Let December be a soft landing
Welcoming gentleness to conclude the year
Hi! I come to you with my monthly letter midweek because this Friday is the next STUDIO VISITS feature. Get ready for it. Lauren and I started planning the layout and design of the print version of this series—which means it’s happening!!!! We used pencil and paper to draft some pages, and now we’re playing around in Adobe. More updates to come as it evolves, but I can definitively say that we’ll have a pre-order before the end of the year to estimate quantities. I’ll dedicate a whole email to that so you don’t miss it 💙
As I begin to reflect on this year, I’m thinking about how STUDIO VISITS has been my saving grace during a very irregular time for media. The industry is changing rapidly thanks to AI and algorithms, which means my job is unreliable, even unstable. Work doesn’t come as easily. Relationships have dissolved. Capacities and budgets are shrinking. It’s hard to feel anything but anxiety right now. This past week, I gave myself a break from pushing so hard. I stayed out of my inbox. I crafted. I ran. I raked leaves. Steve and I hosted friends for Thanksgiving. We chopped down a tree in the forest and went uphill skiing on Mt. Hood (Steve made a video of it). It felt really healthy to disconnect and disengage and remember to be present. I’ve been fretting a lot about the future. Like, what will I do if nobody takes a story ever again? Irrational and intrusive thoughts like that. Plus worries that are more rational and founded.
All this fret has led me to approach December with as much gentleness as possible. Rather than breaking my back to make up for a shitty journalism year, I’m going to recoup my energy. That means, in between getting actual work done, quilting in the middle of the day and going on runs when the sun is out like I did yesterday. Maybe I’ll send pitches and maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll take a day off here and there to just read. To just be. And I’m definitely devoting a lot of time to the print version of STUDIO VISITS. That’s how I’ll be closing out 2024.
XO
Latest Stories
December Mood
Monthly Shareables
Reading: Still working through a few books, plus all the magazines that have piled up this year. My goal is to get through several issues of Gentlewoman, Adventure Journal, Mountain Gazette, and Oregon Humanities this month.
Listening: Coffee shop jazz has been in the background while I work
Cooking: Have I told you about this potato leek soup yet? We made it last night.
Making: I spent Sunday decorating the tree and making a wreath and garland out of the cuttings. First I foraged sticks from my backyard to form the circle. Then used florist wire to attach the greenery. It took me less than an hour and now I’ll never buy a wreath again. Look how cute it looks on the door?!
Buying: My pal Tanner Bowden just released a gorgeous photo book of Japan’s vending machines. It’d make a great gift—for yourself or for a loved one!
Testing: Smartwool launched a new waffle fabric and sent me a sample of this henley. I’ve been wearing it underneath everything.
Wearing: Hikerkind 8-pocket pants
