I've Started a Patreon!
It’s been about of year of I've going back and forth about whether or not I want to start a membership-based community like Patreon - and I'll be writing about that and microfunding in a new post in my sliding scale and financial access series. But I realized that having a steady income via Patreon could help me bring a lot more creative projects to life quicker than I am able to now. I've also gotten consistent feedback that you would be super excited if I started a Patreon and even the handful of folks that support my work currently through monthly payments has made a difference in the sustainability of my business and my own sense of wellbeing (support the work will remain an option or you can choose to join my Patreon. Also thank you for being a monthly supporter already. You have no idea how grateful I am for your support).
Patreon is an opportunity for me to create sustainability in the work that I do so that I can continue to create free and low-cost resources on herbalism and magick both online and in-person.
I want to utilize my Patreon as a place to experiment with new styles of resources that I create as well as posts that don’t really fit into my blog or newsletter. Sometimes I just want to write a mini profile on a plant or recommend just one type of flower or gem essence without having to write a whole post. Or a “One more thing…” style post where I add on more information to posts of mine from years back that I want to extrapolate on (including sharing new recipes featuring plants I’ve written about in years past or questioning why I put that card there in a tarot spread). Sometimes I just really want to tell you about the three books I’m currently reading and why you might want to read them too. I also thought it would be fun to share with you recipes from the days that I used to make and sell remedies. I can also see doing the occasional community tarot spread (with a magickal or healing focus), but I also thought it would be interesting to walk through a sample reading using one of the tarot spreads I’ve written.
As you can see I have no shortage of ideas of what might happen on my Patreon. My biggest challenge at the moment is not to over-extend myself. But more on that in a moment.
Of course, because it’s me, I’ll also be sharing with you what I think is great and challenging about a patron-style system - just as I have with sliding scale. My approach to Patreon has been from the perspective of someone really invested in alternative forms of exchange and currency including sliding scale, micro-lending, socially responsible investments, time banks, as well as trading and bartering. For those who are contemplating creating their own Patreon account, Patreon has created a number of really great free resources for newcomers - so it's worth browsing around their site if you're trying to decide if it's a right platform for you.
I’ve also spent time looking at the accounts of successful Patreon users. Amanda Palmer, who has been writing about the necessity of the vulnerable ask in making art for years, has a very successful Patreon demonstrating how powerful a motivated community can be. Ani Difranco wrote a great song about Patreon for her account and Issa Rae shows how supporting one creator leads to supporting a vast network of creators. Wicked Grounds has one of the best videos I’ve found explaining what Patreon is and why ongoing support matters. I am continuously inspired by the work of Autumn Brown and Adrienne Marie Brown and their Patreon shows how you can crowdfund an existing project without having to create exclusive content to be successful. There’s a lot more Patreon accounts I want to talk about but that’ll be featured on a longer post looking at the different ways of hosting a community that I’ve found especially amongst radical, queer, poc, and magickal communities.
But remembering that I’m not trying to overextend and overwork myself (hello doom twin companions of mine looking as intense as usual), the primary goal of my Patreon right now is to make the work that I currently do sustainable for the long term.
With greater financial stability also comes more space for creative expression. As my Patreon community moves towards being a steady and supporting source of income, I look forward to being able to expand what happens in our space together. But even better, with your support, I can’t wait to expand on the work that I’m doing and make free and low-cost resources and classes on herbalism and magickal arts available to more people who need it.
I talk more about specific projects that I want to accomplish with your support (as well as some hard-to-share but true realities of what it can be like to run your own business) on my Patreon page. If you're feeling inspired and excited by what I've shared so far show your support by becoming a patron.
Promotion of new projects is not always an easy rhythm to find and Patreon is a whole new territory of promoting and vulnerability which has evoked a voice in my head that is desperately trying to convince me to forget the whole thing. Of course, there is another voice that is valiantly cheerful about the whole endeavor and they were ready to launch the account last year. The compromise between these two nattering parts of my brain is to stumble into this whole invite you to this new thing I'm doing is to be a bit silly about it, which is how I arrived at the following list.
13 Reasons To Become A Patron
An apothecary that runs on chaotic good energy is your kinda style.
You like knowing that for the cost of a cup of tea, you are helping teach the youths how to cast spells, save the planet, and thrive through eclipse season.
You’re tired and this is an easy way to destabilize the kyriarchy.
You’ll be supporting other creative folks, herbal campaigns, and social justice causes beyond the work of Worts + Cunning Apothecary.
You support spring cleaning.
MORE. TEA. RECIPES.
You like supporting hag-identified folks.
You want to see me publish more free and low-cost classes online that cover some of your favorite subjects: Herbs! Magick! Intersectional everything!
You wanted me to write a book, like, yesterday.
You noticed that there are not enough podcasts in the world.
To generate more random acts of magick. Like a super dramatic tea recipe and description set to the sounds of Sia’s Breathe Me.
You'll meet other nerds who are nerdy like you.
Because you believe in what I’m doing and want to make sure that I’m able to keep doing it. (that’s dust in my eye... leave me alone...)
Whether or not you become a patron now or in the future, I'm grateful for you and the support you've shown as a reader of my work. May we continue to grow in peace and wisdom with one another.
