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- 06 Austin partnerships
Austin workshops, writers and small studios can write to share a bench or a project.
This is the Austin collaboration direction of Xavriqon, and its status is Listening. We read every letter from a local workshop, writer or small studio, we answer within three business days as a working rule, and we have not yet agreed to a single joint project. That last part matters, so it goes first.
Austin creative collaboration: what exists today
No fee is charged and none is quoted. The basis is a letter. If a letter turns into something, terms are written down by both sides before anyone moves a chair.
A reading desk for local letters
Letters marked as an Austin collaboration go to one pile and get read the same week. A short reply goes back to every one that names a real project, even when the answer is no.
A program, a residency or a call for applications
There is no cohort, no open call and no shared studio with a waiting list. Anyone describing one in our name is wrong. We would rather say it plainly than let a page imply it.
None. First contact by letter only.
We do not sell partnership packages and we do not pay for introductions. Money comes up only once a project is defined, and then it is agreed in writing, in USD, between the people doing the work.
Who should write
The letters we hope to get come from people who make things in Austin.
The office sits at 152 Oak Lane, Suite 4. That address is the whole reason this direction exists. A small office that holds a name and studies a few ideas gets more out of a neighbor with a press, a bench or a manuscript than out of a stranger three time zones away.
Write if you run a print shop or a bindery and have a slow week each month. Write if you are a writer with a short piece that needs a small run, because field notes and publishing is in study and we need real paper to study with. Write if you are a two-person studio that names things and keeps running into the same domain problem we deal with on naming and rare domains.
Shared bench time is the most likely shape. One of us brings a problem, the other brings a tool or a room, and we split a Thursday. It is also the least glamorous shape, which is why we trust it.
Who will hear no quickly
Agencies looking for a white-label partner. Anyone pitching lead generation, link exchanges or guest posts. Domain brokers, whatever the wording. Recruiters. Event sponsorship requests. These get a one-line reply, and a broker gets the same line every time: the domain is not for sale.
Outside Austin? You can still write, but understand the bias. A letter from Round Rock or San Marcos is read the same way. A letter from another country about a joint venture usually goes to general contact and waits its turn.
What a useful first letter contains
Most first letters fail the same way: a paragraph about values and no mention of what would happen on a Tuesday. Five things fix that.
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Who you are, in one sentence
Name, what you make, and where in Austin you make it. A neighbourhood is enough. We do not need a portfolio link in the first letter, though one does no harm.
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The concrete thing you want to do together
"Print 60 copies of a 24-page pamphlet on your Vandercook" is a letter we can answer. "Explore synergies" is not. Size it in hours, pages, copies or square feet.
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What each side brings
Tools, a room, a skill, a list of readers, an afternoon a week. Say what you would expect from us as well. A one-sided ask is fine as long as it is stated.
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Any date that is real
If a fair, a launch or a lease forces a date, give it. The fit checker will tell you whether our three-business-day reply target lands before it. If it does not, do not wait on us.
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How you want the reply
Email or phone. We default to email because it leaves a record both sides can read later. Mark the letter's kind as an Austin collaboration on the contact form so it lands in the right pile.
After you write
From letter to bench, in order
- Day 0Letter arrivesStored once, with the consent you gave on the form. Nothing is added to a mailing list, because there is no mailing list.
- Day 1–3Short replyWithin three business days as a working rule, not a guarantee. Yes, no, or one question that would let us decide.
- Week 2One visitIf the answer leans yes, someone from the office comes to your bench or you come to Oak Lane. One hour, no slides.
- ThenA page of termsScope, dates, who owns what, and any money in USD. Signed by both before work starts. If it cannot fit on a page, the project is too big for us right now.
Questions Austin studios ask before writing
Is there a deadline for letters?
No. The direction is Listening with no closing date, and we will not invent one to make the page feel urgent. Write when you have a concrete idea.
Will you pay us, or should we pay you?
Neither, at first. There is no fee basis for this direction. If a project needs money, the amount and who pays it go into the written terms before anything starts. We never ask for a deposit to read a letter.
Can we use the Xavriqon name in our announcement?
Only once both sides have signed terms that say so. The name is held for a future project and we keep it out of other people's marketing until there is something real to point at.
Who is this not for?
Anyone who needs a guaranteed answer by a fixed date, anyone selling services to us, and anyone hoping to buy the domain. For a name of your own, the open direction is naming and rare-domain consultation. For desk research, read why research and archive is parked.
Can I phone instead of writing?
You can call +1 (378) 555-8712, and we will ask you to put it in a letter afterwards. First contact by letter is the rule here because a phone call leaves nothing both sides can check later.
Have a bench, a press or a manuscript in Austin?
Tell us the concrete thing you want to make and what each side brings. One letter is enough to start, and a short reply comes back either way.