![]() ![]() Now they’re regularly getting sponsorships from upper-level writers, which allows them to give away free coffee to anyone who happens to be on the picket line that day. She and Alerte set up for the first time on May 25th, and things have only grown over the last few weeks. Alba-Von Buren came up with the name, a tribute to her dearly departed hedgehog Dean, and she created a graphic menu using him as the mascot and design inspiration, too. Together they tested out recipes for cold brew and specialty drinks, and when it turned out pretty well, they decided to go for it. But it still felt like a lark, the kind of thing you always think about but never actually do, until she brought the idea to her friend Olivier Alerte, a production coordinator. She looked up recipes, focusing on cold brew and iced coffee because it’s looking like a long, hot summer for writers marching back and forth on the sidewalks and crosswalks of the Valley. So she brainstormed and hit one of the things writers need most-coffee. ![]() She’s a member of IATSE from her time working in TV production offices, but she found the idea of just showing up to picket as a non-WGA member a little intimidating. This weird workflow is an overlooked byproduct of TV’s new era of mini-rooms and shortened contracts, two practices at the center of the WGA writers’ fight for a fair new contract.Īnd another job would have taken Alba-Von Buren away from what she wanted to do anyway-getting out on the picket lines, showing solidarity with the writers’ strike, and helping to re-establish the future of the film and TV industry. There are tons of short-term jobs with long gaps in between, sometimes for production companies that are intentionally anonymous or on shows that never make it to air. Even in LA, where everyone knows someone in show business, an aspiring TV writer’s resume reads a bit bizarre. First, Alba-Von Buren applied for jobs outside the TV industry in all sorts of relevant and tangentially relevant fields. Of course, that’s an oversimplification of the story. And so Dean’s Coffee was born, a strike-time stand that sets up on the picket lines selling cold brew and creative coffee drinks to striking writers and their allies. Suddenly she was out of work and searching for a way to support the writers’ strike in solidarity and a way to support herself, too. It was always an idle observation, though-a fun daydream, until the WGA strike began and TV production shut down across LA. There’s the blur of action, the community of coworkers and regulars, and the creative artistry behind specialty coffee drinks. On her regular coffee runs during her time as a Writers’ Production Assistant, Andrea Alba-Von Buren often thought it looked fun to be a barista. ![]()
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