Digital Ventures - Patreon and E-Commerce

 Here we are in January (well, February now...it was January when I wrote this.)– a whole new year, filled with potential, possiblity, and yes, still haunted by the pandemic. While I'm not happy about the pandemic, and the multitude of challenges it presents to everyone, I am grateful for having gotten the last ten months (and probably the next ten to twelve) to be here, at home. The time at home has allowed me to really begin to dig my toes into the dirt here, and start to delve into work I really want to do. It has helped me to have enough space and quiet in my brain to be able to form both a picture, and a plan. 

A booth I shared with Darrell at the International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo a few years back.  Not something I'll be able to do again for quite a long time....Photo by Darrell Markewitz.

 

If I truly want to start to shift the balance of my working life from 85% theatre/15% Elfworks (that's at a rough guess – I haven't done any math on that.) then I also have to begin to shift my income possibilities. That has always been clear to me. How to make it happen is the mystery. It still is, but having had some time to consider, I'm exploring possibilities. I don't expect it will happen quickly, if it ever does, but I'm slowly coming around – and finding that I have the time – to give it a genuine effort. With time, I'd like to shift it to at least 50/50, maybe even further with theatre taking up only say 25% as an eventual goal. The truth is that as much as I love the theatre, the split life is beginning to wear me out...it takes a lot of energy to live in 2 places – especially when you don't really have a home base in the one it feels like you spend more than half your time in.

So, how does one go about making that shift – especially in the midst of a global pandemic? The answer in part, of course, is to expand your digital footprint and hope it successfully generates some income. This, of course, is not as easy as it sounds. Nor are there any guarantees – the internet is a huge open marketplace, and it means competing with the whole world. It also takes a dedicated amount of time and effort just to get it going, never mind maintaining it, monitoring it, adjusting it... Then of course there is simple fact that almost everyone else is trying to do the same thing, as a way to supplement, generate or replace their income. To put a topping on this particular cake – I'm not good at it. I know the bare minimums of what I need to know to do any given thing digitally. And computers often don't like me, as I'm sure I've mentioned.

The digital world can be a big, scary place. The ground shifts underfoot constantly. The learning curves come fast and often. It is wide open to all kinds of people, and the potential for all kinds of unknowns – both good and bad. While it is easy to get lost, there is really no place to hide...and while I'm fine with having a public face, I treasure my privacy.

I've resisted wading into the digital pool too deeply for any number of reasons, but it is time. I've had an Etsy site for a while, but that, too, is a very busy playground.  (Etsy Shop Link) So, I've been building. I'm writing more for this blog, and actually remembering to post what I write with greater regularity. I'm trying to use facebook more (Facebook Page Link)– actually post on a more regular basis. I've started an Instagram account (Instagram Link) – which as a side bonus will force me to do more photographic documentation than I normally do. Not to mention I will actually have to take a critical look at and process those photos, and file them in some sort of orderly fashion. That has to be a good thing, right?

As I do that I will work to beef up my Etsy site and get some new product on there. I am not planning to duplicate the product on the Etsy site onto the  e-commerce site - different pieces will stock each site. 

So that is a beginning. Thanks to a program being offered by the Ontario government just now, I'm also working on an e-commerce site all my own. (For information on the Digital Main Street/ShopHere program, go here: https://programs.digitalmainstreet.ca/)  I'm hoping that the new site will be live by mid-February.

Along with that I've decided to create a Patreon page. Now, Patreon is something that was brought to my attention years ago, by several people. I looked at it when I was made aware of it. I thought it was a great idea – for other people. I could see how it could work really well for creators of digital content, “visual artists” (painters etc.), writers, all sorts of people. I couldn't see how I could possibly fit there. That, and I didn't think there was any reason why people should want to become a patron for me. Not that I think what I do doesn't have value, more that I had trouble with the idea of making that pan out in some sort of physical (monetary) form other than buying a product.

In the years since, it has sat in the back of my mind, being turned over on occasion, re-examined and then ultimately re-buried.

