Virtual Makers, Doers & Free Downloads
From Our Local Community & Beyond
I will be updating this list of virtual resources weekly. Contact me to submit ideas. For those of you who are in a position to support our community of small and local businesses, please continue to discover opportunities to support local as an alternative to Amazon and other large corporate retailers whenever possible.
Many people, artists, and small businesses in my community (and a great many of my clients) are navigating how to adjust and balance during this time. We are learning how to take care of ourselves and our businesses the best we can, and become a support network without overwhelming ourselves. Many of my clients and collaborators are in difficult situations, concerned about how business and financial flow will change, in addition to all the other changes we need to face collectively as a society.
At the same time, it is wonderful to see how many people have activated to create new pathways, and virtual ways of being. It is comforting and encouraging to see that people are finding unusual ways to normalize business and our local economies. We can keep inspiring and supporting each other. So beautiful!
In the last 5 days, I’ve seen people pull together to start or participate in an incredible array of movements to support our valuable local community and creative makers. Yes, you guys! We also need to rest, be, and take time to process, to keep balance in mental health, spiritual, and physical health. We need strong immune systems. Activate, but be careful not to try to sustain fight or flight. We are going to need our energy for awhile.
Virtual Events, Workshops & Classes
Buy Online to Support Artists
Virtual Makers Collective was booted up by a collective of women artists and crafts-makers. (Textiles, jewelry, art, and more.) Join VMC for their first virtual show this Sunday, March 22, 2020 at 2pm CST. Follow on Facebook and Instagram for more shows.
Buy Online (+ Donation to Springboard for the Arts)
Local and chemical-free flower seller Foxglove is offering curbside PDubs (pussywillows), starting Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 2pm CST, while supplies last.
Virtual Wellness & Resources
Free, Donation, or Subscribe
Daily virtual practice including restorative yoga + reiki and meditation, free or by donation, at Sacred Space. Become a sustainer for $25/mo.
Free
Bear Mounds Botanicals created a herbal protocol primer for better immune support relating to Covid-19. The primer is free, with donation option if you’re able, and full of research and resources developed in collaboration with other well-informed people in the Madison wellness community.
Online Shops & Subscription Services
Buy Online to Small, Local Businesses
Kopplin’s Coffee
(Buy coffee subscriptions)
Roundtable Coffee
More coming soon!
Literary Reading & Downloads
Free
Enjoy free downloads of select literary archives from Mental Contagion. For eight years, I collaborated monthly with writers across the U.S. to publish this arts & lit online magazine, featuring a national and global community of arts and culture creators. Four free mini-books, downloadable for print or screen-reading, are nearly complete and will be uploaded to this temporary literary archive mid-week around March 25th, 2020.
Virtual Life Hacks
Organizing Virtual Events
Create an online calendar dedicated to virtual events and give it a unique color. You can these mark to repeat weekly or monthly if ongoing. I use Google Calendar to organize my life and work. If Google Calendar is your organizing system of choice, check out the small, blue circle icon on the right (in computer screen view). I find the simplicity of this Task Tool very useful to note things I want to remember to check out, but don’t have time to dive in.
Postscript
Times of great change call for small steps, big leaps, innovation, communities gathering together, and lots of self care. I am 17 days into my self-quarantine and have watched the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded from inside the confines of my home.
It has no less been a bustle of texts, calls, info sharing, and support. Things have not been quiet here. As I practice self-care the best I can, while also nurturing myself back to health with bone broths, menthol drops, and eucalyptus lavender steams, I’m also connecting, supporting, checking in, and sharing valuable resources and tools with family, friends, clients, and community members.
It’s time for a little more balance and self-care now. But, I will continue to share inspiring movements and supportive resources created by artists and small businesses who are reimagining how they can transform business during this time.