Happy New Year! And Thank You for joining me here in this new space! I’m still learning what can be possible here, and am so grateful to be joined on this journey by youse. Some of you I know from my many years in the world of Holistic Health and Herbalism, some from Zoe’s world (music and parenting) and some more recent friends from the Art world. I am feeling ready to connect the dots, keeping all parts separate and starting a new social media account for each part of my life is not satisfying or an accurate portrayal of what I do or offer, my work is often best at intersections between worlds and liminal spaces. My hope for moving forward into 2023 and beyond is to create a space which accurately reflects my wholness.
During 2022 I did much business visioning and restructuring (I was blessed to be working with a mentor from Valley Arts Mentors) so 2023 begins with a little Marie Kondo-ing of my digital world, hopefully to simplify and deepen connections made.
I have been feeling overwhelmed by the many platforms a small business needs to update in order to remain relevant in todays changing world, which has lead to feelings of disconnection and fragmentation, which is not healthful, in fact anyone who has taken a class from me knows that disconnection can be the root of dis-ease of the mind, body and spirit and less coherence of the heart and brain*. I’ve been spending too much time trying to understand the elusive algorythms people keep referring to, being at the mercy of constant changes and “improvements” to social media platforms to make sure people see my posts, this results in enough time to create real content and deeper connections. I’m trying to run a small business but in reality the Zuckerbergs/Musks and Bezos’ of the world are, the 1% of rich white men are dictating who gets to see my work. It’s time to unite my worlds on my terms, get to know the people who are drawn to my programs, to collaborate more, and focus on being part of a community of likeminded folx to have more of a conversational, and relational approach.
SO what is/why substack? - a blog meets email list meets patreon.
You don’t have to open another app or remember go to a site to read it (much like a newsletter if you subscribe it will show up on your email), you can create video and class contents like Patreon unlike Patreon most the materials are offered without a paywall. It can super interactive and is super easy to use, easy voice messaging, video and fewer rules about what can and cannot be posted and everyone who subscribes can read my posts. It seems more conversational and less of a broadcast model which leads to one of the big changes in my business, I will be phasing out the *MailChimp” Monthly Newsletter. Mailchimp is the platform I have been using for my sometimes monthly newsletter. While I love the idea of monthly updates and sharing of upcoming events and experiences with a personal narrative the form has not been working for me, It feels like a broadcast without the opportunity for conversation, its become unwieldy and overwhelming, if I am to be honest I’ve begun to dread it. In order to create community and amplify the voices of women I feel there is a need for a more relational approach. Later this Spring with the launch of the new website (more about this down the road) the blazingstarherbalschool.typepad.com will be retired.
What I’ll be sharing here: They’ll be recipes and remedies, dreams and ideas, thoughts and questions, photos and artwork, art talk and plant talk, tips and trade secrets, successes and failures, obsurdities and fun facts (those who know know!) and book talk, they’ll be quirk and likely some irreverence because that is how I roll. I am craving a place I can be whole and where I can unify all the parts of me; the teacher, the artist, the adventurer, the colour lover, the student, the visionary, the herbalist, the coffee snob, the mother, the rebel, the plant lover, the country dweller, the flower obsessed, and the city lover. There are common threads between all my worlds and hope to share those threads and embroider something of beauty and relevance.
In summary, I’ll be launching my new website this Spring and saying goodbye to typepad, I’ll sending out one more Mailchimp newsletter before centralizing here on substack and over time you’ll be seeing less of me on social media as I try to create more of an uninterrupted connection with my community.
Exciting things are coming. Wishing us all a 2023 graced with good health, deep nourishment, strong community and lots of belly laughs. I want to hear from you all.
Much love, t
* This will be addressed further in my The Art and Revolution of Self Care- Winter Edition beginning on the New Moon Jan 21st. So please feel free to join us