I was searching for something on the web about 8 months ago, and I followed a sideline to the site of an author/editor that I admire. https://www.terriwindling.com/

There, on the side of Terri Windling's page, was a little statement about her Patreon page and her reasoning for it – I clicked on the link to allow me to read what she had written. Suddenly, it began to come into some kind of focus that I could fit - somehow. It would just take some thought. You can read the writing that inspired me here:

https://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2017/11/patreon-launch.html

Reading what she had written brought a lump to my throat. Terri Windling shy about a Patreon page? It all struck a chord, and somehow, gave me the push I needed to see if I could make it work. Thinking about it now, it seems rather backwards. I'm not putting myself in the same league as this person I admire, not by a long shot, but whatever the reason, reading that explanation opened a pathway for me. Over the last number of months I've toyed with the idea, formulating and rejecting things I thought might be feasible for the venue. How could I do this and actually offer content that I thought was worth contributions from persons unknown? If I chose to use product, how could I structure it to be sure that I would cover shipping costs, not having any clue what they might be? How would I make the numbers work to be sure that I wasn't adding more work to my plate, but ending up with an unequal monetary exchange? How could I do all this and still make it affordable, and not feel like I was asking people to give me something for nothing? Was there a way for me to not set myself up for failure – make it enticing but not promise the moon and fail to deliver?

It wasn't until November or December that I came up with a plan that I could be comfortable with. As I worked, I found myself getting excited. I had started from a standpoint of “how on earth can I create enough regularly scheduled content to make this work?” I realized that this could be a huge opportunity for me.

While I have been getting better about posting on this blog, it has taken me time to get more convinced that I have something to say. I've always loved writing, and in the last while I've gotten back to doing more of it. I had never stopped, but the frequency had fallen off, and it all became more and more private – and I became more tentative about it. As I've begun to write more, a lot more, I've remembered how much I love it.

Another thing I won't be able to do anytime soon is my theatre work.  My dear departed friend Georges Molnar pictured as "The Bear".  Photographer unknown.

 

I realized that Patreon could be a place for all the writing that doesn't fit here, and more. It could be my motivation to really dig into the research that I want to do but there seems to be no reason for. All those alleys that I travel from idea to product, all the threads that wend off into their own rabbit hole worlds could be collected and developed and have a home.

The more I thought about it, and the more I started to really work on the writing I was doing for my “About” page for Patreon, the more excited I got. Whether or not it ever helps me to make a living, it is a place to explore all the avenues I've neglected. As much as I enjoy pursuing knowledge for its own sake, there is a limit to how much I can motivate myself to gather it all together from cryptic notes on slips of paper into cohesive presentations when I don't have a venue for them.

When I restarted this blog, I chose to take it down a different pathway, and yes, I can put some of that here – and I will, as I continue to write more. What Patreon has given me is a vision – not one of monetary gain so much as a home for my voice that is both public and private. This blog will be here for me to keep voicing my thoughts as they pertain to the evolution of Elfworks in both an inner and outer nature. If anyone wants more, there will be other places for them to go that are still Elfworks Studios, and if anyone chooses to help Elfworks Studios evolve with a financial contribution, Patreon gives them a place to do that.Patreon Link

Pondering Pendulums

Some people consult their pocket watch to keep them in mind of the time...

I consult my pocket pendulum to better know my own mind. KPS 2018

As I continue to work toward an updated and revised version of the website, eventually some of my pendulums can be seen there – in the meantime here are a few photographs, and they will be available on my new Etsy site which will be launched on November 1, 2018

This morning I woke up thinking, rather early...and as my thoughts drifted over various subjects I found myself thinking about a conversation I had with two young ladies at the Festival of Wizardry. Perhaps inspired by the time of year, I started thinking about Pendulums, and their why and wherefore.

Where do the decisions for which objects I explore come from? As you might expect, the sources vary. Some come from ideas born of things I see, read, hear or experience. Some come from an attempt to communicate an idea. Some come from suggestions from friends (or strangers), events I work at or attend, specific requests, research......

