Ever wanted to learn the art of mushroom foraging but running your own LLC has left you strapped for cash? Trade School is a pop-up workshop concept run by OurGoods.org from the Lower East Side revolving storefront Grand Opening. The community-fueled programming capitalizes on skill sets, bartering tutorials (composting, swing dancing, feltmaking, staging a play) instead of currency. From now until February 28, the choices are limitless.
Just don’t call them hipsters.
Trade School, located at 139 Norfolk Street between Stanton and Rivington, hosts nightly classes, plus “barter agents” available to the public from 3 to 6 p.m. daily. Sign up for a class here by meeting one of the teacher’s barter needs. For example, branding strategist Tara Jepson reports via blog that in exchange for a class called “PLAY: Improv for Ideation,” the teachers — the design duo behind MakerHappener — requested any of the following: “one-time access to a laser cutter, one hour of WordPress assistance, a jar of organic peanut butter or raw local honey, Stumptown coffee beans, a winter coat for a 70 pound labrador retreiver, or cool maps and art books.”
A selection of upcoming classes includes, to name but a few:
February 6: Feltmaking for Nomads February 8: Baudrillard Camp – Theory of the Hyperreal February 10: Make a Meteorite from the Museum of Natural History February 11: Hackintoshing February 17: Maximizing the Manual Mode on Your SLR Camera, Business School for Artists February 19: Chinatown Collaborative Food Tour
Peruse Trade School’s Flickr stream, visit the blog, and follow along on Twitter.
[via Inclined to Create]