Thank you for this gentle yet powerful call to action, Anisa Makhoul. I have to do better.
The Big Impact of a Small Hobby
John Donohue draws mundane dishracks and I love it. John is also the force behind All The Restaurants in NYC.
Lofi Hip Hop Radio
Chilledcow is fantastic background movie for working, thinking, writing. Also you Spotify, and Instagram.
Link Pack
– “Defying the constraints of physics as if frozen in time and space,” four live performers appear to be floating, leaning on the air, frozen while falling, or something more. This is Xu Zhen’s In Just a Blink of an Eye at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles.
-I have work to do. A resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work.
– This made me smile: A Zoo in Japan is Using Stuffed Animal Capybaras to Maintain Social Distancing. Imagine this in NYC bars!
– This planter makes me chuckle.
– Distance Disco is a digital matchmaking dance party: find the person dancing to your song!
– I love NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts so much and I am so happy to see they adapted to the challenges at hand with nobody being in offices to keep the series alive. I love this Tiny Desk (Home) Concert with MILCK. If don’t know her but you’re wondering why she looks familiar. It might be because of this.
– From Camping To Dining Out: Here’s How Experts Rate The Risks Of 14 Summer Activities (via Chris)
– Second life toys – I first thought if was just a cute project about fixing your stuffed animals, but then I realized, by watching the video, that it has a much deeper cultural goal to get Japanese to open up to organ donations. Interesting. (via)
– As he does every year, Bill Gates has shared his reading list for this summer. This time around, he’s included more than his usual five picks and many of the recommendations have a connection to the ongoing pandemic
– This fried shrimp umbrella made me giggle.
– Jiggy has the coolest puzzles.
– I have been personally shipping every single Tattly order since March 15th. We have been hit really hard and it’s making my heart hurt. If you ever wanted to support us, now would be a good time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
– A big thank you to Oak for sponsoring my blog and RSS feed this week.
Call Paul
Such a pleasure to be in conversation with Paul Jarvis on his podcast Call Paul talking about how this moment in time has affected me personally and my various businesses.
Some of my Favorite Personal Blogs
My blog is turning 15 today. Maintaining this little corner on the internet has been one of the most rewarding projects ever. I wish more people would go back to owning their content, maintaining their own, well curated corner of the internet. Some of the folks that are doing that and I consistently go back to are:
What personal blogs do you go back to regularly?
Let’s bring blogrolls back!
Happy my 15th blog-iversary to you! Thank you for reading. I appreciate you.
Hay Office Chair
I love this office chair by Hay.
Towards a Moral Revolution
“One of the biggest lessons of my life, Krista, has been that we can’t separate the world into monsters and angels and that there’s nothing like loving people and knowing friends who played different roles in the genocide, including being perpetrators, that makes you have to confront that most raw element of what it means to be human. And the only conclusion I could make was that there are monsters and angels in each of us and that those monsters really are our broken parts — they’re our insecurities; they’re our fears; they’re our shames — and that in times of insecurity, it becomes really easy for demagogues to prey on those broken parts and sometimes make us do terrible things to each other.
We’re seeing that all over the world right now. And we have to fight against that. And that’s where the moral revolution becomes a matter of whether we choose to dive into the dark, the perilous path, or whether we choose to create a narrative and make that narrative real, which is our shared destiny, the possibility of collective human flourishment, our repairing the Earth in ways that make it more beautiful — and the choice is ours. And so my hard-edged hope comes from having lived and worked in communities that have had to contend with both. And like flowers breaking through granite, I’m gonna choose hope every time. And I frankly — despite all the dark, I remain a stubborn, persistent, hard-edged, hopeful optimist. I do!”
This is an excerpt of a conversation between Jacqueline Novogratz and Krista Tippett in the most recent episode of the wonderful On Being podcast. Listening to this episode is what my heart needed today.
Distance Disco
Distance Disco is a digital matchmaking dance party: find the person dancing to your song! I love this so much!
My Current Life
I keep seeing images that perfectly represent what my current life feels like, trying to keep three businesses alive during a global pandemic. This one is by Kylli Spare.
Giant Floating Ball
You are standing on a giant floating ball with a hot liquid core. Plan accordingly.
What We See When We Read
Love this animated trailer for Peter Mendelsund’s best selling book “What We See When We Read“, illustrated by Brian Rea.
Scars Are Lighthouses
“The scars you share become lighthouses for other people who are headed to the same rocks you hit.”
— Jon Acuff
♥ / Dropmark
A big thank you to Oak for sponsoring my blog and RSS feed this week.
Dropmark is the smart way to organize all your links, files, and notes into visual collections. Perfect for creatives, teams, educators, explorers, and you. All your stuff in one simple, visual, private place.
Try it for free at dropmark.com
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)
Dog and Dolphin Playing Together
My heart needed this.
(I am morphing into a dog lover, aren’t I? Or maybe I need a dolphin.)
Link Pack
I have always wanted to visit Vienna. After watching this, more than ever.
– This bike watcher mirror seems cool. I think my 14 year old would like it to do her makeup.
– Is this what Summer 2020 looks like?
– I had no idea Celery Vases were a thing.
– I love Staghorn Ferns. This post you how to propagate your current one.
