After a year of pivots, which included taking its 2020 Design Catalyst program all-virtual and overhauling the structure of its annual Design Week in October, DESIGNxRI is back — and it's kicking off its 2021 programming by infusing 10 Providence-based design ventures with a collective $140,000 in cash.
Each year, DESIGNxRI provides up to $15,000 in seed funding to local design entrepreneurs, plus a dedicated mentor and a business education program developed specifically for the design field. This year’s Design Catalyst cohort is its most diverse so far, according to director Lisa Carnevale, who described the organization's diversity goals as "critical" to growing and sustaining design businesses in the Ocean State.
“We started DESIGNxRI exactly for moments like this,” Carnevale said in a statement to Rhode Island Inno. “Rhode Island is so rich with talented and innovative design businesses, and opportunities like Design Catalyst are what help keep it that way. Funding, education and support are fundamental to a thriving design community, which is fundamental to a thriving community overall.”
Design Catalyst is funded by the City of Providence’s Department of Community Development and Real Jobs RI, a program of the RI Department of Labor and Training. Program partners and steering committee members include Rhode Island School of Design and CIC Providence.
Read about the 10 startups in this year's Design Catalyst program below. Descriptions and links are provided by DESIGNxRI.
Cooperative print shop and design studio Binch Press;
Glassmaker Watanabe Glassworks;
Creative planning and community art collaborative The Design Studio for Culture + Planning;
Photography and video designers isquared // Photography RI;
Textile company Sashoonya;
Product design, development and production firm AK Studios;
Jewelry designer Lucia Pearl;
Sound designer We Time Audio House;
Art e-commerce social enterprise Luna Loggia; and
Ceramics artist Liz Welch Design.
