David Krell (ODL HQ) and Felcia Ferrone (ODL Affiliate) have just opened Shared-Practice Chicago for public testing. Based on the belief that "sharing is one of the foundations of economic development and community," Shared-Practice invites practitioners to share knowledge of events and resources, while providing a forum for participants to discuss pertinent topics. The crux of the project is its regionality: this is for and about Chicago, with new outposts for different cities coming in the future.

This is a much needed resource in the city--until now, finding design events required combing through an aggregate of art and news sites; now it's all in one place. Same thing goes for manufacturing resources—Shared-Practice is extending the word-of-mouth model. We're looking forward to replacing our Design Calendar with theirs!

The site is currently in beta-phase: you are invited to be a beta-tester. Get a free account, get in touch with others in Chicago's design scene, and start sharing and gaining knowledge.

How Shared-Practice works:

At the heart of Shared-Practice is our belief that sharing is one of the foundations of economic development and community. Information and resources on the site will be generated by you, the Shared-Practice members, championing a more human online exchange through an open culture of trust and accountability.

Chicago’s Shared-Practice is now live! Here is a basic description of how each section of Shared-Practice works:

Home Page:
This landing page shows an overview of Shared-Practice and most recent activity throughout the main sections of the website.

Centralized Event Calendar:
Discover what is happening in Chicago with the help of a centralized event calendar, which coordinates design events within the fields of architecture, design, fashion/apparel, graphics, urban/landscape design, and interaction design throughout the city.

Resources:
The best way to discover local fabricators, businesses, and design practices. Each subsection has a filter function that allows you to quickly find the area/specialty needed, be it an intellectual property lawyer or a powder-coater. This section contains fabrication/manufacturing resources, business resources, and design practices listing. Users/Members will be coming here to find the valuable resources they need to fulfill their business and production needs.

Members:
This section provides a comprehensive overview of the local design community. One can search for members by practicing field, specialties, or name. Each member has a dedicated profile page, which provides a platform to upload information and network with colleagues.

Forum:
This is a place for members to post/answer questions within the individual fields of industrial/object design, interior design, architecture, fashion/apparel, graphic design, urban design, landscape architecture, or interaction design. Members have an opportunity to tap into the community for advice, discussion and debate.

Editorialist:
Shared-Practice dedicates this section to critical discourse within the local design scene. We will be publishing a weekly critical editorial addressing various aspects of design. Editorialist contributors are hand selected and members are encouraged to contact us to submit work.