As I'm approaching one year of Creative Office Hours, I've been thinking a lot about the original purpose of it when I first started and what comes next, which I will say is focused on building and growing a community. I'll have more updates over the next few weeks, but I will tease that part of it is connecting with fellow working creatives in the real world. As artists, we're nothing without having community. I'm a strong advocate that art + community = culture, and diversity only makes it more rich. This fall I decided to support The Laundromat Project by being a "People Mover" and hopefully inspiring my community to support LP's mission to promote diverse artists and connect them with New York City communities to hopefully inspire societal change.What is a "People Mover"? Essentially I'll be fundraising on behalf of The Laundromat Project throughout their People-Powered Challenge from October 29th to November 4th. The overall goal of the campaign is to fundraise $50,000, and my individual goal is $1,000. It's a bit of a stretch from my original goal of $500, but with some help, I'm sure we'll crush it.To make it more fun, and because I've never led a Kickstarter campaign before, I wanted to create some rewards for those who contribute to my fundraiser page.$5 - Thank you so much for contributing! I know that money can be tight during the holiday season, but every little bit counts. Here is a virtual high five for you! (100 Available)$10 - A social media shoutout!I'll give you a shout out on COH and my personal social accounts with a big thank you (about 4,500 followers total, for what it's worth). (50 Available)$15 - Free priority admission to Creative Office Hours IRL.You'll get free admission to one of my IRL Creative Office Hours starting in 2020. I'm still working on plans, but in a nutshell, I'll be gathering a set amount of people who want to clock in some hours creating together. Not only will we hang out and make art, but it'll be a learning opportunity to try out new materials, give advice, or teach each other new techniques. (30 Available)$25 - A medley of "Hot Bake Fall" baked goods.If you don't regularly check out my Instagram Stories, I've been baking some autumnal baked goods every week since the start of October. If you pledge this amount, I'll send you a medley of homemade autumnal baked goods by yours truly. I've been told my bakes are legendary, so this is definitely a reward you want. (20 Available)$40 - A 45-minute coffee date (or phone call) on me. Over the years I've been asked to grab coffee with folks to talk about breaking into advertising, making career shifts, planning weddings, influencer marketing, how to plan a move to New York City, how to leverage social media for an event, what they need to set up their business, etc. This is because I've spent 10+ working in social marketing in New York City and literally moved here with $1,000 in the bank and a car full of paintings. Check out my website for more ideas on how I can help you! (10 Available)$60 - One hour of free social marketing consulting for your personal profiles, brand, or business (discounted). I would normally charge clients for an intro discussion about what their social marketing needs are, but with your donation I'll do it for FREE. We'll chat about your current situation, what you've tried in the past, and which profiles or tactics you should use moving forward. (5 Available)$85 - I'll make you dinner. For real. I'll come to you or you come to me, and I'll make you dinner based on what you have a hankering for. If you need references, I have multiple attendees of my Chrismakkuh and Eastover dinner parties I can connect you with. Even if you're not based in NYC, we will figure something out, like maybe next time I'm in your city, dinner is on me. (4 Available)$100 - A private art class. I don't have formal art education training, but I have spent many years teaching arts and crafts and leading workshops for work. The fact my typical audience was young children shouldn't weigh too heavily on you. I can teach basic drawing skills, oil painting mixing, basic sewing and needlepoint, and composition planning. (3 Available)$150 - A custom painting of your favorite food. That's right - a 16 x 20 inch painting of your favorite food. Just look at this pizza painting. (4 Available)$250 - A social media / digital audit for your personal profiles or business. This audit would cap at 5 hours of work, including analysis and recommendations. This again is heavily discounted from what I would normally charge clients. (3 Available)$500 - A custom painting with a consultation. After an initial consultation, I'll create a custom painting for you to hang in your home. There is a 36 x 48 inch canvas sitting in my she-cave literally waiting to be made into a work of art and placed above your couch. If you check out my art, you'll see I can do anything from portraits to abstraction. (1 Available)$1,000 - A pro-bono social media campaign strategy. With a cap of 20 hours max, I'll craft a campaign strategy for you for a new product launch, rebrand, event, or whatever is happening for you or your business. This is also heavily discounted from what I would normally charge and I never do pro-bono campaigns, so definitely take this opportunity. (1 Available)I was just thinking that if all the rewards get taken, that would mean over $6,000 would be raised to support artists and neighbors as change agents in their own community throughout New York City. This includes providing artist grants, creating a new creative community hub in the South Bronx, and funding public art projects in neighborhoods throughout the city.If you haven't already, head over to my fundraising page to donate - and thank you again for supporting art and community.

Battling Creative Blocks: Resources, Tips and Tricks