OUR *NEW* MEETING SPACE IS THE
Raymond Sanchez Community Center
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Las Aranas Spinners and Weavers Guild was faced with uncharted design elements in July when our meeting place for almost a decade, Village Wools, announced they were closing their doors for good. The Board of Directors immediately initiated a search for a new location to hold meetings and workshops. To date we have contacted almost 50 locations in an attempt to find a place that meets all of our criteria.
Our goal, first and foremost, was to cause as little disruption as possible. That meant trying to adhere to our schedule of alternating morning and evening meetings, to find a location that was accessible to the most people (knowing we have members from Santa Fe and points north, from the East Mountains, from Rio Rancho, and from Belen and points south), to seek a place that would hold all of us (40-60 people), that would allow refreshments, that had decent parking, and that was safe, especially for our evening meetings.
Two additional criteria of critical importance were the ability to house our popular and extensive library and, of course, cost. Oh, yes, and to find a place where people actually wanted to work with us. Trust me, there are managers of places out there who really didn’t care.
One place rose to the top of the list rather quickly. That was the Raymond Sanchez Community Center at 9800 Fourth Street, a short ways north of Alameda. The staff was quite eager to accommodate us. The price was right, free during the week except for $1.50 per person under 50 years of age, and they had space for our workshops as well as our library. Several Board members visited the center and concluded it had potential. Accordingly, we booked that facility for the meetings in October and November as well as the Tom Knisely workshop at the end of the October.
With the immediate needs for meeting space for the remainder of the 2015 schedule now satisfied, the Board created a short list with five additional locations. Last week, several members of the Board toured those locations. We will debate the pros and cons of each venue and hope to announce a final decision for our 2016 meetings after our Board meeting on October 15. We will carefully consider all of the complex needs of the guild and pick the place that best suits those needs.
We trust you will bear with us during this time of change. The closing of Village Wools created a gaping hole in the fiber community of New Mexico, but Las Aranas is preparing to fill that hole. Possibilities abound, and we are beginning to establish new patterns incorporating innovative and exciting design elements.
- Chris Allen
President
Las Aranas Spinning and Weaving Guild
Our goal, first and foremost, was to cause as little disruption as possible. That meant trying to adhere to our schedule of alternating morning and evening meetings, to find a location that was accessible to the most people (knowing we have members from Santa Fe and points north, from the East Mountains, from Rio Rancho, and from Belen and points south), to seek a place that would hold all of us (40-60 people), that would allow refreshments, that had decent parking, and that was safe, especially for our evening meetings.
Two additional criteria of critical importance were the ability to house our popular and extensive library and, of course, cost. Oh, yes, and to find a place where people actually wanted to work with us. Trust me, there are managers of places out there who really didn’t care.
One place rose to the top of the list rather quickly. That was the Raymond Sanchez Community Center at 9800 Fourth Street, a short ways north of Alameda. The staff was quite eager to accommodate us. The price was right, free during the week except for $1.50 per person under 50 years of age, and they had space for our workshops as well as our library. Several Board members visited the center and concluded it had potential. Accordingly, we booked that facility for the meetings in October and November as well as the Tom Knisely workshop at the end of the October.
With the immediate needs for meeting space for the remainder of the 2015 schedule now satisfied, the Board created a short list with five additional locations. Last week, several members of the Board toured those locations. We will debate the pros and cons of each venue and hope to announce a final decision for our 2016 meetings after our Board meeting on October 15. We will carefully consider all of the complex needs of the guild and pick the place that best suits those needs.
We trust you will bear with us during this time of change. The closing of Village Wools created a gaping hole in the fiber community of New Mexico, but Las Aranas is preparing to fill that hole. Possibilities abound, and we are beginning to establish new patterns incorporating innovative and exciting design elements.
- Chris Allen
President
Las Aranas Spinning and Weaving Guild
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