Self-Rule Tools
BROOKLYN’S LIBERTY LABS BECOMES A NONPROFIT URBAN CO-OP FOR ARTISANAL CRAFTWORKERS
Housed in a 6,000-squarefoot warehouse on the Brooklyn waterfront in the neighborhood of Red Hook, the Liberty Labs Foundation is a passion project for New York City’s best wood and metalworkers. Affordable studio space and shared administrative costs have led to a magical—even freeing— experience: collaboration between its maximum capacity of seventeen members.
Receiving 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 2016, the facility is bustling with artisanal activity. Fine furniture, art, and large-scale commissions come together through the whir of drill presses, lathes, and band saws. “Our idea was to create something similar to a cooperative,” says John Koten, co-founder. “There are other collaborative shops, but they’re few
and far between and can be expensive. The challenge in New York is the cost of doing everything, but there are people here who can actually afford to buy things that are still hand- or custom-made. Our idea was to provide below-market rent and space by keeping members’ costs low by sharing the administration and functioning of the shop among ourselves.”
Even as members operate independent businesses within the space, the connective spirit of a cooperative is in full bloom, whether it’s deciding who cleans the bathroom or giving tips on using the table saw. “Everyone pitches in, and everyone feels very fortunate that we can have this kind of space in New York City,” Koten says.
Current members include cofounder Reed Hansuld, whose custom furniture combines unexpected contemporary forms with traditional techniques, like a cantilevered rocking chair built from walnut. Pat Kim also brings an elegant experimentation to his wood designs, with walnut rocket ships and oloid-shaped kinetic sculptures made from maple. Evan Desmond Yee’s more conceptual work plays with totems of popular technology, like a lamp based on Apple’s spinning progress wheel. Jon Billing incorporates Japanese-style woodworking into furniture through kumiko patterns and shoji screens.
“Liberty Labs is unique in a lot of ways,” Hansuld says. “The open-book platform creates trust and a sense of responsibility and ownership for members. Our space is here to cater to the growth of young businesses, and
we are always seeking to improve. It’s a nurturing oasis amid a difficult pursuit.”
Koten has a passion for boats, but it wasn’t until he left print media, as the CEO of Mansueto Ventures and
editor in chief for Inc. and Fast Company magazines, that he became interested in a woodcraft workshop. There, he
rediscovered the creative energy that originally drew him to media, including a ten-year tenure as editor in chief at Worth magazine.“I found this environment to be what I liked about journalism when I first got into it,” he says. “You’re around a bunch of people who are trying to do interesting things and explore truth and beauty.”
Koten affirmed that every day at Liberty Labs “there’s going to be something new in the works that surprises and inspires me. Inspiration is a huge part of a collaborative shop. Everyone is a muse.
