UPDATE #5: Sweet AV Setup 

UPDATE #4: Woodworking tools stretch goal!

We're mostly starting from scratch when it comes to woodworking tools. Please help us hit $13k to buy a drill press, small lathe, dremel, drill, router and sander to get our woodshop started!

UPDATE #3: New goal $11k- Sewing/Textile Fabrication! 

We already have two sewing machines on perma-loan from members but to really round out our sewing and textile fabrication part of the workshop, we need a Serger! And also a basic stock of threads, needles, grommet-making machines, leatherworking holepunch things. That seems do-able for an additional $1k! 

UPDATE 2: We hit our 8k goal! New goal: Screenprint Shop at 10k

We have a small screenprint setup right now - but we want to make it easy to mass produce posters, zine covers, tshirts, totes, and all the other propaganda and feminist art we dream of. And teach members how to print! If we can hit 10k, that means we can buy a print drying wire rack, build ourselves an exposure unit, and the rest of the things that make a well run printshop. 

UPDATE: We reached our goal in less than an hour!

And we're hungry for BRAINS electronics! If we reach $8K, we can fund our nifty electronics workbench, with *good* soldering irons, multimeter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer, benchtop power supply, and some useful hand tools! 

Past our current stretch goal, we'd like to fund our serger/sewing machines, a feminist library, more tools, AV Equipment, feminist art, and maybe a 3D printer! Thank you, friends and supporters! You rock! Together, we are unstoppable!

Let's build Double Union

Ya'll. We are about to have a feminist hackerspace. In San Francisco. In the Mission.

We are creating a space where creative women can work on projects in a comfortable, welcoming environment. We aspire to be intersectional feminists, women-centered, and queer and trans-inclusive. And we are almost ready to open.

There are just two big things left:

1. Fixing the carpet situation. 

Question: What is better than one layer of nasty old carpet glued to a cement floor? 

Answer: When you lay a second layer of carpet right over it! (Saves money on carpet padding!)

The space we found for Double Union is pretty much perfect (the location on Valencia a few blocks from BART! it's big and surprisingly affordable! great neighbors!) except for the carpet that's currently installed.

Luckily, we can rip that carpet out. For about $3k, a local small business will sand the glue off and refinish the concrete floor. Then, all who use the space will able to do things like screenprinting or getting fiber and threads all over, and clean up will be easy. 

2. Shelving and workbenches!

The space has sturdy work tables and chairs for 24, couches, lanterns hung high in the eaves. 

Already there are basic tools, and a reading nook for exploring our growing feminist / how-to / programming / craft / textile / zine library:

There are sewing machines, basic hand and power tools, electronics stuff (including shared arduino/raspberry pi/lilypad microcontrollers), fiber arts supplies of all kinds, and a zine making station. And the beginning of our feminist propaganda factory: screenprinting for everyone!

It's a good start! But before we are ready to open, we need to install a whole bunch of shelving and build out some workbenches.

It is super important for a hacker / maker space to have a place for everything. You know where the tools are - they are easy to find and put back. To do this, we will install 168' of wall mounted shelving. In "premium pine" and with those ikea white enameled wire things, plus building the workbenches ourselves, we budgeted a little over thousand.

And the grand total is... 

Add up carpet, structural build out, tack on some percentage for the fundraising fees and making the perks, and we came up with $5k as the minimum. 

If we can get there, we can say 'go' to the contractor, unearth and epoxy our cement floor, and build ourselves beautifully organized and awesomely tool filled feminist hackerspace. This could be as soon as mid-December!

What you get!

Obviously, an awesome new hackerspace! But perks are fun, so: 

We designed the "Feminist Sticker Pack" to connect us even more - we all know the shiver of excitement from spotting a kindred spirit across a coffeeshop or conference by their laptop sticker of secret allegiance. You get: 3x official Double Union Stickers, plus two limited edition stickers ("The Internet Feminists Are Watching You" eye design, "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MEN?!?!" circle mini-sticker)

After the event with Ashe Dryden in October, we wanted more getting together in person and laughing to the point of tears. So this holiday season (sometime in December or January) we're throwing a Feminist Holiday Comedy Roast as an exclusive event just for folks who donate to this campaign.  

And major donors get a limited edition screenprint "The Internet Feminists Are Watching You" (11" x 14"). Featuring an original illustration created just for this campaign by one of our members (her past work), the print will be signed and editioned on professional Arches 88 printmaking paper. And because good art deserves framing, it will come framed. An excellent conversation piece for hanging in your office or living room.

Let's do this.

San Francisco? We are obviously hungry for this. In September we did a free 100 person lightning talks event at Mozilla and it sold out. In October we hosted an evening of talks with the amazing Ashe Dryden and not only did it sell out of the 175 person capacity in under 72 hours, our community - yes, us! - voluntarily paid for tickets, raising $1.8k to pay the speakers to keep doing their awesome work. 

Here are some of the community reactions to our events: 

Even without much of a membership or much of a space, the collective of people that makes up Double Union has already managed to bring us together in a way that reverberates through time and our own static-y channels.  It was a privilege to attend this signal gathering. (via)

unforgettable night of talks. Assumptions challenged! Off to read a f*cking book.....I've been telling everyone I know about you and your talk the other night @DoubleUnionSF I can't wait to hear you speak again!.....I am still sooo excited from the event last night @DoubleUnionSF. I feel reinvigorated and filled with purpose.....I was inspired by everyone!.....last night was amaaazzzziiiinnnnngg!.....I wish 4 a talk every month! So inspiring......Last night’s @DoubleUnionSF event was fantastic. Superb talks.....amazing, inspiring evening.....Had a wonderful, mind-expanding time at the @DoubleUnionSF event tonight on diversity in tech.......@DoubleUnionSF event is the first industry event I've been to where I felt like I belonged. .....Most diverse tech meetup I've ever been at, and it feels like a family reunion......Tonight’s @DoubleUnionSF event was a reinvigorating shot of community. Fantastic program and exceptional crowd......thanks to all speakers at the @DoubleUnionSF talks tonight. it was a serious pleasure. laughs, growls, and determination abound ova here!.....one million percent inspired by the @DoubleUnionSF talks tonight. these people are amazing.......Seriously great time at the @DoubleUnionSF event tonight. Looking forward to an awesome, permanent space

We've already fundraised $9k from our network (mostly from women!) to get to this point. We rented an amazing space on Valencia St, become a corporation, and started the 503(c) non-profit application process.  

With all of us working together, we can finish building and open! Let's have that creative collaborative holywow feeling we felt at AdaCamp and at the talks all year long. 

What you can do to help now:

• Pick your favorite perk and donate to help us reach the goal.
  
• Tweet about why you donated to the campaign. 
  
• Tweet about why you're excited about the campaign, even if you can't donate.
• Email your friends who might be interested asking if they can donate too.  
  

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You can learn more about becoming a member on our website, blog, following us on Twitter at @doubleunionsf, or joining our general interest mailing list.