People Who Care Vol.1

Hey peoplessss, it’s Francia :) I wanted to share some insight into the manifestation of our workshop, PEOPLE WHO CARE, because I found that it came to be in a very fascinating way…

Genesis

On a random night in January, I was in bed getting ready to finally get some rest when I was abruptly awakened by the vibrations of my phone. Julian was calling me. Usually, a late night call from him means something introspective and inquisitive, so I answered.

The call was worth taking. It became one of those conversationally rich talks filled with retrospection, the kind two friends naturally fall into. Eventually, we started talking about what was next for Stool. We had taken a small winter break after our collaboration with Exposure Therapy: Halloween Edition, especially since some of our members were deep in the trenches of finals week.

At the same time, it was the first month of the Year of the Horse, and we felt deeply inspired by the energy to reignite momentum within Stool. Julian and I began brainstorming what our next move could be. For a while, we had wanted to make use of the screen-printing equipment in Julian’s garage, and from there, the foundation for our next mission slowly began to form.

Logistics

What fulfills us? What do we want to prioritize? What do we want to provide?

These questions drive the intentions behind every event we create, and PEOPLE WHO CARE (which at the time was still nameless) became the answer to all of them. It became a source of alignment, purpose, and creative fulfillment.

The call evolved into organizing the details of the event itself. Here’s a photo of Julian’s notes from the night of the conversation.

So yes! We talked about our desire to build community and create a space where artists could collaborate and share their art with one another. A screen-printing event!

We talked about creating a Google Form where people could submit their designs, and we started building a timeline for promotion leading up to the event itself. We knew artists would need time to create and submit their work, so discussions about deadlines naturally followed. Although the event itself wouldn’t happen for another two months, there was still a lot of work to do beforehand.

We wanted the footprint of the event to have an archival quality to it, something tangible that artists could keep forever. Julian suggested screen-printing onto fabric so the prints could become keepsakes and eventually be turned into patches. Then came an even bigger idea: over time, after multiple PEOPLE WHO CARE events, we could stitch all the participating designs together into one giant quilt like a collective blanket of everyone who contributed.

At first, we were very ambitious. We imagined the event happening monthly, complete with an open mic and all these moving parts. But after actually putting the event on, we were confronted with important learning curves, which I'll go more into later.

At a certain point in the night, we had the bulk of the concept visualized, but the event was still nameless. Then Julian and I started talking about our personal convictions, and this recurring theme of genuinely caring about what we create kept resurfacing. That’s when he suggested the name “People Who Care.”

At first I was like, “nahhhh that’s kinda corny lol.”

But then we had a deeper conversation that completely dissolved the corniness of it. The name suddenly carried weight. It felt sincere, vulnerable, and exactly aligned with what we wanted the event to stand for. Right then and there, I knew it had to be called PEOPLE WHO CARE.

The call finally ended with a deep sense of satisfaction.

So BOOM! A few days later, we found ourselves on a FaceTime meeting with the rest of Stool. Everyone had finally recovered from winter break and finals season, and we were ready to get back into motion.

Ideas were flying left and right, and everybody was immediately down for the concept. Without hesitation, we started planning promotional flyers and dividing responsibilities. Tasks were suggested, claimed, and passed around naturally. I personally started drafting up a promo flyer, while Julian created a reel explaining the concept more in depth. Everyone else was handling different aspects of the event, so right from the start it was all hands on deck.

Here is some of the promotional material we put out:

Poster 1: Quetzal + PBJ / Poster 2: Francia / Poster 3&4: Quetzal / (Split) Poster 5: Rat

After days of promotion being up, we started receiving immediate interest from people who had already been engaging with what we were putting out. Seeing that response only made the flame burn brighter under us to really get things moving.

During this time, we even developed the idea of creating a zine. We decided the zine would serve as a physical archive featuring all of the submitted designs in their full color form alongside information about each artist. We didn’t just want to build community through an event, but also through something tangible people could hold onto - a magazine created by and for the community itself. So alongside this event came the zine version PEOPLE WHO CARE Vol. 1

As of May 20, 2026, we still have a few copies available!

Click here to grab yours for $5 + shipping. :) 

Once the submissions started rolling in, it was finally time to prepare them for the screen-printing process. It was fun to learn a new process from Julian, especially since this was new territory for me. I like to think of myself as an apprentice hehe. We had a huge work day dedicated to half-toning all the designs, cleaning screens, and coating them for the grid. We even got to make a reel out of the process! 

>>>Click here to check it out!<<<

It's Showtime!

What initially felt like two whole months suddenly felt like two weeks. The day of the event was approaching incredibly fast, and we still found ourselves missing a few things. But, despite all the stress, we managed to finish our tasks in time for the event. 

And thankfully… PEOPLE WHO CARE was a success!

People were walking around mingling, dancing, and connecting thanks to the help of Exposure Therapy and their amazing lineup of DJs. Here was the lineup!

1. Dj Disfnk - @disfnk

2. Dj Fuzzypinktimebaby - @fuzzypinktimebaby

3. Dj Kishna - @kishenk

4. Dj Silver - @asubl

(Silver also uploaded her set, click here to listen!)

The vibes were genuinely up, and the space became exactly the kind of community environment we had hoped for.

We even got a visit from soon to be mayor James Becerra, who shared a few words about his own interest in reviving the arts and community culture within Whittier.

I loved getting to finally meet the artists who submitted designs and hearing them talk about their creative process in person. We also had a vendor section where Stool members and invited creatives were selling handmade goods. And of course, there was the screen-printing section where Julian was teaching people to push and pull a squeegee, printing onto our patch fabric and clothing that attendees brought themselves.

There was motion everywhere. Connection everywhere.

I was in a constant state of bliss that entire day.

Everyone was so excited seeing their designs transformed into physical form and honestly, that mirrored the nature of the event itself. What once existed only as a thought eventually became a manifestation :)

Aftermath & Reflections

As the night came to an end and guests slowly began leaving, we Stool all went to Chili’s for a celebratory dinner and debrief ayeeeee.

We discussed shortcomings and analyzed the event to note how we can improve them for the future. For example, we had intended to have an open mic hour for artists to discuss their designs in front of everyone but missed out on that due to the intensity of running the rest of the event. From that we learned to make time for it at the next PWC event. We truly do appreciate any learning curves that come our way.

And just like that, the first PEOPLE WHO CARE was complete!

It felt like the perfect full-circle moment, leading all the way back to that random late night phone call that started it all. I felt incredibly honored to be surrounded by such an ambitious and genuine group of friends who consistently make things happen together.

They truly are people who care <3

Thanks for reading. Francia signing out! Peace and love :)