u/Kumquat-papi-415

Hey there! Looking for community spaces where adults gather and sew, or drop-in and create. I know there are formal sewing classes (that often cost $$) and as much as I love Community Fits, most of their courses are for beginners and/ or young people. Do we know of any third spaces where folks sew (and perhaps other fiber arts) together? Really looking to expand my creative community without having to pay for a $200 workshop.

I’d love to leave this job but we all know how hard that is now more than ever. I’m still applying to jobs and trying to create build my professional network nonetheless.

In the meantime, my boss. I was promoted recently to a director position. I’m supposed to lead strategic partnerships for campaigns and other branding efforts. So far, I’ve just been invited to meetings where my boss is talking and I’m silent. At the end he’ll say, “ that was a lot. My name, did I miss anything?”

You might ask, why don’t you jump in and brainstorm some ideas? My boss is the decision maker on branding. But he REFUSES to ID what our specific branding needs / buckets are and he feels we don’t have the data to inform a brand strategy. I feel like this leaves me in the dark - who we’re looking for and what type of partnership is often determined and approved by him live, during these meetings. When I’ve talked to him, he’s said he’s just warming up these new partners and will pass them off to me eventually. When I’ve asked about training, he said that “we don’t do that here.” He expects me to sit, observe, and eventually — when he’s ready to step aside, do my new job.

In the meantime, there are other functions of my role I’ve pursued so I can acquire new skills and not have to work with my boss.

For background, many people on the team have expressed frustration with this person’s inability to step back and let others lead. It has created many many bottlenecks in the past.

How can I navigate this boss? He’s impacting my ability to pick up new skills, collect achievements in this new role, and practice leadership. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to apply for a similar role elsewhere because I lack tangible experience (I didn’t work in a partnerships role before).