The SDF Collective creates space for wayward creatives in Downtown Gresham

A Downtown Gresham business that offers space for creatives and entrepreneurs changed its model to kick off the new year after tinkering and brainstorming.

The result is a welcoming location bursting at the seams with comfortable nooks, professional equipment, and like-minded individuals who have formed something special. Oh, and no more subscription required.

The SDF Collective, 20 N.W. Third St., is a community resource for creatives and entrepreneurs. It is a co-working space for photography and videography, graphic design, animation, podcasting, hair and makeup, special effects makeup, editing, and more. It is also perfect for folks who want a space away from home to work.

There are two photo studios, a podcast lounge, six editing stations, conference room, two hair and makeup stations, and more.

“Whether looking for peace and quiet or engaging conversation — this place feels like home,” Curtis said.

The Collective has equipment and software available, and on-hand experts to share advice and collaborate.

“You can come into this space and leave with a finished product,” Curtis said.

The Collective was born from coffee shop desperation. Curtis was one of those folks searching for suitable spaces to create and work — she owns Synergy Design Firm. Often that meant hours camped out at Café Delirium, or paying those spendy Portland studio rates.

“I detest driving, so I wanted one place to go and get things done that wouldn’t chip away at the profit margin,” Curtis said. “Other people kept saying, ‘If I just had blank.’”

Be it space, equipment, training, something was always missing. Thus kismet — Curtis was having lunch at Sunny Han’s one afternoon with a friend when she spotted the space across the street was up for lease.

“I said the dumbest thing you can, ‘I’ll just call the leasing agent, what’s the harm,’” she said with a laugh.

Next thing Curtis knew she was inking a lease for the 5,000 square foot building at the prominent corner of Third and Main. It made since, as she had about 7 storage units filled with props and equipment that was just gathering dust.

“When I first started there was nobody that would help me, I had to figure everything out myself,” she said. “I hope The SDF Collective can make it easier for others.”

The goal in those first three years were to treat the Collective like a sandbox, tinkering and figuring out what worked.

“We learned a lot, and constantly were shifting things based on feedback,” she said.

When that three year trial period came to a close, Curtis had to decide what the future held.

“It amazes me that so many of us are on completely different journeys, but these walls somehow drew us all together — it gratifies and humbles me,” she said. “When I started this I didn’t realize what would happen, but each and every person who comes in took a chance on us.”

“They decided to be brave and walk in,” she added.

The New Collective

There have been big, exciting changes made to The SDF Collective, all implemented in the new year.

The first was doing away with the membership model. Now it operates via an hourly rental — $40 for photo, $70 for audio. Those rates are competitive, nearly half what you could expect to pay at other locations.

“It alleviates the stress of having to use the membership,” Curtis said. “Now people can come in for an hour and get something done.”

There are also $15 day passes to access those communal work spaces, which includes internet, printing, and access to the free coffee and tea bar.

“We collect a lot of lost souls from Café Delirium,” Curtis said. “This is somewhere comfy you can come and feel welcome.”

The Collective is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with evening classes and clubs.

The folks who come into the Collective come from all sorts of backgrounds — medical professionals, ghost writers, actors and models, social media influencers. A survey the group did found that nearly 76% of folks who go into The SDF Collective don’t consider themselves “creatives,” but all of them agreed small businesses needed creative resources to stay relevant.

“At the end of the day we have to use these tools to stay relevant,” Curtis said.

To help understand how to best use the equipment and studios the Collective has begun offering classes and workshops to guide people. There is Social Media 101 and Posting with Purpose; accounting help and marketing tips; photography classes; and how to use improv to improve your life.

The plan is to keep adding more.

“We are in an abundance mindset, we all have what we need we just have to step up and share,” Curtis said.

To help welcome people into the building is the ambassador program. It is a pseudo PR thing, and allows the users of the space to speak about its merits.

“They are the voice of this community,” Curtis said.

They volunteer 10 hours a month and get equal studio time. They hang out at the front desk, greet folks, lead tours and share knowledge. It is a holistic approach.

“We have been the best kept secret in Gresham for the last three years, because we didn’t want to shout to the world until we knew we had the best set up for our community,” Curtis said.

Big things are happening at The SDF Collective, and more partnerships, events, classes and changes are on the horizon. The shouts have become deafening.