"Radical Shopkeeping: Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the People"
Scott Ballum, Huffington Post: Jan 13, 2010

Contact: scott@sheepless.org

Scott Ballum

I'm a writer, designer, entrepreneur and sustainable small business advocate. I currently act as Editorial and Creative Director for Sheepless, an online magazine and community I founded in 2009 to support local economies, and consult privately on design and communication strategy for a number of small businesses nationally.

Previously, I've served as a Senior Designer at the renowned C&G Partners in New York, creating identity projects for the likes of Signature Theatre Company and Alhurra Television Network; and was Design Director for Housing Works, a pioneer in activism and social enterprise. I've spoken around the country about small business innovation, and write about sustainable creativity for Sheepless and the Huffington Post. My work has been recognized by the Art Directors Club Annual Awards, Rockport Publishers, GD USA's People to Watch issue, STEP Inside Design, the W3 Awards, Adbusters, NPR, GOOD Magazine, and AllDayBuffet's inaugural NewYork100.

scott@sheepless.org

Selected Articles
"Radical Shopkeeping: Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the People" Huffington Post: Jul 13, 2010
"The Rise of the Citizen Entrepreneur" Sheepless.org: Feb 12, 2010
"Don’t Start a Social Enterprise—Unless You Have To" Huffington Post: Dec 16, 2009

Press
"Black Sheep" DailyBR!NK: Jan 2011
“The Little Guy” Riviera San Diego: Sep 2010
"NewYork100" AllDayBuffet: Aug 2009
"ADC Q&A" Art Directors Club News: Jun 2009
"Scott Ballum of Sheepless" Design Glut: Jun 2009
"All Things Considered" National Public Radio: Feb 2009
"Consumer Connection" GOOD Magazine: Aug 2008
"People to Watch" GD USA: Jan 2008
"Distinguished Alumni" School of Visual Arts: Sep 2007
"Consumer, Revolt!" AdBusters: Oct 2005

Appearances
University of California San Diego, CA (Host/Moderator): Apr 19, 2011
Greenlight Bookstore, NY (Panel Moderator): Sep 22, 2010
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Assoc, NJ (Keynote Speaker): Sep 21, 2010
Arizona State University, AZ (Juror/Panelist): Apr 16, 2010
Sprout Creek Farm, VT (Invited Lecturer): Mar 12, 2009
Bennington College, VT (Invited Lecturer): Mar 3, 2009
Interesting:NY Conference, NY (Speaker): Sep 13, 2008

Sheepless

I founded Sheepless in 2009 as a place to celebrate the inspiring small business owners I interact with everyday. We champion the Community Makers — small businesses who make our communities more sustainable, more accessible, more creative, and more fun. Through interviews and photographs, a series of video profiles, and providing resources and making connections, the project engages with a growing interest in cultivating local economies, understanding where goods come from, and nourishing our natural resources.

Focusing on the drive and personality of the mission-driven entrepreneur, Sheepless brings to light the similarities between one’s efforts to connect farmers with consumers, and another’s goal to provide educational resources to the underserved, or to support themselves through artistic and creative pursuits.

These pioneering activists and entrepreneurs are proving we can replace profit-driven corporate models with startups founded on convictions, without ignoring a very real bottom line. Self-sustaining businesses that create secure employment while having a positive social impact, and a small environmental one, are changing the world.

Visit Sheepless.org

Video produced by Scott Ballum. Shot and edited by Brian Hedden and Bryan Sykora. Music by the tUnE-yArDs.

The Consume®econnection Project

The Consume®econnection Project was a year-long effort to meet the laborers and craftspeople who made anything and everything I bought - before I bought it.

Why? My work frequently pushed others for deliberate, considered, personal, buying habits. On the event of my 30th birthday, I launched into an experiment devised to put my money where my mouth was: become aware of my own dependence on blind consumption, and gain an understanding of the people and processes involved in making commodities available to me.

My intention was not necessarily to change what I purchased, but to change my level of awareness and participation in the acts. I was interested in knowing where a large, mass-produced object came from as I was in meeting local entrepreneurs and artists. It was about understanding the labor and encountering the people that made my life, my consumer life anyway, possible. Read more about the project. See the blog.

Video: Speaking about the project at the Interesting:NY Conference Sep 21, 2008

Jan 13, 1009: Interview on NPR's All Things Considered


By Rebecca Sheir. Read the transcript on NPR.org

CONSUME®EVOLUTION Magazine

At a time when independent retailers are forced to compete with global corporations, and information is disseminated instantaneously and internationally, it is increasingly easy to be influenced by a good sales pitch or the latest trends.

CONSUME®EVOLUTION looks at the effects mass-marketing and globalization have on local industry, our buying habits, and our culture – highlighting the importance of our awareness and the immediacy of making personal critical choices.

View Issue 1 (May 2005) in Flash or view as PDF

Created by Scott Ballum with Jeffrey Metzner.