2020 and 2021 have been years that have led to people dramatically reassessing what they look for in a workplace. After a year plus spent working from home and asynchronously handling tasks that would’ve previously required in-person effort, people are looking differently at what they require from their work and what their work requires from them.
The traditional models of working an office job with a standard corporate structure may not work for everyone anymore, but the good news is that the traditional model isn’t the only one. There are many different ways to work across industries that provide more freedom, latitude, and ownership for workers.
One such model is the co-op work model. Co-ops bring together talented individuals that unite to work together on a democratic jointly-owned enterprise. The structure of a co-op is very different from the typical business because it is much more democratic, with each employee being a part-owner of the company.
Co-ops have become a popular alternative means of employment and have spread across nations and industries. One of the industries that co-ops have arrived in is the design sphere. One design firm that utilizes a co-op model is Colony, which combines the co-op model with a consultancy and incubator.
Colony is a New York City-based designer co-op that is host to a community of independent furniture, lighting, textile, and object designers. What Colony does for these individual designers is that they provide an elevated platform for them and then take a significantly lower fee on sales from designers than galleries or other business styles would.
Colony is about providing a home for the independent design community where they can create without the need to chase margins. It provides a place in Manhattan for independent designers to showcase stunning works of creation without having most of their profit taken away by galleries. It is a place where creating is the primary ambition, where some of the best independent designers in one of the best design cities in the world can gather to develop stunning works of art.
Colony was founded by Jean Lin, a New York City-based design entrepreneur. Colony was founded as a byproduct of Lin’s charity work following Hurricane Sandy in NYC. Lin was producing a show called Reclaim NYC, which used creations from the independent design community in the city, with proceeds going towards storm relief. Over the course of that experience, Lin identified some of the pain points of the independent designers and creators in the city and realized how something like Colony could make a positive difference.
Colony runs their business in a sustainable way that makes an impact on the community they inhabit. There is more to Colony than just their co-op and platform that they provide for independent creators. There is also Colony Consult, the consulting wing of Colony. Consult provides strategic creative direction for clients and utilizes market research, PR, content creation, design, and other forms of marketing assistance to help studios, architectural firms, manufacturers, and real estate developers. The goal of Consult is to use the experience of the Colony team to help businesses better design and communicate.
Another aspect of Colony is Co-Lab, which serves as a collaborative design studio and incubator. Co-Lab is a creative space the brings independent designers together to explore the boundaries of what they can produce. Co-Lab uses a holistic approach to incubation, combining their experience with design aesthetics and the overall design community with sales data and market research. Co-Lab is a big part of what makes Colony unique, as they are an open space that provides an opportunity to the independent design community in New York City.
New York City is one of the centers of the world of design, architecture, fashion, and art. But these institutions can all fall victim to being controlled by groups that don’t make way for new voices. Colony goes a long way towards democratizing design in New York City by providing a space where independent workers can thrive. Giving the independent design community a larger platform to amplify new, distinct creators and providing an accessible workplace to create are all parts of the larger spirit of co-op work.
Jean Lin and the Colony team have created something that gives independent designers a group. Colony is an example of the radical shift to the typical work structure that the pandemic has likely led us closer towards.
