Featured Articles
Care/Carry/Cure an essay from ‘You Care Too Much’
In June of 2016 I supported my love Chris as we dealt with the death of both his parents and a co-worker over a three week period. This essay written the summer of those deaths is my attempt to make sense of grief and the struggle to carry all that… Read more
Press Release: Concern over Changes to Etsy Values Leads to #EtsyStrike
For Immediate Release: July 2018 Concern over Changes to Etsy Values Leads to #EtsyStrike Consumer Strike organized for July 16, 2018 in response to changing values at Etsy. Read submitted statements from the community on changes to values at Etsy here. Click here to download this press release as a… Read more
Community Statements on Changes to Values at Etsy #etsystrike
Click to view a spreadsheet of all submissions. View call to action: http://bit.ly/etsystrike IMPORTANT: Letter to Etsy Inc. Board of Directors, July 16 2018 http://bit.ly/lettertoetsy Last month I shared a personal statement about changes to values at Etsy and called for fellow makers who had similar concerns to participate in organizing a… Read more
Et Tu, Etsy? A call for fellow makers to strike.
IMPORTANT: Letter to Etsy Inc. Board of Directors, July 16 2018 http://bit.ly/lettertoetsy Dear fellow makers & Etsy sellers I suggest we plan a general strike, For a media version of key points please click here. Do you know the scene in the musical Rent where a ragtag collection of artists and… Read more
Democracy is a Strong Seed
Democracy will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear. I have as much right As the other fellow has To stand On my two feet And own the land. I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I… Read more
It’s not talent, it’s just work.
People often ask me if I discipline myself to write, if I work a certain number of hours a day on a schedule. They ask this question with envy in their voices and awe on their faces and a sense of alienation all over them, as if they were addressing… Read more
Go Do Some Great Thing
“What! Discouraged? Go do some great thing.” Crawford Kilian, Go Do Some Great Thing; The Black Pioneers of British Columbia This quote is the opening page to Lawrence Hill’s debut novel “Some Great Thing” – what are you reading or doing lately that inspires you to greatness? Further Reading: Go… Read more
Start Over Again
People whose lives have been shaped by history—and it is always tragic— do not want to talk about it, would rather dance, give parties on thrift-shop china. You feel wonderful in their homes, two leaky rooms, nests they stowed inside their hearts on the road into exile. They know how… Read more
Draw a Larger Circle
I intend to do my part through the power of persuasion, by spiritual resistance, by the power of my pen, and by inviting the violence upon my own body. For what is life itself without the freedom to walk proudly before God and man and to glorify creation through the… Read more
You do, therefore you are.
I’ve known people with tremendous technical ability that haven’t gone very far. I’ve also known people with tremendous insight that never bothered to learn their craft. Craftsmanship is something that’s really going out now. The young people have no patience with craftsmanship any more. They think, therefore they am. It’s… Read more
#FellowMakers History & the Triangle Factory Fire
Fellow makers, many of us have forgotten International Women’s Day began as International Working Women’s Day. The agenda? Changing conditions for the working women of the world and uniting the working class. On March 8, 1857, garment workers in New York City marched and picketed, demanding improved working conditions, a ten… Read more
70 Ways to Build Community, Save Your Sanity, and Change the World
It’s become such a cliched phrase-something we say and recognize to be true but don’t often act on: “It takes a village to raise a child.” What does that even mean? I am asked all the time – “How can I possibly do it all?” The hard truth is you… Read more
Stop the Hustle: On Slowing Down, Stepping Up & Paying Attention
hus•tle (ˈhʌs əl) v. -tled, -tling, n. to proceed or work rapidly or energetically. to push or force one’s way; jostle or shove. to be aggressive, esp. in business or other financial dealings. Slang. to earn one’s living by illicit or unethical means. Slang. (of a prostitute) to solicit clients.… Read more
Community Is Not Clubs: How We’re Segregating the Internet & What We Can Do
Community is not clubs Lately there seems to be examples everywhere of how we are segregating the internet into exclusive cliques and clubs instead of communities where we share real human moments. Statistics from the 2014 Employee Diversity Reports for our major networks show that online giants like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, Ebay and Etsy all fail… Read more