Makers Gotta Make is a love letter to Portland’s creative culture, and poses questions about how cities can protect the communities that make them vibrant.
About the film
In Portland, Oregon, a community of artists and entrepreneurs came together and transformed abandoned industrial warehouses into a thriving maker economy that captured international attention.
At the center of this creative explosion is ADX, a collaborative hub where artists, makers, and small businesses came together to share tools, ideas, and space.
But as rising rents, development pressure, and a pandemic reshape the city, the creators who built Portland’s identity are pushed to the margins.
Makers Gotta Make: Creativity, Community and Connection is a love letter to Portland’s creative culture, and poses a question about whether cities can protect the communities that make them vibrant.
Support the film!
We are currently in production, filming interviews and creating a rough cut of the feature film. We’re also working with photos and footage from the archives of Portland makers, PDX Pop Now!, Bike Portland, the Oregon Historical Society, and ADX.
The film will have a cast & crew screening of the trailer in October 2026 at ADX Fest followed by submissions to regional and national film festivals.
Our Team
Kelley Roy
Kelley Roy is an entrepreneur and community builder who founded Art Design Xchange (ADX) in 2011 to support Portland’s thriving maker ecosystem. She also founded the maker collective Portland Made, authored the book Portland Made, chronicling the city’s maker movement, co-authored Cartopia about Portland’s food cart scene, and was a co-producer of the film The Winding Stream. For over two decades, she has been a driving force in Portland’s creative community, helping artists and entrepreneurs turn ideas into viable businesses.
Through ADX, Kelley has built a collaborative hub offering tools, training, and business support, while fostering connections that strengthen the local creative economy and expand opportunities for makers to grow and sustain their work.
Executive Producer
Shannon Guirl
Shannon is a Pacific Northwest–based producer and editor who’s spent over a decade telling stories across documentary, television, and digital media. She’s worked on projects like Bowling for Columbine, Shut Up & Sing, The First 48, and maker profiles for Etsy- shaping raw footage into thoughtful, engaging narratives.
Based in Portland, OR, she’s also a longtime maker, designing midcentury-inspired lighting and enjoys collaborating with local makers and creatives.
Whether she’s behind the camera or in the edit room, Shannon brings a hands-on, intuitive approach, blending story, craft, and community into work that feels both personal and impactful.
Producer/Editor
Caitlin is a queer filmmaker and cinematographer who brings a sharp eye and an empathetic lens to stories often overlooked.
She holds a Master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Oregon, and has shot documentary and branded content for organizations including the ACLU of Oregon, Habitat for Humanity, and the San Diego LGBT Center. Her work on Within Reach: The Fight to Finish Cancer contributed to a Northwest Emmy nomination.
See more at https://www.crowley-films.com/
Director of PhotographyCaitlin Crowley
Zach Yarrington
Zach is a graphic artist supporting everyone from do-gooding projects, small businesses to multinational institutions. He specializes in brand identity, helping create meaningful experiences online and in real life.
Zach has been a part of the ADX community since its founding in 2011 and proudly helped ADX through its many chapters. He takes great pride bringing the next generation of makers into the fold. See Zach's work on his website
Executive Producer
Sarah Elisa Perez
Sarah Perez is a queer, Cuban-Filipina filmmaker with over six years of experience producing documentary and narrative films that uplift underrepresented communities. She loves visual storytelling for its power to cultivate empathy and understanding between people of all backgrounds.
For the past three years, Sarah has primarily produced award-winning films for nonprofit organizations across the globe through her work at ZP Productions. Her trauma-informed approach to storytelling has helped organizations such as Francis Parker School and the Maurice Lucas Foundation exceed their fundraising goals, raising millions of dollars for their causes. While Sarah’s main focus is documentary storytelling, she has also independently produced fully crowd- and grant-funded narrative short films, commercials, and an episodic pilot.
Additional Director of PhotographyAdditional thanks to:
Marjorie Skinner
Marjorie Skinner is a strategist and producer whose career began in journalism as the longstanding design columnist and Managing Editor of the Portland Mercury. Her work has since expanded to global enterprises, including adidas and Google. She often works to connect local narratives to larger cultural shifts through projects like the multimedia Portland Fashion in the Aughts exhibit, which she conceived and produced, and her involvement with the Portland Botanical Gardens. As a cultural researcher and former journalist, she views the interview process as more than a reporting tool or method of data collection – she sees it as foundational to understanding how communities form identity, navigate change, and remain both connected and distinct.
Interview Producer
Jesse Rush Champlin
Jesse Champlin is a photographer, videographer, high-end retoucher, and digital imaging artist. After earning a BFA in Photography from Parsons School of Design, he began his career in New York City before returning to his hometown of Portland, where he works with brands, publications, nonprofits, artists, executives, and civic leaders. A lifelong polymath, he is also a classically trained illustrator and painter, carpenter, leatherworker, auto and motorcycle mechanic, and field naturalist.
Additional Director of Photography
