Carla Bruni & Ally Brisbin - Transcript
Transcript of Ally Brisbin and Carla Bruni
Interviewees: Ally Brisbin and Carla Bruni
Interviewer: Dorothy Nygren
Date: November 19, 2017
Place: Community Glue Workshop, 138 Thorndale Ave., Chicago, IL.
Transcriber: Dorothy Nygren
Time: 19’14”
Copyright © 2018 Edgewater Historical Society
DN: Today is November 19, 2017. This is Dorothy Nygren of the Edgewater Historical Society and we’re at Community Glue Workshop at 1138 W Thorndale interviewing our 2018 Living Treasures Ally Brisbin and Carla Bruni. First of all, I’d like to congratulate you both on your remarkable work in the community. It’s people like you who really make the community come together and thrive. So we’re very grateful for all you do. I’d like to ask both of you when and under what circumstances did you come to Edgewater to live or to work.
CB: Go ahead. I have to remember.
(0:58)
AB: I moved to Edgewater when I moved to Chicago in 2008 from upstate New York, which is where I grew up. I basically landed here because I had a few friends who moved to Chicago and one of them was letting me stay with him while I found an apartment. He happened to live in Edgewater. I happened to find an apartment in Edgewater and I never left and I probably won’t ever leave. [chuckles]
CB: I went to Loyola [University] for undergrad [undergraduate school]. So I was in Rogers Park. And then I think it was probably in 2000 or 2001 I moved to Edgewater. With the exception of about a year or a year and a half in there, I’ve lived here ever since too. I’m involved in a lot of stuff locally and my friends are always here so I don’t have much reason to leave either.
(1:45)
DN: Great. So you’re living in Edgewater and aside from working in Edgewater, you looked around and saw a need for doing something. What exactly occurred to become involved in community activities? How did you become of aware of a problem that you identified? What steps did you take to remedy that?
(2:08)
CR: Well in particular with Community Glue Workshop my background was in historic preservation. I went back to school for that. I was really aware of material things burnout. I read an article in the New York Time about six years ago that talked about a woman who started a repair clinic in Amsterdam. I was all excited and charged up about that. I talked to Ally about that. She said, “Great. Let’s do that!” She owned a café [Kitchen Sink] at the time in Edgewater. I was “Great. We have a space now. Let’s do this together.”
(3:48)
DN: At the time, you said it was a café, but now you’re not in a café, but in a larger work space. How did that whole thing evolve?
AB: Sure. At one point we had been offered free CTA store frontage by Alderman Osterman. We kind of explored going in there - long story short, that didn’t work out – utilities and things were issues. Then my partner Stew and I ended up opening Edgewater Workbench, which is a workshop. We do things like cutting and digital fabrication services here. It ended up being kind of the perfect location to continue hosting Community Glue Workshop. We have workbenches. You can get a little messy here. Kind of in between hosting it at the coffee shop and hosting it here, we were floating around. I think we were looking at local theaters. I’m trying to think if there were other places…
CB: Chicago Writers Workshop I think it was.
AB: Yeah. So were kind of itinerant for a year or so which was kind of fun. Jackalope Theater, which is a really great community organization in Edgewater, hosted us for two months. We were telling someone here today that was really fun because we would see the different sets for the different productions.
CB: We never knew what scene we would be working on. We were working on an outdoor alley looking space… but the community always supported us which was really great. We were allowed to use them for free. They trusted us. I think one time we did set a toaster on fire by accident. There was a concrete floor. It was fine. [Both women chuckle.] Everyone’s been really supportive. It’s been an easy initiative that way. The volunteers are amazing.
(4:52)
DN: I wanted to get back to the whole idea of starting a repair clinic in a cafe. That seems like it was very unusual and unique. Ally, could you talk about that a little bit more?
AB: Sure. So one thing that was really important to me when I was a partner at the coffee shop was to have fun events that brought people together and kind of unique events beside the standard staying up late that you find at a lot of coffee shops.
I remember the date Carla posted on Facebook and feeling really excited because this is something is really unique that can bring people together and is really positive and productive initiative. I would say it came with its challenges - operationally, having a food establishment. If they city knew were fixing stuff in there, they probably wouldn’t have liked it. At the end of the day it was good for business because the people that came to repair or get fixed, they’d buy a coffee; they’d buy a sandwich; they’d buy a pastry. It was kind of fun because what they call them in the Netherlands are repair cafes because people would bring coffee and cookies and baked goods. That still happens now. So it was kind of funny in that sense.
