sone
//an IRL and URL space
for creative community
A blueprint for openly building viable alternatives
Sone is a 501(c)3 nonprofit registered in Portland, OR, USA that builds, publishes, and releases with community and openness in mind. The results of what we create are available for others to contribute to, co-own, collaborate within, replicate, experiment with, and build into something else altogether. We're working to re-imagine how both IRL & URL experiences might better serve us.
The name sone is intentional: it is defined as “a unit, used to measure the subjective perception of loudness”. Our goal with Sone is to center public goods, mutual aid, and altruistic outcomes as a foundational premise of our work. We intend to elevate underrepresented voices to be, well, "subjectively perceived as louder."
Our mission statement is as follows:
Sone designs and builds infrastructure for and with independent creative communities. Our core services are aimed to empower the self-publishing of material online via open source, cooperatively owned and operated frameworks. Our primary goal is to educate about, and create, systems that pass as much value to artists for their work while creating more equitable outcomes for all involved.
Sone currently has two primary modes of creating: a project arm that builds useful, open, tangible products & resources for all to use; and a curational arm, which highlights great work, forward thinking concepts, and useful ideas.
who we are
Kevin Duquette (he/him) designed and built websites for bands back in the 90s and is still trying to today.
After stints as a web developer working for various creative firms and for the Boston Globe in the early 2000s, he shifted into overseeing Topshelf Records in 2011 and has helmed the label full time since.
Now leveraging his experience from two decades in independent music, Kevin advocates for more transparent processes within the music industry, working on Sone from his home in Portland, OR.
Kevin is a co-founder of Sone and currently serves as it's sitting secretary.
Lon Beshiri (they/them) is a self-taught software engineer originally from Miami, FL who now resides in the state's humid north.
They started their career designing web applications for a community radio station after serving as a long time DJ, which inspired a move into the educational sector where they supported Florida State University's web needs for over half a decade. Besides Sone, Lon now works as a software engineer focusing in data visualization and analytics for a top 15 US company.
Lon is of Syrian descent, non-binary, neurodivergent, and believes holding visiblity in these spaces is important. They also have a passion for labor rights and the fair treatment of disabled folk in the workplace.
Lon is a co-founder of Sone and currently serves as it's sitting president. They are also responsible for leading it's product engineering endeavours.
Cole Johnson (they/them) is a designer, musician, and founder of Barn Radio, a Black-led music venue and artist platform based in Portland, Oregon that is dedicated to uplifting BIPOC, queer, and trans artists while sitting at the intersection of electronic music culture, contemporary visual art, and radical accessibility.
Under their alter ego sqip, Cole creates genre-collaged, emotionally vulnerable work that merges abstract electronic textures with intimate, songwriter-driven forms.
From 2019 to 2023, they worked with Bijan Berahimi at FISK, a design studio and gallery known for its cultural impact and visual experimentation. Cole’s current design portfolio spans a wide wrange of variety, with clientelle from Toro y Moi to Nike.
At Barn Radio, Cole has curated performances by a wide range of local and international artists — including Two Shell, Slauson Malone 1, Erika de Casier, Alice Longyu Gao, Kikelomo, and DJ Lag — while also cultivating a supportive ecosystem for DJs, dancers, and students within Portland’s underground.
Cole currently serves as Sone's sitting treasurer.
pillar contributors
Matthew Lewicki (he/him) studied graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore before moving to Boston, Washington D.C., and eventually Brooklyn, NY where he currently resides.
With over a decade of experience, Matt currently leads user experience and visual identity for Tone, while also helping a tremendous deal with guiding the project's feature direction.
Zach Miller (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in the realm of audio and video production. After nearly 10 years of working on projects in the documentary, commercial, and music video space, he is now exploring ways to utilize that experience to empower music communities online.
Zach currently leads media direction and video for Sone, while also helping engineer Tone when he can.