Iowa's Small Towns Positioned to Thrive in Creative Economy
For Immediate Release February 26, 2003
DES MOINES, Iowa—The small towns that speckle the landscape of Iowa are deeply rooted with traditions, values and a safe way of life. They are also rich in Iowa’s unique heritage, a powerful asset in the Creative Economy.
On Wednesday, March 5, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs will be host to the Creative Economy Unconference at the State Historical Building, where economic and civic leaders will join artists and young people in discussing the revitalization of their communities to attract a creative workforce.
The special guest of the Unconference is Dr. Richard Florida, author of the bestselling book, "The Rise of the Creative Class and How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life." In it, Florida discusses the role of small towns in the "Creative Economy," a catch phrase referring to a workforce that locates to cities and towns based on its cultural environment as well as its job offerings.
"Creative people favor active, participatory recreation over passive spectator sports," Florida writes. "They like indigenous street-level culture—a teeming blend of cafes, sidewalk musicians and small galleries and bistros. They are drawn to places where outdoor activities are prevalent."
Small towns, especially, can take advantage of this shifting of ideals. According to Florida, smaller regions have some of the highest creative-class concentrations in the nation. The members of the "Creative Class" bring with them a wide variety of skills—from technology to entertainment and high-end manufacturing to the arts.
"Leaders of small communities across Iowa are especially encouraged to attend the Creative Economy Unconference March 5 in Des Moines," said Anita Walker, Director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. "Iowa’s small towns have a vital role in the Creative Economy. They offer the authenticity and uniqueness creative people are seeking."
Research Triangle Park expatriate Sohodojo is a prime example of small businesses and "nanocorps," i.e., solo entrepreneurial free agents or entrepreneurial "working families" harnessing the power of creative class dynamics. Sohodojo co-founders Jim Salmons and Timlynn Babitsky have recently moved their applied R&D lab from a techno-urban North Carolina location to rural north central Montana. Salmons and Babitsky will present a workshop titled, "Creative Class In The Small: Economic Fire in Rural and Distressed Urban Communities" at the Unconference. This workshop will focus on the ways solo entrepreneurs and working families in rural and distressed urban communities can create successful businesses based on collaborative production networks and alternative marketing strategies.
Sohodojo—"soho," meaning "small office, home office" and "dojo," a Japanese word meaning a training school, usually in reference to martial arts—works to develop "Small is Good Business Webs" throughout rural and distressed urban communities interested in unleashing the other side of capitalism. At the Unconference, Sohodojo will be showcasing a business web under development in partnership with Soyawax, the Cedar Rapids-based entrepreneurial business that has developed soybean wax as an alternative to petrochemical-based paraffin for candlemaking.
Registration for the Creative Economy Unconference costs $115 and can be submitted online. Visit www.culturalaffairs.org or call 515-281-7471 for complete information and registration.
For more information on Sohodojo, visit www.sohodojo.com.
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EDITORS: Sohodojo will be conducting a news conference prior to the opening of the Unconference to make a series of strategic announcements in support of Iowa's creative solo and family-based entrepreneurs, especially those living in the Des Moines Enterprise Community. The news conference will be held in the atrium of the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust, Des Moines. Call 515-281-4011 for details.