(6:25)
CB: It worked out.
DN: You had told me that you felt it was kind counter-cultural or anti-capitalistic in nature. Can you talk a little about that?
AB: Sure. What we do at Community Glue Workshop, a driving mission of it, is to divert from the waste stream to make sure you’re not….Your toaster breaks and you throw it out and buy another one. So we’re trying to fight against the planned obsolescence or companies building things specifically so that they will break so you have to buy another one and feed the machine. So what we’re doing…. We do it for free; we do accept donations but there’s no requirement or expectation of ever getting a donation. But it is counter- cultural in saying, “No, we’re not going to throw out a toaster every year and buy a new one. We’re going to fix it and keep it handy.”
DN: I think that appeals to you Carla because of your environmental thing. Could you talk a little about that?
(7:44)
CB: Yeah, absolutely. So as I mentioned, I do a lot of historic preservation work which is usually trying to save buildings from being turned into landfill…from construction and demolition debris…it’s all very upsetting, right? Recycle that water bottle but really we’re tearing buildings down on a regular basis. It’s a big problem. But the thing is older buildings are intimidating. People don’t have the skill set they used to have. They don’t know how to repair things as well. They’re not as handy. We just buy everything now. Everything’s so much cheaper than it used to be and readily available as compared to their parents’ and especially grandparents’ generation.
So it got us thinking. You’ve got to start smaller. I can’t, as a preservationist, expect people to fix an entire building if they can’t fix a small little wooden box or something they keep jewelry in. It was part of the impetus for us to start on this scale. Also you are saving all of these items as well.
And then there’s the community aspect which was really important to us to make sure it’s a community initiative, local. People were helping people and we’re getting to know each other. We have these great mentorships that pop up around that. It’s just been great that way.
DN: Some of the problems you’ve identified are endemic to our society but again you talk about being local. I know you’re both involved in other community service programs that are local. So could you talk about the local school council, After School Matters, that sort of thing?
(9:22)
AB: Sure. So my day job is very committed to the community, I work for the 48th Ward – Alderman Osterman - Community Relations and Economic Development. And in my free time I think I sit on the Swift School’s Local School Council which is at Thorndale (Ave.) and Winthrop (Ave.). I’m finishing my second term as a community representative there and intend to run again. It’s an elected position. Here at Community Workbench we also host an After School Matters program so we work with local teenagers, high school students, here, trying to build twenty-first century skills with them and provide a safe space for kids. One hundred kids walk past our shop every day and we want to make sure they know we’re their friends and it’s a pretty neat space to stop by. It’s pretty important to me.
DN: And Carla I think you’re involved in some sustainability efforts too.
(10:20).
CB: Yeah. So I’ve been a board member with the Andersonville Sustainability Alliance which was formerly the Andersonville Development Organization which helps small businesses stay local and stay in these spaces even if things are changing in the neighborhood. We focus a lot on environmental initiatives too and try to push the envelope on the kinds of stuff we do locally here. I think we’re the first neighborhood to start a composting program, for example. Things like that. I also work from home a lot. I’m a consultant. I spend a lot of money locally. [Both women chuckle.] At cafes…. I definitely do my part that way as well.
DN: That’s wonderful. What is one more thing that you’d like to accomplish that you haven’t tackled yet?
(11:11)
AB: With Community Glue?
DN: With anything community based.
CB: Oh man….Ally?
DN: I think you had mentioned something about instructional workshops or targeted clinics.
AB: I know when we first started, we had all these ideas. What could this grow into? One thing that we kind of brought back up recently is talking about doing a targeted clinic, for instance, finding a parking lot, getting some cars and getting some auto mechanic experts there, to help people. Whether it’s just actually fixing something on your car or just showing how to check your oil or….
CB: …changing a tire, the basics, the Basics 101 that we know would be valuable to people that often we don’t know because often I don’t know myself. We thought it would nice and it would be attainable for us to do. Doing things that wouldn’t be a big stretch. Things we could do and do well.
(12:27)
DN: Is there anything about Edgewater that makes it different from other neighborhoods in the city or is it just basically the same like every other area?
AB: I think Edgewater is the best neighborhood in the city of Chicago. I’m sure any neighborhood would say it’s the people that make it special. From what I’ve seen at least on the north side, the people that live here are very collaborative and want to work together. I would say they aren’t political in the way they don’t step on each other to get ahead. I just see Edgewater as a really effective community and I think it’s because people work together.
