Hey Folx, Cassie here of Cassie’s Craft Coven. As we’re sliding into the fresh start of a New Year and nearing The Coven Anniversary I wanted to take a moment (actually quite a few moments) to talk about The Craft Coven, it’s goals, and how you can use the org to bring more creativity to your life. I know many of you have been members of the group for years. And a lot of you are just now finding out about it and what it has to offer. Regardless of your activity level from 8 year lurker, to newcomer attending every event- I appreciate you! I appreciate you for choosing to fill any amount of your life with creative enrichment through the Coven.
The Craft Coven has grown a lot since its formation in 2016. At its start the Coven was a handful of people that I was messaging about crafts, and I decided to put us all in one place through a Facebook group. Through the group it was easier to plan dates and times that we could get together in my basement to craft. We could use the group to share ideas of what project we wanted to try out next, and share info on where to collect cheap or free art supplies. Facebook was a convenient tool for us for many years, but now with the platform leaning more towards advertisements, manipulated feeds, and less personal interaction- it’s just not the best place for everyone to be.Â
With the downturn of Facebook in mind I have built out the Craft Coven website in a way to serve some of those previous purposes- but outside of the Facebook platform. The website covers the basics- a link to our events, a list of other workshops going on in Philly, and a pretty extensive living document of local artists and makers looking for collaborations and projects. Along with those it also houses an internal blog for updates about the coven, projects that we’re working on, and in depth looks at projects or things going on around Philly. Lastly it contains a member system with all sorts of functionalities that I’ll be introducing over the next 6 months to a year. With all these additions I hope to turn the online community into a resource for all levels of creators in Philly. Within the site there will be file sharing, with The Coven uploading printable instructionals, patterns, and resource images. We will be adding a monthly virtual critique where people can talk about their work and give insight on fellow artists’. We’ll add programs with regular writing and drawing prompts and lite competitions, to help you with creative accountability. There will also be a members only forum where the community can steer the conversation where it wants. We’ll share vending opportunities and call for entries. And maybe most exciting for some, we’ll be creating a network of outings, retreats, and out of Philly excursions centered around making connections in the creative community.
And now for the uncomfortable bit- all this stuff takes time and dollars. The coven has always strived to be accessible to all and provide experiences that feel special without compromising a rent payment. Well we haven’t lost that and are implementing measures to make sure things can stay the way they are but with MORE! So for now we’re keeping things just the way they are. But in the next couple of weeks you can expect to see a couple different membership levels announced, always and forever including a free option. You’ll also note a ‘sponsor a friend’ option that will include all the amenities of membership for you and one other person of our choosing. That way we can keep a list of people unable to upgrade due to finances, and move them up with your sponsorship. Hopefully this model will cover everyone interested in joining us, and we’ll continue to revise and revisit issues on finances throughout the life of Coven paid memberships. And in the meantime we can all cross our fingers and hope for grant funding to cover costs of everyone’s membership! Thanks for taking the time to catch up on what I've been putting together! Hope to see you at an event soon -Cassie