Local Currency Comes to Milwaukee?

In order to encourage people to buy local, residents in Milwaukee’s East Side and Riverwest neighborhoods are considering giving up U.S. currency and switching to a local equivalent. Madison cooperatives use a local unit called the Hour, which is kind of a barter system where 1 Hour ~ $10. It is essentially a goods and services exchange. Seems like a fun idea and it would teach a thing or two to those Fat Cats in Washington. If anyone’s interested in starting a micro-local currency with me, 1 Dan ~ $8.50 ~ 3 Danish Kroners.

Fasten Collective

Fasten is a boutique, art gallery, workshop studio, and launch pad dedicated to the thriving art and fashion community of Milwaukee. The store has been established in Milwaukee’s unique Bay View neighborhood since 2005.

In the store, you will find fashion-forward clothing, accessories, and jewelry hand-made by over 50 local designers. A vast range of styles are available for women, men, and kids too. A unique selection of sewing supplies and vintage fabrics are for sale as well as local music and independent zines. The art on the walls changes monthly to feature local talent.

Local designers and DIY “walking art” at Fasten Collective.

Echo Base Collective

We like the city – it’s a great place to ride your bike around. Unfortunately I do not have a bike, as it was stolen days after we moved into Walker’s Point. It was green with a speedometer. Sometimes I think I see my bike.

Enter Echo Base Collective, a Walker’s Point-based bike collective which was recently shut down by the city for various violations. It’s a nice idea, but the whole “neighbors complaining” thing could have been dealt with via a little guerrilla marketing and community PR – even just handing out fliers door-to-door. What is a Bike Collective? Well, generally a non-profit bike shop. Read more at bikecollectives.org!

Milwaukee Zine Fest

Aside from the obvious, what do lesbian riotgrrrls, sci-fi fanbois, and street preachers have in common? If you guessed “underground distribution of self-published work of minority interest with a circulation of 5,000 or less”, you’re right. The zine (pronounced “zeen”) apparently dates back at least to Thomas Paine, and probably as far back as the printing press. If you had something to say and a cheap way to mass-produce it, zines were the way to go. Arguably blogs have replaced zines today (isn’t a blog just a 21st century e-zine?), but there’s nothing like getting a photocopied 4-page pamphlet espousing views so far outside the mainstream they facilitate this type of communication in the first place.

The Midwest Zine Collective is hosting the first ever Milwaukee Zine Fest from July 18-20 at the UWM Library. Looks like bands, seminars, workshops and all the smudged paper rants you could hope for. To learn more about zines try the Zine History pages, with lots of actual scans of olde-tyme zines.

Still Waters Collective

[UPDATE!] My wife Harmonie was the one that pointed this group out to me. I did not discover it on my own.

Still Waters Collective is a resource network for language artists and enthusiasts. More importantly, SWC has crafted a series of programs and community initiatives that use creative writing and spoken word as tools for building leadership and shaping self-esteem.

Co-sponsoring Young @ Art Thursday, July 31 5-8 p.m. at the Milwaukee Art Museum – which is a 2-dimensional art contest for High School Students in the Milwaukee area. Yeah, they have a myspace.