Introducing Vimeo's Stories in Place
Stories of small businesses adapting to a world in flux told by the Staff Pick creators who love them
Today Vimeo launched Stories in Place, a collection of eight videos made by Vimeo’s Staff Pick creators about small businesses adapting, hustling and persisting through unprecedented times. Made in 12 days while sheltering in place, these are beautiful, harrowing, clever, funny stories about real people making their business work right now.
These are uncertain times, and there’s no shortage of stories about individuals and businesses struggling right now. The whole world is feeling the impact of the pandemic, and Vimeo’s community has not been spared. With productions coming to a halt and brick-and-mortars closing their doors indefinitely, small businesses and freelance creatives - two pillars of the Vimeo community - are some of the hardest hit. Stories in Place was born from wanting to help, wanting to humanize this situation and shine a spotlight on the stories we don’t see.
We wanted to tell the stories about adaptation and ingenuity, about bootstrapping business owners and their very creative, very scrappy ideas. We also wanted to support filmmakers who have recently found themselves without projects. And we wanted to connect them in the best way we know how: with video. So we gave eight of our Staff Picked filmmakers a grant to tell the stories of a small business they love that's impacted by the pandemic (and we matched the grant with a donation to the featured businesses).
Together, their eight videos make up Stories in Place:
“886” by Law Chen: Shuttered due to the pandemic, this NYC Taiwanese restaurant has turned to delivering bento boxes in order to provide food and resources to those most affected.
“Coco’s Variety” by Danny Madden: This high energy animated film documents how Coco’s Variety, a Los Angeles bike shop, continues to serve its customers and provide essential services.
“Afrocontigbo” by Rachel Knoll: Forced to take her dance studio online, Korma Aguh-Stuckmayer discovers a community from around the world ready to come together and dance in their living rooms.
"Jeff Maassen" by Morgan Maassen: Jeff Maassen had been diving for sea urchins for the past 40 years until Covid-19 brought his business to a grinding halt. His son, Morgan, investigates.
"The Virtual Salon" by Jesse Atlas: With his salon closed for business, barber Darryl Wyatt now goes virtual with remote hairstyling. Watch him recreate the magic of his shop online.
“June Jung Tattoo Studio” by Yoko Okumura: In this unprecedented era of social distancing, what does it mean when your art form and small business require human touch? A documentary about June Jung Art.
“Desert Island Comics” by Case Jernigan: Inspired by Desert Island Comics, the iconic Brooklyn shop now indefinitely closed, this cut paper animation speaks to the connective power of comic books.
“Plante” by Réka Bucsi: Plante. is a slow lifestyle plant shop in the heart of Budapest, Hungary that was forced to think beyond their physical store. Réka Bucsi captures this moment of transition through animated flora.
To learn more about the filmmakers and businesses featured, and to watch all eight films, please visit: vimeo.com/storiesinplace
About Vimeo
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