We are storytellers, community advocates, and connectors of people and ideas.

Urban Made Project is dedicated to telling the stories of the people in the garment industry who are supporting the next generation of designers and leading the ‘locally made’ movement. By creating a thriving manufacturing base, cities are encouraging small business growth, from the family-owned factories to the designers who depend on them to bring their ideas to life. But sustaining the urban manufacturing sector is a challenge. These stories aim to highlight that from the voices of the people who live it.

Our mission, in the most simplest terms, is to change the narrative around manufacturing.

The Name: Urban Made

URBAN

Urban Made Project explores the role of manufacturing in the 21st century and its place in the urban landscape. Cities have been central to the growth and development of the garment industry. The agglomeration and proximity of factories, supply stores, and retailers create an efficient ecosystem that maximizes productivity, allowing designers to piece together their creations with little lag time.

But the urban landscape is changing as cities are being reconfigured. We show how the current policies and changing infrastructure are shaping the future of the industry at the most micro level, the individual.

MADE

Many garment-related businesses have gone overseas. Many, but not all. We focus on those businesses— made here, in New York City.

They aren’t just sewing factories or zipper suppliers, they are entrepreneurs and that is the core theme of each story, entrepreneurship— how they made it.