This is where I spend my money
This is where I spend my money
In case you were wondering, the results from last week’s poll are in and I guess I assumed this would go way differently.
Anyway, how about some linky goodness and then a story about money?
The Finds
Nothing has more influence on modern creative culture like Hip Hop (except maybe OnlyFans)
Florida woman improves upon Damien Hirst with a Rolls Royce
Mad Magazine was anti-tobacco before it was cool.
First, there was David, and then there was Chris. Which one had the most impact on RayGun magazine is up for debate. [Sidenote: With a name like David Christian, I was destined to be a fan of both.]
40 fonts that will be popular in 2023 (I’m perplexed how Helvetica didn’t make the list).
One of my least favorite phrases in business is content marketing, but it has its (ahem) place, and though this article about content marketing goals initially feels like a dry business article, there’s some solid advice for anyone working to promote their work.
Making Investments
There’s nothing revolutionary about understanding the importance of investing in our own futures as creative people. Where it gets tricky is understanding when an investment of any kind is a direct or indirect benefit to our lives and career. Is the thing I’m spending my time, energy, and money on now going to benefit me now, later, or never (ie: doom scrolling on social media)?
I’ve thought a lot lately about where I spend that time, energy, and money and these are a few of the changes I’m making in 2023.
Print’s Not Dead
For one, I’m no longer going to publish my art books and zines through Amazon KDP. Instead, I’m investing in getting quality printing done to my specifications. Amazon’s and my interest may be relatively aligned when it comes to selling books, but where we differ is in the quality of the books produced, and even what defines a book in the first place.
Jeff Bezos knows nothing about making art shine, so let’s take back control over how we look in print.
If you want to know more about my design and print process regarding the books I’m publishing, make sure to drop a comment and let me know what you’d like me to discuss.
The Shed
My studio is in desperate need of an overhaul. Truthfully, it needs a complete rebuild because the foundation is severely cracked and one or two posts have rotten out so much that the wall moves a little when shaken.
Until we can take the time and money to fix it completely, I need to spend some money making the space a more viable work environment. That means patching the crack, painting the walls, rearranging the surroundings, and buying some new racks for better organization. Now that it’s stopped raining in Southern California for a moment, I can finally get to work.
Art Machines
I’ve been dreaming of having a Glowforge at my disposal for a long time. The defacto machine for the swoopy typeface craft mafia; I think there are so many opportunities to make really cool, artistic shizz, but holy cow are they pricey. Plus, I don’t know if I’m ready for that much machine just yet, total overkill for what I need right now.
However, the little sister to the Glowforge, the Cricut 300 has tremendous possibilities with the work I’m already doing. I don’t know when I’ll pull the trigger on this purchase, but I’m getting closer to dropping five bennies to cover the world with laser-cut vinyl.
Substack
If you’re a Substack user, you’ve probably seen them dropping one feature after another, the latest being Notes, which is their attempt at creating easily consumable and shareable content (ie: stories).
Notes are just the latest way Substack hopes to change how we all consume information, as long as they don’t try to get into the short-form video content.
“The job of this app, of this inbox, of this feed is not to keep you here at all costs. It’s to find you things that you value so much that you might want to pay for them.”
– Chris Best, Substack CEO [source]
I’ve invested my time and energy into Substack, shared the potential promise with you and others, and I truly see this platform becoming something of a refuge from the traditional social media experience where your attention is the product and advertisers are the customer.
Substack allows me the opportunity to share my stories and experience in hopes that it entertains, informs, or improves our mutual outlook on the creative experience. So when Substack announced they were inviting platform users a chance to invest in their Series B funding via crowdfunding, I decided to become an investor.
As some of you have become patrons of this newsletter (seems weird to call it just that), I’ve decided to commit to that patronage by putting my money into the platform that gives us the chance to interact.
Committed to You
My family and I just got back from vacation, which is part of the reason this newsletter is going out late (got my days all mixed up), and while I sat poolside at an Arizona resort drinking ridiculously priced drinks in plastic cups, I spent some time thinking about how I invest my time and energy.
Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter do nothing for me. They only want me there so I can scroll past another advertisement every 3 posts. Going forward, my attention gets spent either on YouTube or on Substack.
That means I’ll be adding more content to the regular feed (non-emails) and I’ll be sharing with the new Notes feature. If I make something worthy of others’ attention, it goes here first, and then maybe out to the rest of the world.
It’s my goal to turn The Hungry Artist into something much bigger than my own dreams and aspirations, and that begins with you. If you ever have any thoughts about what I’m sharing, or what you’d like to see more of in The Hungry Artist, please share what’s on your mind.
That’s going to do it for this one. Mag Bash is a little more than 1/3rd sold out and will only be available for presale throughout April, but once I hit 100 copies sold, it’s gone, so don’t miss out.
See you next time.
Extra
RIP Al Jaffee.