(13:15)
DN: Carla, what about you?
CB: Yes, I think it’s wonderfully diverse. People are collaborative. You have a real focus on localism too which I really appreciate. .It means a lot to me. I can’t image what a neighborhood full of chains. I wouldn’t live in a neighborhood like that. So you get to know the shop owners. I know my CVS guy. It’s feels like a small town. It’s also nice that we have Clark St. We have Broadway are. There’s two different, almost like small, towns that are different. We’ve got the lake. We’ve got incredible public transportation here. Alderman Osterman’s been great. He listens to people. It’s nice to see your alderman walking around everywhere and eating at the places you eat, talking to people. I’ve just been here so long that my friends own the stores. I’m so entrenched. It’s really walkable. I’ve walked to everybody’s apartment or condo. It’s just a great neighborhood.
(14:17)
DN: Your initiative is called Community Glue. You’ve explained why community is so important to you and what makes this effort work and it’s the volunteers that you also bring [into the initiative]. What would you say to young people with families and people, who often feel there’s not enough time in the day to do their own personal stuff, about the importance of coming together and contributing to community? The question is, “What would you say to people about giving their time for community effort?”
CB: Right. Well I think that one of the things that’s been so great about this is: Well Ally and I, when we first started [community] work in the café and knew all these people locally and I work with a lot of trades people who are actually volunteers who are incredibly loyal and show up every month unless there are some extenuating circumstances. We just know they’ll be here. They’ve become friends themselves and mentor each other, and have this great collaborative time together. We had Jason here tonight who brings his daughter Imogene. How old is Imogene now?
AB: Three.
CB: Three years old. She came very shortly after she was born to the Community Glue Workshop and she’s ridiculously cute… people meeting new people. It’s not just about this end product of having to fix this thing to save money or to keep it out of landfills and those are great things and it’s part of it. But it’s about the relationships that are formed over time. I didn’t know any of our volunteers before this. They heard about the program. They’re not my friends that I’m strong-arming into coming here. They were not. They’re my friends now but just because they are nerdy and they like to problem solve and use the (???) and support each other and solve these puzzles. It’s a great way to spend time with people really.
(16:08)
AB: I would also say that if someone feels they don’t have time to volunteer to ask them how much time they spend watching TV or Netflix. Ask them what it would be like to give up some time. For example, our ask for our volunteer is…and what they do is great…our ask is just three hours a month which we felt was important to keep it sustainable. If it was twice a month we probably we wouldn’t have the volunteers we’ve had for six years. Two fewer movies for Netflix once a month. One Sunday a month. As Carla said at the end of the day, it’s so much more rewarding than if you were sitting home vegging out.
CB: I’ll say to Ally sometimes, “Oh I’m exhausted.” It’s my Sunday. It would be a time I could normally relax. And we’re super busy people. But even when I come in a crabby mood when it’s time to leave I leave pumped up and excited and you just feel good because people…we clap when we have victories. It’s really just one of those…. [Touches her heart]
DN: There’s a good vibe here. There’s a really good vibe here.
CB: Yeah. Every month. It’s so awesome.
(17:31)
DN: This is your story. I’ve asked all the questions I’d like to ask, but it is your story so is there anything else you’d like to share?
AB: [Turning to Carla] We’ve talked about the volunteers.
CB: Yes.
AB: The volunteers are the backbone of it because if it were just Carla and I trying to fix stuff, we wouldn’t get much of it done.
CB: I couldn’t fix all this stuff. I can fix some of it.
AB: I’ll take it apart usually and say, “Hey, so-and-so. Come over here. Look what I took apart. Can you put it together?”
CB: So we’re always finding out stuff too, which is cool, I like that part of it. I don’t know. It’s a valued thing. I think it’s like Ally was saying it’s an environmental sustainability. But it’s really important to sustain your volunteers and make sure they feel appreciated. We got this big donation from Craftsman. We got these tools. We finally had our five year anniversary party where we had donation money in the donation jar. We got everybody T shirts and a little pin. I just think it’s so important to make sure that you give to your volunteers. Volunteers do a lot of work at a lot of different places and they don’t always nurture their volunteers and show them that they care. We’re so grateful for that. I’m feeling pretty good. It’s a very busy clinic. We’re about a five and a half years in.
DN: Well congratulations. It’s a wonderful, wonderful initiative…
AB and CB: Well thank you.
DN: …and on that note I think I’ll stop the interview.
AB: Thank you Dorothy.