While there tend to be some running themes in the materials I work with (metal and stones primarily, and now I'm beginning to add plants) the items produced from these things can seem a bit random at times. It occurred to me that it might be very appropriate to spotlight some of the items and tell people how they came about and why I continue to produce them...and what they are to me.

Pendulums, while very popular in some circles, are not something that most people think of much, if at all. For me, the inspiration came from two quite different sources. The first Festival of Wizardry I was a vendor at was one of those sources...I knew I needed some things that were more specific to  the theme of that particular show. I was bouncing around trying to think of things to make that worked for both me and it. Additionally, it was the brilliant suggestion of a friend that brought me to consider Pendulums as a class of objects . I realized that they could be a natural extension of the Stonewraps I have done for decades now, and that my previous research into stones, and my experience in making, could be directly applied.

People may or may not know that in my own personal spiritual practice I am a witch, and tend toward the mystical side of things. But to me, that is personal, and while it can make a great marketing tool for something like the Festival of Wizardry, I am not willing to commercialize my spirituality to any great extent. Particularly because there is a huge gulf between Harry Potter and my own personal practice.

These things both do, and do not, have some bearing on the pieces that I make. Mostly it has to do with the process and the materials I work with. I do not specifically charge or infuse any of the objects I make, but I do individually choose my materials. In the making process - particularly in working with stones -I have to be in the right “headspace” . This can vary with the materials and the object, but with stones I find I need a place of quiet and calm, where I can “listen”, for lack of a better description. I have had numerous comments over the years that my work is “different”, and I fully believe that this process is the defining factor. The stones, in particular, each have their own energies and I don't feel it appropriate to add my own – that is for their end user to do, or not, as they choose. For my part, I respect the materials I am working with and I love working with them. What I do has to intrigue me and captivate me – if it doesn't then there is no point for me. So, if people consider that “infusing it with positive energy” well, then yes, I suppose I do. But that is a natural part of my process and I am uncomfortable using it as a marketing tool.

I won't make an item just because it might be a good seller. That is not how I work – that is not why I work. So pendulums had to find a way to fit. Stone wrapping techniques and handmade chain were part of that. And the main way that that worked was to find just the right array of unusual stones that came to some semblance of a point (or multiple points in some cases).

The two young ladies I spoke about wanted to know how pendulums work. Perhaps others do too...

The principle behind pendulums is simple: from a standstill, hold the pendulum – establish a direction for yes, no, and maybe, by asking simple yes or no questions you already know the answers to. Each individual is different. The direction of the swing establishes which direction is yes, which is no – typically undecided or maybe is a circular motion. (Although for some, 'circular' may be yes, or no.) Once you know what is yes and what is no, maybe is whichever motion is remaining.  Almost anything can be used as a pendulum, but many people prefer to use an object that has personal significance or added "helpful properties".

Pendulums are a simple communication tool. Who are you communicating with? Well, in my personal opinion and experience - generally it is your higher self. It is an easy way to tap into your subconscious pool of knowledge rather than having things mistranslated by all the junk that builds up in your conscious. For some people they see it as communication with their spirit guides, their angels or their deity. And if that connection has been established, and that is who you are directing the question to specifically, there is no reason to think otherwise. (You ask your higher self, who conveys the question to the spirit in question – your higher self likely has an easier time accessing conversation with spirit entities – and then conveys the answer back to you.) It is, in my opinion and experience extremely rare and only in highly unusual circumstance that any kind of unpleasant entity or energy can get involved. The answer comes through what I will describe as micro-currents running through your body that create the movement to show you the answer. You are not making conscious movements or consciously directing the pendulum – so the answer is coming from a place that is otherwise difficult to communicate with. It is thus a tool to communicate - to help you clarify what a part of you knows, but the rest of you is getting in the way of.

This is not meant to be any kind of a treatise on practice, belief or spirituality/religion. It is not meant to start a debate or discussion on how these things work. It is no more than an explanation of how these items came to be in my inventory and how I see them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and choices. It is a little about the objects, but true to form, it is mostly about my process.