– Local Brooklyn Heights honey! So cool!
– I watched this and couldn’t believe the peanuts part. I had no idea this is how peanuts grow! Wow!
– Everything is Going to be All Right read by Andrew Scott
– Now that plastic bags are banned in NY I am always making sure I have bags with me when I go shopping. I am tempted to buy this shopping set for my car.
– The Plumbus Product page and description made me giggle. “Full size, genuine and official Plumbus made with only the finest Dingle Bop and re-purposed Scleem. Uses organic Fleeb to rub the Dingle Bop before highly trained Schlamee spit and rub it. Blanffs then carefully rub the Chumples before shaving away the Plubus and Grumbo leaving a perfectly formed Plumbus, which as everyone knows is then ready to do anything and everything. Includes a display stand to beautifully show and rest your Plumbus. After all every home should have a Plumbus.”
– This is a pretty sweet reversible tote that Rothy’s came out with. Made with 100% recycled materials. Handles & stripes made from ocean-bound marine plastic and Rothy’s signature thread (spun from plastic water bottles).
– I posted about this print a while back. And I just realized I can own a print and put it up on my wall, as a daily reminder. It’s such a beautiful message. Ordered! (I love how they show the sizes!)
– Speaking of prints. I love this photo. I just learned I could buy it as a mounted canvas. Tempted!
– Jocelyn says I’ll Split It With You is great for tracking your budget with loved ones or roomies. Oh, wait, my roomies are my cat and my kids. Never mind!
– Shape Up is a free online book for teams who struggle to ship.
– I appreciate Thom Wong’s idea of ‘passive income for the soul’. (via Kai)
– Woman wears hippo suit to safely hug mother in nursing home
– Pop-Up Magazine is premiering Spring Issue: At Home, their first-ever online show. Join the show and sign up for their exclusive storytelling CreativeMornings FieldTrip with their team. I am so there!
– 14 ways people are finding joy (in spite of everything).
– This made me laugh. Quarantine humor.
– Astronaut.io – a website that plays a few seconds of random YouTube videos with almost no views. (via Recommendo)
– These elaborate squirrel backyard photoshoots made me laugh.
– LibraryThing, a free community for book lovers. A welcome alternative if you’re tired of Goodreads or just want to get away from Amazon. (via Kai)
– 50 Fun Things to Do When You’re Bored. There are some good ideas in there.
– Consider bookmarking the upcoming virtual CreativeMornings events and FieldTrips page. (Today I attended a free FieldTrip introducing me to the American Sign Language, as well a historic walk through a park in Boston. Amazing!)
– With all the stores closed that are carrying Tattly, my labor of love has been hit hard by what’s happening in the world. We are holding on by a thread with online sales, which I personally pack up and ship every week. Happy to report our popular Tiny Tins are back in stock! Help this small, woman-owned, artist-supporting business and send some fun!
– Thank you Creatives Roundtable for sponsoring my blog this week.
Earlier this week:
– Obama Speaking Out Against Call-Out Culture
– Dadvice
– A blow-up scooter? Made me laugh.
– I know this landscape oh so well: The Maker’s Map
Summer 2020 Petticoat
Fashion that enforces Social Distancing. I am here for it.
I could just wear my “Prom Dress” that I wore for my undercover 40th birthday Prom party. Why Prom? I never had one, nor did many of my friends so I hosted one. It was fun.
On Quitting
“Here’s a quote from ultramarathoner Dick Collins: Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, ‘Well gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.’ And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.”
— Seth Godin, THE DIP
(via)
♥ / The Help You Need
A big thank you to Creatives Roundtable for sponsoring my blog this week.
The Creatives Roundtable (CR) offers virtual monthly support, accountability, and community for creative entrepreneurs, freelancers (brand new and established), and owners of small creative firms. Get the interaction and expertise you crave with the structure you need — from wherever you work, to take your business to the next level.
“As an entrepreneur, I spend so much time working IN my business that I forget to work ON my business. Not only do the meetings bring a new, and creative, perspective to my business, but they force me to improve by holding me accountable.” – Laura, CR member
What you get:
— Monthly accountability: 12, 1-hour moderated virtual meetings
— Expert Access: hear from industry guests and presenters
— Conversation and Community: private Facebook group for ongoing interaction
— Tools to Fuel: answers to questions, and recommendations about business process tools
— The Feedback you Need: monthly check-ins in-between your group meetings
Support and Structure
Run by a veteran designer with over 30 years of experience in her own creative business, the CR offers monthly meetings to help you grow your business, expand your expertise, and tackle your to-do-list. By sharing your experience with like-minded individuals, and getting direct mentorship and support, you’ll be able to set measurable and attainable goals and navigate challenging business situations like a pro!
Registration Deadline for the July 2020-June 2021 term closes May 29th
Limited spots, payment plans, and scholarships are available. Register today!
Colorful Silence
“What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence.”
— Claude Monet
(via Nitch)
Sales is a Transfer of Enthusiasm
“My friend once pointed out how negatively I spoke about sales. She looked at me and said: “Tina, selling is a transfer of enthusiasm. Nothing else.” That was a game changer for me.”
— yours truly
Glossy White Crawl Glaze Mug
This glossy white crawl glaze hand-made mug made me look. Oddly beautiful.