Last September there was a Florida invasion that planted some seeds.

Sound nebulous enough? It gets better.

Richard Florida came to Tacoma last fall, teaching his Creative Communities Leadership Project (CCLP), which seeks to give emerging leaders the tools they need to generate greater economic prosperity in their region, since cities are starting to compete against each other in the global market. He left behind ideas he’s developed with his Creative Class Group out of Washington, D.C., which included the development of www.creativetacoma.com. This site outlines the five pilot initiatives — basically, the seeds — of the CCLP, which include Connected Individuality, Project Eden, Green Tacoma, Arts Technology Ecosystem, and Love Tacoma.

You may have heard about that last one, Love Tacoma.

For the first three initiatives, go to the site and get plenty more information.

As to the fourth? I’m here to tell you what I’ve learned.

Basically, the Arts Technology Ecosystem was, at its inception, a way for Tacoma’s existing arts organizations to work together building awareness about Tacoma’s art community. One of the items that came out of that was that of an incubator.

You may have heard about that, too.  Only now, it’s changed, and it’s called “Collage.”

Paul Schrag, one of the facilitators of the then-incubator, now-Collage, says of the change, “The idea (of an incubator) is beautiful, but it’s condescending. We’re trying to create community, and be part of a community that exists and thrives.”

He goes on to explain the process of collage, “to create form out of seemingly random, formless pieces — it’s how they interact with and relate to the whole that matters.”

Collage, formed of volunteers looking to help motivate Tacoma forward through the use of creative assets — ideas — as is, Schrag says, “This is all about catalyzing creativity.”

To that end, the facilitators and participants of Collage are now in the process of “creating a sustainable infrastructure,” according to Schrag, which includes some concrete discussions about things like finding buildings that will contain affordable housing and “space for grass roots artists to emerge and create connections and collaborations.”

Another more concrete project rolling steadily along through no mean efforts of Heather Tucci-Jarraf, whose Moroccan and Italian connections have given wind to the sails of her idea, is that of creating a multi-media, globally-collaborative fashion show to hit Tacoma during the 2008 Tall Ships Festival, with proceeds raised from auctioning off gowns created to benefit global AIDS awareness.

“I would like this to be an international event model,” Tucci-Jarraf says, and those present during a recent Monday meeting at Commencement Bay Coffee Company could see the potential of exactly that happening.

Through all the nebulous generalities of “creative communities,” the creative process at that meeting was palpable; there were real people collaborating with real ideas, real connections, and real progress was made. Julie Bennett of urbanXchange was able to share her experiences from the last Indie Fashion Showcase, as well as names, while generating more ideas for the next (bigger! Better!) Indie Fashion Showcase in November.

Join in with the group at 11:30 a.m. on Mondays at the Commencement Bay Coffee Company, as well as on Friday nights from 6-8 p.m. at the Warehouse, an existing artists’ live-work space that Shrag calls “a beautiful model” of what Collage hopes to help create for their community building.

For more information, visit www.creativetacoma.com, or at http://groups.google. com/group/southsoundcollage.