UNBADGED: A Public Reclamation Studio hosted by myCareerCollaboration
About UNBADGED
What do you do with the things that still carry the name of a place you've left?
The company shirt. The conference badge. The branded water bottle. The swag you never actually wanted but somehow couldn't throw away. For much of our lives, our identities become intertwined with where we work. These objects can carry memories of belonging, achievement, ambition, disappointment, exhaustion or simply a chapter that is over. And then something changes.
You leave. You're laid off. You change careers. You burn out. You decide you want something different. But the objects remain.
What happens when we give them a new story?
Welcome to UNBADGED
UNBADGED: A Public Reclamation Studio is a participatory art experience about letting go, making meaning, and creating something new. Bring an object connected to a former workplace, career, or professional identity.
Then we'll transform it together.
At this event:
T-shirts and other fabric items will become dog toys.
Old water bottles and tumblers will get a new life with stickers.
It's a little bit art studio, a little bit community gathering, and a little bit art therapy light. No artistic experience required.
What to Bring
Bring something that carries the name, logo, or memory of a professional chapter you're ready to reclaim.
It could be:
A company T-shirt
Jacket or sweatshirt
Conference badge
Water bottle or tumbler
Notebook
Promotional swag
Something else entirely
Don't have anything to bring? Come anyway.
Who Is This For?
UNBADGED is for anyone who has ever had a complicated relationship with work.
Maybe you're navigating:
A layoff or unexpected job loss
A career transition
Burnout
Reinvention
Entrepreneurship
Returning to the workforce
Leaving an organization you once loved
Changing industries or professional identities
The strange feeling of "I don't know who I am professionally anymore."
Or maybe you're simply curious about what happens when we take something from an old chapter and make it mean something new. You don't have to be in transition to participate. Artists, makers, community builders, career explorers, recovering corporate people, and curious humans are all welcome.
This Probably Isn't Your Thing
UNBADGED might not be for you if you want a traditional networking event.
There won't be business-card collecting.
There won't be a panel of experts telling you how to fix your career.
There won't be a demonstration followed by everyone making the exact same thing.
And you definitely don't have to show up with your five-year plan.
This is a space to experiment, play, process, connect, and make meaning.
Come as you are. Bring the thing you've been keeping. Let's see what it can become. Because sometimes reclaiming your identity starts with making a little room for something new.
UNBADGED is a public reclamation.