Closely Crafted Unveils Free Platform to Link Garment Workers and Businesses

Closely Crafted, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and revitalizing American craft, has unveiled a free online platform that aims to match skilled garment workers with the businesses that need them.

The platform is called Closely Connected. It is designed to connect makers, businesses and specialised skilled workers in New York's Garment District, the Manhattan area long tied to the city's clothing trade. Anyone can use it at no cost.

The site includes searchable directories that can be filtered by skill and by availability. A business can look for a worker with a particular skill who is free to take on work. Workers can also browse job postings and referrals, which are introductions made by someone who knows both sides.

Closely Connected also offers resources and training. It lists apprenticeship opportunities, a structured period of learning alongside experienced workers.

The platform is built for use on a phone. People can communicate through text message, email and WhatsApp, a popular messaging app, in English, Spanish and Chinese. That range of languages is meant to reach the many different communities that work in the district.

The service is provided through the GDA Business Development Collaborative. Closely Crafted was founded by Gigi Burris.

For a reader outside the trade, the idea is simple. A business that needs a skilled worker, and a worker looking for one, can find each other in one place rather than through word of mouth alone.