The DIY-media-lab and creative resource center PLACE LB has its eyes set on creating a co-op, prioritizing community investment and affordability.
When PLACE Long Beach co-founders Ashley Aguirre and Sarah Bennett received a 30-day vacate notice for their downtown Long Beach storefront, they questioned, briefly, if it was a sign to hang up their ink-stained aprons and take a break.
Long Beach and the surrounding community responded with a resounding opposition to that notion by donating over $5,000 in 24 hours, guaranteeing the affordable print-studio-workshop-hub-media-lab (and much more) will not be forced to shut its doors.
“We have a group chat right now and we keep talking about how we’ve been crying all day, to see that happen,” Aguirre told the Signal Tribune on Monday. “Seeing what people are writing about us has given us a new resolve that we’re going in the right direction, there’s a community benefit with what we’re doing.”
PLACE instead will be moving 10 blocks north into the Wrigley neighborhood, and perhaps by a stroke of kismet, or maybe good karma, they are entering a larger location with more sinks, cheaper rent and an artsy next door neighbor: the Xela Institute of Art.
“We always want to have the core value of ‘If you want to create something and don’t have the means, you don’t get turned away.’”
Ashley Aguirre, co-founder of PLACE LB
They expect to be moved in by March and have doubled their donation goal to help the shop pay back the $3,000 they owe for their printer’s service contract through April.
The two women created PLACE LB in 2022 with one core value: to provide a community space with creative resources where no one is turned away.
Bennett, with a journalism and zine-making background, had been hosting creative Sunday gatherings with friends and wanted to share her artistic piety; Aguirre, whose passion lay more with audio and visual media, wanted to expand her physical media interests.
Bennett dug up an eight-year-old manifesto for hosting a community space, which became the pillar for their values, and still hangs in the shop. Shortly after, they were joined by Beaux Mingus, a filmmaker and arts educator who runs Long Beach Community Arts Media which is housed in PLACE.
Mingus leads the arts education programming alongside Cindy Macias, who is responsible for the Second Sundays programming.
“We’ve been sustained by teaching each other and maintaining the space and the ethos that art and arts education should remain accessible to people,” Aguirre said. “We’ve transformed into a gathering space and a community space with access to resources.”
PLACE LB is now exploring ways to deepen their community roots and allow for a greater sense of ownership and pride by turning their mission into a co-op, or cooperative. The business model functions by having the people who use the products and services also run and operate the company.
The trio hosted their first meeting with longtime supporters on Jan. 29 to discuss what this may look like and what the community would be able to invest. Before the meeting, Aguirre told the Signal Tribune that they want people to be able to invest through time running the shop, using their skills to run a workshop or through a financial investment.
“When we’re talking about models and the core of what’s important to us, it’s about meeting people where they’re at,” Aguirre said. “We always want to have the core value of ‘If you want to create something and don’t have the means, you don’t get turned away.’”
Running the shop has been a continued display of faith and flexibility. They fronted the money to rent a storefront and purchase equipment, and were thanked through donations, high praises for their workshops and an outpouring of advice and inspiration.
Thanks to donations, the shop has been able to experiment with a sliding scale for the costs of printing, allowing anyone to afford their services.
Part of the transformation has also been through the programming that PLACE offers, which changes based on the suggestions and needs of the community. The print shop has hosted workshops about shooting film on Super 8 cameras, sewing, zine-making and more as well as synthesizer labs, artist talks and panels, 16mm film screenings and Second Sunday pop-ups.
“We’re proud of building something alongside what the community needs and what they’re asking for,” Aguirre said. “It’s been an affirmation that that’s how you build community.”
They’ve also turned to various organizations around the country for inspiration, from the Soapbox in Philadelphia and Rock Paper Scissors Collective in Oakland to Oregon’s Independent Publishing Resource Center and Wasted Ink Distro in Arizona; all groups that have given their community the chance to document their history and tell their stories.
A book diving into the since-closed The Detroit Printing Co-op was also a source of inspiration, Aguirre said.
Aguirre mentioned her “pie in the sky” dream would be to occupy a city-owned space for local creatives who can have 24-hour access. She said during zine fests, the group is often in the store well into the morning, and would like to offer others “a safe place to work at, so you don’t have to go to a bar and have a drink to have that community with other artists.”
As of now, PLACE will continue hosting the workshops slated for February in its current location at 930 Pacific Ave. and is asking for donations to pay off printing equipment services on GoFundMe.
The shop is planning on throwing “one last, big loud community party” through a synthesizer lab slated for late February.
Follow @place.lb on Instagram for updates.
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