I am literally bursting with excitement friends! Today is the public launch of my new project and it is going to be life changing-for myself, my collaborator Chara of Love, Me Boutique and hopefully for creative entrepreneurs everywhere!
If you have been reading Oh My! Handmade for awhile you know that nothing makes me happier than nurturing the dreams of entrepreneurs, sharing their stories and giving them resources to grow their businesses. Creating community is my life’s work and what I am best at. Before I started editing OMHG I knew I had the power to connect people and help make vibrant communities, that is what I did as a living and a calling. OMHG taught me that the work I was called to had no borders or boundaries-that the internet was also a place to bring people together to make the world, and our lives, more joyous and beautiful while making me happier then I ever thought possible.
For the last year I had this idea in my head that wouldn’t go away and had been gnawing at me. It was like a little weed with deep roots-while I tried hard to focus on just one thing it kept popping up and keeping me awake at night. It was so beautiful I couldn’t bear to weed it out, so I did my research. I knew what I was imagining hadn’t been done yet, by anyone, anywhere that I could find, but I wasn’t quite ready or sure of my direction…
Until I interviewed Chara for Oh My! Handmade. Afterwards we started emailing about creating an ecourse or program of some kind and sharing our dreams about handmade, community, life, love and our own paths as creatives. As we talked online and in person our idea grew from a program to a magazine, to a magazine + online community + plans for print magazines and/or a book. After over 6 months of emails and weekly Skype meetings (+ endless revisions of our logo until I got it just right) Chara and I are ready to share our dream with you.
Help us welcome Heartweed to the world!
Heartweed is the magazine creative entrepreneurs and artists have been waiting for (even if they don’t know it yet!). Unlike other shelter, art or design focused digital magazines Heartweed is centred solely on growing your creative dream from a seedling into a blossoming business. I am a huge fan of digital and print magazines and devour new issues of my favorites. But where is the beautiful magazine just for creative entrepreneurs? A magazine so lush and gorgeous you can curl up with it and flip through again and again, filling your heart with inspiration and your mind with ideas and strategies? We are making it!
I’m not going to ruin all the surprises we have planned for you but expect to see interviews, studio tours, videos, chats, tutorials and some of the most talented established and emerging artists in our community within Heartweed’s pages. Heartweed is beginning with six online issues, each with a focused topic (Dream It, Plant It, Weed It, Tend It, Flaunt It, Grow It) that follow the flow of beginning and building a creative business.
But it won’t stop there, the magazine is only half of it! The other half is the stuff dreams are made of. The Heartweed magazine will be available free to the public and our first issue will launch in January 2012. In addition to the magazine Studio Rose Flash is building a full website for subscribers that will allow creatives to connect with each other and get incredible bonus materials linked to the magazine content. Subscribers will be able to access peer support and mentorship, get feedback on their projects, and download the amazing extra material we will be offering. When subscribers read each issue of Heartweed they will be able to click through to access more content, talk about articles with other readers, find opportunities to have their work and story featured in our magazine + so much more still planned.
I love blogs and magazines but I always want MORE. More engagement and interaction, more insight, more connection to the writers and their stories or the pieces featured. After I read something I want to talk about it and share my ideas with others. The Heartweed community will be that more.
Excited yet? Because I am so thrilled to start this new journey and hope all of you are along for the adventure. I will of course continue editing Oh My! Handmade and building our community here but I will also be giving a large chunk of my love to Heartweed.
So please join Chara & I-follow Heartweed on Twitter and Facebook and by signing up for the Heartweed mailing list to be the first to know when our full site and first issue launch + get sneak peeks and special offers.
You can also be a part of our project from the beginning by purchasing advertising in our first issue! Find out all the juicy details and download our advertising info on the new www.heartweed.com launch page.
Together we will plant the seeds of our dreams and unearth the heart of a creative life.
Are you with me?
Welcome into the world Heartweed, you are quite beautiful!
Very exciting! Congratulations, it’s going to be epic!
Sounds totally fantastic and I’m looking forward to reading and interacting! Congratulations!
Oh, this is wonderful! So very excited for you and this awesome new venture 🙂
Heartweed is definitely the magazine that this creative entrepreneur has been waiting for! I’ve scoured the shelves at the newsagents so many times for something even remotely like this, but I’ve never found anything so specifically geared towards creative entrepreneurs. I am so excited to see this wonderful idea being put into action. I can’t wait for January!
my dear jessika , I am so thrilled for you and chara.. Good luck on your journey …I am sooo looking forward to seeing this community grow like a weed – in a good way !!
Beautiful site! Can’t wait to see what you have planned. Congratulations!
@Stephanie-I love how my mama got the first blessing in on my new adventure!
@Fiona-thank you for all your support & encouragement!
@Stacey-It was so hard to keep this secret from our #omhg crew-can’t wait to see where this take all of our dreams (because you’re coming with me!)
@Suzi-Me too! I’ve been looking for a magazine like this for years but never found one-this is the time for creatives to have our own business mag!
@Lakshmi-Thank you a million times for all your love & kind emails, weeds unite!
@Isa-Your belief in me has given me more strength and energy then you can know!
BIG ENORMOUS GIANT hugs to all of you for helping Chara & I birth Heartweed-I hope it will be a place for all our dreams to thrive <3
This sounds so exciting, in fact, that I’m not quite sure how I’m going to wait until January! I’m totally digging the community focus.
So exciting Jessika! Congrats on another big launch – hope this little weed grows wildly for you! Can’t wait to see this dream of yours come to fruition in January.
Yay-Yay-Yay! Long live Heartweed!
I’m so incredibly proud and excited for you! You are truly taking your dreams and making it a reality. Keep growing, my friend, keep growing!
@Katie-I’m not sure how we are going to wait until January either-but I can tell you that there will be lots of sneak peeks & a mini-issue to tide you over until the big day: )
@Marisa-You’re the best Marisa! Thank you for everything: )
@Valerie-It really wouldn’t be possible without your help & tech experience, thank you for designing such a beautiful landing page-the full site is going to be incredible!
@Bridgett-With friends like you I think there is no limit to what can be done! Your support & friendship & belief in me are food for my soul.
We are indeed sister for life bound by serendipity LOL! Cheers for this new sailing project that’s about to bloom + for the endless lives that you will touch with your magic + pom poms of kindness 🙂
HOOORAYYYYYYY!
So absolutely wonderful and exciting! Hugs all around… I can’t wait to see what’s in store! 🙂
I’m soo excited! I really hope to be part of this 🙂
jess, i am beside myself excited for you! from the day we crossed paths, i knew there was a lot more to come from you — boundless creativity and energy and so much heart, i am so happy to see it coming together in such amazing ways for you. can’t wait to get to know Chara a little better, and watch this journey unfold for you guys! congrats!!
Congratulations! So excited for you and all the lives you’re about to enrich!
your quote is lovely. I plan to pass this site on to friends. Looking forward to your “bloom”
I am so thirlled to hear about this and I love the name. Thank you for sharing all your inspiration to keep makers inspired in what we do.
Congrats !
i am so thrilled to hearabout this! I’m signing up! Best success to you!
P.S. i’m excited that you’re canadian!
I’m with you! Can’t wait!
ABSOLUTELY COMPLETELY LOVE THIS !!!!!
This looks so exciting! Congratulations and I can’t wait for the launch!