Factory Obscura: The Collaboration Continues
The Collaboration Continues
The pandemic is big, but our mission is bigger.
Three years ago, this collective was born out of a pretty audacious mission. Far beyond creating wonder and magic, we had something to prove...that we could build a world where artists really could enjoy thriving-wage jobs, with benefits, and be paid to do what they were born to do: create beauty, and whimsy, and other awesomeness.
We’ve been working to build that world ever since, and not even a global pandemic can stop us.
So much collaboration has been going on behind the scenes to keep that world alive, and we wanted to share with you just a few examples:
As soon as the facts of this monster pandemic became clear, we took action. Before orders went out from the mayor or the governor or anyone else, we voluntarily closed our facility to ensure the safety of our staff and our guests.
Because of this closure, our full-time artists and staff are currently on temporary furlough. They are all eligible for unemployment benefits, and we are assisting them in every way possible as they navigate that process.
We have received gracious assistance from our awesome landlord in the form of deferred monthly rent payments on our workspace for the duration of the shutdown. In the meantime we are applying for all assistance that we qualify for – from sources like the SBA, CARES Act, and the OKC Business Continuity Program – to help us restore payroll and rent payments, and to keep us creating.
We are holding regular, voluntary virtual meetings with our artist team to continue to feed the collaborative spirit during the time we’re apart.
We’re hosting super-awesome livestream events on our Facebook page every Friday and Saturday, with virtual tip jars so you can support local artists who are missing out on critical gig income during this time.
Finally, we have packed our online store with one-of-a-kind items handmade by our artists, and we’re adding more items regularly. The majority of the proceeds of these sales go straight to the artists to help support them during this time.
While we wait out the storm, we want to say a HUGE THANK YOU for all the ways you continue to support our collective. If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll check out our Factory Obscura at Home page, packed with original coloring sheets and activities provided by our artists.