They say one thing leads to another. It certainly seems to be true for local congressional office director and part-time jewelry artist Linda Danforth. “Things” have led Danforth most recently to combine her political job with a part-time crafting business — and also with operation of a downtown artists’ co-operative, plus, most recently, with start-up work on a second co-op built on a non-profit model.



Danforth grew up across the Narrows in Purdy.  She worked for the Washington State Legislature, then moved to Washington, D.C. to take a job with Congressman Adam Smith, returning to the state and settling in Tacoma in 1999 to serve as Smith’s congressional district director.



There was little or no overlap between Danforth’s vocation and her work in the arts, “but lately,” she says, “they’ve become intertwined because my boss has become really interested in global poverty elimination and sustainable development issues … and I also have a personal interest in that.”



Some of Danforth’s work-related travel exposed her to work being done in “micro-credit” lending and the development of co-ops in Third World settings. “That’s where I got the idea for an art co-operative as a non-profit model,” she explains. But the non-profit co-operative is only the latest chapter in Danforth’s involvement with the arts and with her community.



Danforth’s work in arts and crafting dates to when she began making jewelry at the age of 10. Today, she designs and sells pieces through local boutiques, but the entrepreneurial side of her crafting actually began when she was a child — sort of. An aunt who owned a retail store in California knew of her niece’s hobby and encouraged Danforth’s work by offering to sell the jewelry out of her shop.

“So I would send her jewelry. She would put it in her shop and then send me checks,” Danforth explains. “I don’t know if anything was ever actually sold, but she was kind enough to send me checks every once in a while.”



Fast forward to the late 1990s when Danforth returned from her two-year stint in the nation’s capital. “I found myself working all the time,” she recalls. “And I thought, I need to get a hobby, and then I remembered: Oh, I already have one.”

So Danforth began crafting jewelry more ambitiously in the little free time she had — and discovered that using semi-precious stones and imported crystal quickly increased the cost of pursuing a hobby like jewelry making — regardless of how therapeutic the activity may be.



“I thought, maybe I should try to make a little money at it, and then I can at least break even.”



It worked. But the new hobby-enterprise also began filling Danforth’s downtown Tacoma condominium with equipment, supplies and a growing stock of crafted pieces. Finally, she admitted to herself, “I can’t live like this.”



She began looking for a separate space to house her jewelry-making materials. She also talked with other artists confronted with space-related problems — those making art in their garages or on their dining room tables or in their basements.



“And I thought, wouldn’t it be nice for them to get out into a more public space, where people could see their work, and maybe buy their work,” Danforth recalls. Her goal became providing a setting for those like herself: “City dwellers who were crafty.” But she saw a second purpose as well —  providing commercial space and equipment to local artists “who really needed someone with more of a business sense to take that leap of faith … someone who wants to provide that opportunity for someone else.”



Danforth realized that perhaps she could be that person. “I have really good credit, and I have a day job,” she explains. “So I thought why don’t I take the risk and rent a big space.”



And that’s what she did. Jet Artist Co-operative at 1901 S. Jefferson is set in a space leased by Danforth and rented out as work spaces to local artists.



But Danforth isn’t finished yet. Remember those travels to the developing world where she saw micro-loans and co-operatives run on a non-profit basis helping local artists use their skills in art and crafting to better themselves economically? One such co-op in Africa offered nominally-priced memberships that gave local women opportunities not only to use equipment and supplies provided by the co-op, but to learn business and other skills via classes offered on site.



“I thought: that’s what we need in Tacoma, something that’s really affordable.” Thus, a Tacoma artists’ co-op “revised version” is under development, a non-profit-fueled and administered gathering place that will charge minimal membership fees for those who can afford them —  and find funding from other sources for those who can’t. The project has already gained the support of the Greater Tacoma Foundation, while Danforth and other organizers pursue formal non-profit status.



And all that from one woman’s search to find ways to unwind after a long day at the office. For more information, visit jetartistcooperative.com or tgpcooperative.com (the latter based on the working title of Danforth’s non-profit venture).