Group of women working together in a creative co-operative with a blue wall and shelves in the background

Crafting a new future together.

What would you do if you had support and could afford to get started?

What if you didn't have to choose between making a living and making a difference?

Based in Oakwood Village, The Living Room is a not-for-profit co-operative of members passionate about community. We are self-employed artists, makers, educators, community organizers, and allied professionals rooted in the shared values of interdependence, sustainability, equity, and creativity.

Together we pursue our own projects, co-create and operate a free public space open to all ages for connection, learning, and making.

Meet our members
Become a Member
A woman smiling while making pottery at a pottery wheel, with two other women in the background also working on pottery projects in a bright, colorful co-operative studio.
A woman smiling while making pottery at a pottery wheel, with two other women in the background also working on pottery projects in a bright, colorful co-operative studio.
Three people in a casual office or meeting room at a co-operative, two sitting at a desk and one crouching next to them, engaged in conversation. There are computers, notebooks, and office supplies on the desk, with a window with blinds behind them.
A woman sitting at a wooden desk with a yellow computer monitor, writing in a notebook, in a room with colorful decorations and bookshelves in a co-operative.
A woman sitting at a wooden desk with a yellow computer monitor, writing in a notebook, in a room with colorful decorations and bookshelves in a co-operative.

Values

Interdependency

Humans are social creatures and survive best in groups, leveraging a diversity of skills and capacities to care for the collective. 

Sustainability

Enough is plenty. The material goods we need to thrive already exist. 

Equity

All human lives have equal value, and though our needs may be different, everyone deserves a collective effort to meet those needs, and everyone deserves a voice in the decisions that affect them.

Creativity

The world won’t change through inertia. Creative solutions are needed to craft better outcomes. Exploration, curiosity, experimentation, and failure are all accepted and expected parts of the creative process. 

LAND BACK

Politics

The Living Room is political. 

Our members may not collectively ascribe to any specific politik; however, we aim to co-create an alternative vision to unexamined participation in the systemic harms of Capitalism, Colonialism, Patriarchy, and White Supremacy.

The Living Room operates on stolen land. 

It cannot undertake its mission and vision or align with its values without learning from and beside equity-seeking groups, or without striving to understand how disability injustice, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism impacts our co-operative, neighbours, and broader society.

Inspiration

Visit our Pinterest
Wooden shelving unit filled with colorful spools of thread in a sewing or craft room.

MAKE

A black rolling cart with a sign that reads 'ZINE CART' in bright yellow letters, a plastic storage box filled with various small items, pens, scissors, tape, and a label maker on the top shelf. A vintage typewriter sits on top of the cart, and the cart is decorated with red pom-pom garland and situated against a window with closed blinds.

SHARE

A storefront with chalkboard dividers featuring colorful handwritten notes, drawings, and text, and inside there are shelves with books, plants, and art supplies. There's a colorful mat on the concrete floor outside the entrance.

CREATE

Wooden room divider with open compartments separates a cozy dining area with a wooden table and upholstered chairs, adjacent to large windows and a glass block wall allowing natural light.
Wooden room divider with open compartments separates a cozy dining area with a wooden table and upholstered chairs, adjacent to large windows and a glass block wall allowing natural light.
Gumball machine labeled 'Poems' filled with colorful keys or small objects, situated next to a wooden bookshelf in a room with a concrete floor.

LIVE

A mobile cart with a sign that says 'Zine Cart' on the front. The cart contains office supplies, including scissors, pens, and rubber stamps, with a label on a clear container. There is a typewriter on top of the cart, and a bundle of cables hanging on the side.

LEARN & WORK

A vintage TV displaying a scene from a cartoon with a hippo. The TV is placed on a small wooden table next to a wooden bookshelf filled with DVDs. There is a salt lamp on the table and a framed photograph underneath it. A mirror on the wall reflects a wooden wall shelf decorated with teddy bear figurines and a calendar. The room has wooden flooring and a textured white wall.
A vintage TV displaying a scene from a cartoon with a hippo. The TV is placed on a small wooden table next to a wooden bookshelf filled with DVDs. There is a salt lamp on the table and a framed photograph underneath it. A mirror on the wall reflects a wooden wall shelf decorated with teddy bear figurines and a calendar. The room has wooden flooring and a textured white wall.

REST

Clothing boutique interior with pink walls, hanging colorful dresses, a blue sofa, a wooden coffee table with fashion magazines and glasses, artwork on the walls, a mirror, a potted plant, and a window.

DREAM

WORK & LEARN