Makers Gotta Make is a feature documentary, created by Portland makers and artists, that traces the rise of Portland, Oregon’s maker and artist community in the 2010s- a movement that helped redefine the city’s identity and transformed Portland into a nationally recognized hub for creativity, collaboration, and independent business.

At a time when artists, designers, builders, musicians, makers, and small entrepreneurs were turning warehouses into workshops and ideas into thriving communities, Portland became a cultural phenomenon and a model for a different kind of economy: one rooted in inventiveness, craftsmanship, and shared support.

Our film explores how Portland's maker movement transformed the city's culture and economy, attracting attention from around the world. Today, makers continue to create, build, and innovate, but rising costs and shrinking workspace raise an important question: Can Portland preserve space for the creative communities that helped define it?

At its heart, it is a story about imagination and resilience of Portland’s artists and makers, who turn ideas into reality.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

Today, Portland feels like it's at a crossroads. The city that once became known around the world for its creativity, independent spirit, and collaborative culture is now grappling with rising costs, economic uncertainty, political division, and questions about who gets to shape its future. Many of the artists, makers and small businesses that helped define Portland’s identity have been pushed to the margins by development pressures, the loss of affordable industrial and creative space, and an economy that increasingly rewards scale over community.

At the same time, there’s a growing sense of exhaustion and cynicism- a feeling that the optimism and possibility that once defined Portland may be slipping away. But Makers Gotta Make argues that this creative spirit never disappeared. It’s indelibly rooted in our city, even when it becomes harder to sustain.

That’s why this story matters right now. The film isn’t just nostalgia for a golden era of Portland. It’s an exploration of what made that moment possible in the first place: people taking risks together, sharing resources, building communities from the ground up, and creating new systems to support each other. In a moment when so many people are asking what comes next for Portland, this film reminds us that our city is powered by creativity and can be built by people who imagine something different and work together to make it happen.

By revisiting the maker movement and the communities that shaped Portland’s identity, Makers Gotta Make invites audiences to reconsider what kind of future they want, how they want to participate in it, and what it takes to build a city that keeps creativity at it's core.

PRODUCTION

We are currently in production, filming interviews and creating a rough cut of the feature film. We’re also working with photos and footage from the archives of Portland makers, PDX Pop Now!, Bike Portland, the Oregon Historical Society, and ADX.

Our interviews currently include:

Stefan Andren, Founder of Krownlab

Kate Bingaman-Burt, Associate Professor at PSU, Graphic Design

Simone Coker-Kamna, Former Director of Portland Made

Peter Crim, Executive Director Wind & Oar Boat School

John Haines, Executive Director Mercy Corps NW

Nancy Hales, Former First Lady of Portland and Director of First Stop Portland

Brianne and Jared Mees, Co-Founders of Tender Loving Empire

Kari Merkl, Founder Merkled Studio

Tsilli Pines, Founder of Design Week Portland

Kelley Roy, Founder of Art Design Xchange

Dwayne Sackey, Ceramicist

Greg Schrock, Associate Professor at PSU, Urban Studies

Sara Tunstall, Founder of Spooltown

Ken Unkeles, Founder of Unkeles Group

Cristian Vargas, Founder of Juntos PDX

Namita Gupta Wiggers, Former Curator and Director of the Museum of Contemporary Craft

WHAT WILL FUNDING GO TOWARDS?

We've received funding to spearhead Makers Gotta Make's production, but we need your help to finish our film and bring Portland's story to a wider audience.

If we don't raise a minimum of 80% of our Seed&Spark funding goal, we won't receive ANY of our funding.

Your donation will help us complete the final stages of production and create a film that Portlanders can be proud of. Funds will go directly toward paying our talented local crew, including cinematographers, editor, a professional colorist, and sound designer- ensuring the film meets the highest standards for festival screenings and public release.

We're planning to submit Makers Gotta Make to film festivals across the country, sharing Portland's creative spirit with audiences far beyond Oregon. Every contribution, large or small, helps preserve these stories and amplifies the voices of the people who continue to build, create, and inspire.

If Portland's creative community has ever inspired you, supported your business, enriched your neighborhood, or made this city feel like home, we hope you'll consider helping us bring this film across the finish line.

Makers Gotta Make!