Make Things Better by Making Better Things Together

I do very little very well.

As you probably already guessed, i’m an excellent pickleball player, I have excellent taste in indoor scarves for all seasons, i have an unusually high wine tolerance for a mid sized person and i’m really good at writing tiny books on yoga and meditation that nobody ever buys, which hurts my feelings and all 9 of my chakras.

(I know what you’re thinking - true, most people only have 7, but in a weird twist of covid era fate, i got an extra 2 from the craigslist shaman who was living in my basement for most of 2020)

When I think about the direction I’d like to take this newsletter (and our tiny but mighty design agency with a growing focus on Jewish creatives) in 2027, it kinda always comes down to three choices.

○ create cool stuff for ourselves, by ourselves

○ create cool stuff for others, by ourselves

◉ create cool containers for Jewish makers, authors, artists and entrepreneurs to connect and collaborate in community - to inspire interesting entrepreneurial and artistic ideas, and as an aspirational ideal - to make things better by making better things together.

Let’s be honest, no one is creating these places and spaces for us.

If you’re a young Jewish creative in the world these days, proud of your identity, connected to our culture and community - but your professional goals are simple: to show up online to connect and create in areas that extend beyond your Jewishness and the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves and the others in our orbit - if you care about the cultural conversation - but are firmly focused in the direction of your professional dreams - and your passion is putting your ideas, your art or entrepreneurial inspiration out into the world for all to see, there are very few welcoming places and spaces that won't ask you to shrink your story (even) just a wee bit....in the service of fitting in.

If you’re a retired teacher with big ideas about putting your gifts to work in the world - if you want to share your experience and expertise with the world - if you want to learn how to market your art, write and/or self publish a book, create your own online course or community in the service of making the world a better place for the rest of us, if you feel most comfortable being open and honest and transparent with other Jewish artists and entrepreneurs - there are very few Jewish places and spaces for you.

If you’re stuck in the middle - a full time Jewish creative in the midst of a fun and successful creative career - looking to connect with other niche neighbors and professional peers in whatever work you do in the world - if you have one ear always up - looking for a new, fun, creative outlet or sexy side hustle to lose yourself and immerse your creative ambitions in 2027 - if you feel yourself biting your tongue and burying your light in more mainstream artistic and entrepreneurial communities when it comes to advertising your identity in the midst of uncomfortable community comments and chatter - there are very few Jewish spaces built entirely for us.

So we want to build that in 2027.

A private community and collection of courses and cohorts for Jewish authors, artists and entrepreneurs to learn together, grow together, build together, make cool stuff together and change the world together. (or at a very minimum, to make the world a wee bit better, by making better things together)

The idea incubator and brand accelerator for ambitious Jewish authors, artists and entrepreneurs with a need for speed.

No politics.

No pointing fingers.

No othering each other.

A tiny community of smart creatives with big ideas.

To amplify our art, inspire ideas and build connection, creativity and collaboration within our community.

Creative Jewish people coming together to learn from each other.

To teach, learn and lead.

To share our own areas of experience and expertise in the service of connection, collaboration and creativity.

And to build an economic engine that ethically empowers everyone to actually get paid for your art, your ideas, the services you sell and the work you offer to others.

(something that I can promise, for those of us who write, create, build, design and teach for a living - no matter how much most of us push - for many more than most, Substack will never open the right door to the right room, in the mansion of profitable publishing careers :)

If you’re interested in joining us, drop a note in the community comments and share a little bit about what you’d like to accomplish as a creative in 2027.

Teach what you know. Do what you love. Wake up the world with your work.

Make things better, by making better things together.

PPS - thank you for reading - I appreciate you!

:)

Ian