exploring circularity hub and makerspace possibilities in Ohio, a gathering of workforce experts in Tampa, plus more below!

Mechanism: Bridging the Old with the New

It’s official: Mechanism is now live.

Our launch event in Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 29 marked an end to 10 successful years as the Urban Manufacturing Alliance, and the start of a new nonprofit that will help place communities at the center of local production ecosystems.

But even with the change, Mechanism relies on a foundation built by UMA. Every step of the way this year, as we continue to host launch parties in cities across the U.S., we’ll be reflecting on how the old blends with the new.

For example, it’s no coincidence that Cincinnati was the host city for our first launch party. The Queen City was one of the urban areas featured in UMA’s State of Urban Manufacturing (SUM), a first-of-its-kind research series from 2017-2019 on local making/manufacturing ecosystems in cities. This played a fundamental role in setting up our years-long collaboration with Cincinnati leaders in this space.

In fact, SUM was so influential in helping us and our partners understand - in our researchers’ words - “emerging smaller-scale producers and the role they play in their local economies” that we decided to reissue the report with a new foreword from our long-time collaborator Andy Stoll, Executive Director of ESHIP Alliance.

Find the newly designed report, and Andy’s reflection on why its findings six years ago still endure, here at our website.

We’ll be taking a closer look at all the work bridging our past with our future in the coming months, including in person at our launch events. Next stop: Oklahoma City this Wednesday, Oct. 22!

Mechanism Kick-off Tour Continues

We hope to see you at one of our upcoming Mechanism launch events! Registration and attendance are free.

Come meet with local leaders in small-scale making and manufacturing to brainstorm ways we can create values-driven production ecosystems that benefit communities. Plus, there’ll be delicious food and drinks!

Click on the links below to register for our upcoming events in:

• Oklahoma City
• Asheville
• Seattle
• New York City

Envisioning a Circularity Hub and Makerspace in Ohio

In Ohio, we did more than just celebrate Mechanism. We gathered with production ecosystem leaders in both Cincinnati and Dayton to envision new opportunities for circular supply chains and industrial space for makers.

In the hours before our launch party on Sept. 29, members of Cincinnati Makers Collaborative, Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub, and Mechanism met at the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub to create a vision for a textile and soft goods circularity hub. The workshop focused on increasing connections among the participating organizations and developing an understanding of the role the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub currently plays in the region, in terms of supply chains, supporting R&D, and being a makerspace.

After a tour and sharing individual motivations for helping bring a circularity hub to life, representatives from each organization worked in teams to create a vision of the hub by describing its activities and the flows of people and materials that would interact with it.

The next day, members of Westside Makerspace , Co-op Dayton and Mechanism explored ways to utilize Westside Makerspace’s new building. Westside is scaling up their space and community engagement efforts, and will soon be moving into a 16,000-square-foot building originally built in the 1950s as a Kroger grocery store. This is Westside's third and largest expansion to date.

After a walk through of the building, our teams completed a series of quick exercises. They started by sketching out various ways to divide the space, and mapped out locations for technology, storage, and work stations. Then, they looked at the flows of people and supplies throughout the space. In the final step, teams identified local organizations and leaders that Westside could engage in their expansion.

These are the types of future-forward planning events we want to do with communities everywhere. One of our goals is to form partnerships to make this happen on a regular basis, blending national with local expertise to blueprint production ecosystems that elevate people, place, and entrepreneurs.

Are you interested in hosting guided brainstorming sessions like these where you live, with support from local and national peers? Please reach out to Mechanism’s Co-Executive Director Katy Stanton to get a conversation going: katy@mechanism.community

Industry & Inclusion South Brings Workforce Leaders, Educators, and Changemakers to Tampa

Earlier this month, Mechanism and The Century Foundation hosted the Industry & Inclusion South Fall Gathering in Tampa at Hillsborough Community College. This was the second in-person meeting for this group, which includes workforce leaders, educators, and changemakers from across the American South.

The event aimed to deepen the work of the cohort, offering time for reflection, peer learning, and a renewed commitment to tackling barriers in workforce development, especially around fairness, access, and opportunity.

The gathering featured breakout sessions, coaching, and peer-led discussions that sparked honest conversations about the realities of implementing programs in a rapidly changing political and economic environment. Participants explored practical strategies, from overcoming transportation and enrollment barriers to building partnerships with K-12 schools and engaging parents more meaningfully.

A recurring theme was the tension between doing equity-focused work and navigating an unpredictable political climate that increasingly discourages open discussions of diversity. One participant shared, “We have to continue this necessary work, but we have to shift our language and approach. The terminology may sound different, but we are still moving toward our goals.” Another participant shared how their student surveys helped unlock internal funding, proving that data, especially when based on student voice, can be a powerful tool for change.

Across sessions, participants emphasized the need to “push through the pause,” keep momentum even when external conditions change, and design systems that adapt without losing sight of the core mission: expanding opportunity for underserved students.

As the I&I South cohort nears its conclusion, the sense of possibility remains strong. Participants left the gathering motivated to carry this work forward not just within their own institutions, but through a broader, sustained community of practice. There is real momentum to build on the foundation laid in Tampa.

As one attendee put it: “This is more than a program, it’s a calling. We’re not just building pathways, we’re building belief.”

Learn more about our I&I South program here.

Partner News: Sew Valley Launches Circular Textile Production Workshops

Sew Valley is hosting a series of workshops in Cincinnati from Nov. 6 - Nov. 8 that will teach participants the ins and outs of weaving, mending, and upcycling.

“Rewoven” will cover sustainable fashion and circular solutions; turning waste into function; and how to repair, repurpose, and extend the life of garments, promoting a culture of mindful consumption and waste reduction.

Participating organizations include ANYBAG Project NYC; Goodwill Industries; Standard Textile; University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning; and others.

Find more information at Sew Valley’s website here.