Tough Times for a Tough Girl: How to help a girl keep kicking ass and making cool stuff!!!
So, the last several months have been pretty good in terms of my skills. They have been growing a lot! I’ve been getting better at making armor, buckles, and cases. I’ve learned about gilding, hardening leather, thread and lace making. I’ve even started learning about making videos, something I’m excited to continue doing.
This has honestly been wonderful. There are a few trans women who do what I do, a few POC too. As far as I know I’m the only trans POC woman doing this. The outpouring of support for that fact has been a major source of emotional fuel as a craftswoman this year.
That said, as a business women, things haven’t been the hottest. Sales have been down by a lot, growth on my patreon has been stalled for months. I know part of it has been the fact I’ve had to focus a lot on filling back orders that have been waiting since things blew up last summer (The end is actually in sight on those, thank goodness!). I’ve not been able to focus to much on updating shop items or adding big new things. Another part of it has been covid for sure, making things tough for everyone.
I really want this to be the thing I do for the rest of my life, and it will be easier to do if it’s my actual job and not just a hobby I do when I manage to find time. I’ve made it this far thanks to all of you, and so it’s to all of you I’m coming now. I’ve got some requests, some questions, and some things to look forward to that I’d like to lay before you.
So, you wana help a girl out…?
Just about the easiest thing to do is engage with my social media. Generally speaking, algorithms seem to like engagement. The more engagement I get, the more attention I can get. I’ve got a presence on several platforms that I’ve been trying to put out content for this last year. Other than here on Tumbler you can also find me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I’ve also recently started up a YouTube channel!
I’m really excited about this one and hope that it can be a fun new way for me to introduce you all to my work. If you want to help me out, give my videos a watch, like them, and subscribe to the channel! I’d love to hit 100 subscribers as low milestone, and I’m trying to put something new every week. If you like these video’s and want to see more of them, and faster, I have a Patreon! Supporting me there is the best way to make more and more interesting videos and projects happen. Even if you can only support with $1 for one month, that would mean the world to me, it all adds up. I’m currently trying to hit our $300 goal, which will allow me to put out 2 tutorial video’s a month! We’re currently $188/300. Current rewards are your name in the credits, but I’m working out early access and trying to find other ways to reward support.
Now, if you REALLY like my work, like… you just want to have it, and touch it, maybe wear it around a little and show it off so people know you’re a cool adventurer ready to take on anything! You can just do that! I’ve got a shop over on Etsy! I’ve got lots of high quality stuff over there, and as I finish up my recent backlog, it’s only going to get better. In the meanwhile, if you’re interested in something that will arrive relatively fast, and won’t break the bank, I offer troll crosses to protect you against evil magics, and cuffs to protect your wrists against evil cuts (They might even come in metal soon…)!
All of these are ways you could help me push forward, get more eyes on my work, and help me get to a place where I can make ends meet. Things like YouTube monetization are far off, but still a goal, and every little bit helps.
Can a Girl Interest You In…?
So, I’ve also had some ideas that I wanted to run by everyone. I’d really like to be more engaged with everyone. I’ve really liked talking with people in the comments and all, but tumblr is… not the best for that. So I’m curious if people would be interested in other things. I’ve talked about doing crafting streams, and those might be a while off, but, would people be interested in chill streams? I like to wind down with medieval and fantasy games at the end of the day, and I’m curious if people would be interested in seeing that? Warning! I’m not a pro gamer lol, I’m pretty bad at games. But I figured it could be fun to chill for few hours with folk. Maybe get a discord going too? Does that sound cool?
I’m also curious if people would be interested in things like merch? I know some people sell shirts so maybe that’s something people would like?
Let me know about this stuff! I’m interested, but it also doesn’t make sense to go for stuff like this if others aren’t interested.
That said, there are certainly some things I know are coming up! You already know I’m working on some tutorials! Fingerloop braiding and brass aglets are going to feature in the next week or two. And I might do a video on forging a troll cross after that.
I’m also wanting to return to the D&D simple weapons list. I’m still not skilled enough to make a knife… unfortunately but I think I have what it takes to make a javelin! It’s relatively simple forge work, for a weapon not meant to be anything to fancy. A good place to dip my toes in!
In the shop you can start looking forward to updated designs for things like the leather vambraces (buckled and laced), cuffs, bucklers, and belt pouches. Metal armor is coming in the next month or so, and I hope to start making some new pendants beyond the troll cross.
I’m also getting some ideas to revive adventure theory in video form! That one could be a few months out. But I’d like to maybe look at some concepts from D&D and see how they match up to real life (maybe testing torches or something?).
Lots to do, and lots to think about. I really wana make this work, but I can’t do it alone. Even if all you do is reblog this, and give me some likes and follows on my other platforms, it’s still a help, and I’ll do my best to make it worth while.
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