Closely Crafted, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and revitalizing America craft, has revealed Closely Connected, an open platform, free to use and designed to connect the makers, businesses and specialized skilled workers of New York’s Garment District.
Launching Tuesday, the platform will help businesses find the trusted partners they need while bringing new work and opportunity to the artisans and craftspeople who sustain the district’s manufacturing community.
Closely Connected addresses a longstanding challenging facing the Garment District: specialized skills can be hard to find through traditional hiring platforms, while jobs, referrals and resources often circulate through word of mouth. The platform will bring these connections into one shared space, with searchable directories filtered by skill and availability, job postings, referrals, resources, and training and apprenticeship opportunities through Closely Crafted and multiple established industry partners.
Designed for mobile access, it will support communication and alerts via test, email and WhatsApp in English, Spanish and Chinese.
“Preserving American craft takes more than protecting the skills themselves. It requires the relationships, steady work and opportunities that allow those skills to be practiced, shared and based on,” said Closely Crafted founder Gigi Burris. “Through our workforce development efforts, we’ve seen firsthand the value of connecting a business with the right craftsperson. Closely Connected expands that work beyond individual introductions, creating a shared resource for the broader Garment District community.”
Gigi Burris
Lexie Moreland/WWD
A founding group of businesses, artisans and craftspeople will have first access to the platform, helping shape its functionality through direct feedback. In addition, a team of working makers will provide in-person events and one-on-one support across the district, helping members connect and access opportunities that could be missed.
This program is provided through the GDA Business Development Collaborative, bringing Closely Crafted and the Garment District’s business community together to help sustain the district’s makers, workrooms and specialized skills. Businesses, artisans, craftspeople and community partners can visit closelyconnected.org to sign up for updates.
The organization is hosting a cocktail party Tuesday evening with such expected guests as Hillary Taymour, Dao-Yi Chow, Batsheva, Jonathan Cohen, Daniella Kallmeyer, Aisling Camps, Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen and Alejandra Alonso Rojas.
