>>To my delight & surprise, there's more here that I can do than I thought there would be!<<
Woohoo!
>> I'm in a somewhat in-between place for a lot of things; while I'm registered to vote locally <<
Okay, great. That entitles you to attend town meetings. Check your municipal government website, there should be a listing of meeting times and topics. Pick a cause or two and attend whenever those come up. Most town meetings are sparsely attended, except for getting mobbed occasionally due to a hot issue. The stuff you're looking at is not that hot. Go, listen, and be prepared to back your arguments with good research. People don't often bother to do their homework, which gives you an advantage.
It also gives you access to the local library. Check it for programs. Some libraries still run classes, book clubs, literacy outreach, and other socially ept stuff. It's a good resource, but also a good place to meet like-minded people.
>> I rent a room in someone else's house so there's very little I can do property-wise. That said, they seem to be into the idea of putting a little free seed library in their front yard, which is a happiness. <<
Woohoo!
This actually is a very T-American thing. Renting rooms, shareshouses, and boarding houses are all popular. They have far fewer laws against adults living together as they see fit. You may want to look up resources on communal living and intentional community. There are lots of ideas for making it a household rather than just a flop room.
>> I wish I lived somewhere closer to the center of town -- there's more I could do from there -- but as I can currently pay rent only in handmade soap, well, there are limits. One thing at a time, though. <<
Work with what you have. Homemade soap is a luxury; many people love the stuff but can't afford the usual $5-6 a bar for it. This makes it an awesome barter item. Get together with other local artists and crafters. There may be a group already started, or you may need to launch your own. Once you're connected, you can do things like share tables at events or consider getting a storefront. It is much easier to afford things when you band together than going it alone.
A key goal should be establishing local demand for local products, and community support for creative folks in the area. Get your names and faces out there, whoever's comfortable dealing with the public. Talk with local businesses about hanging your art, playing your music, stocking your products.
Emphasize that money spent on local products tends to stay local, meaning it can cycle back to them; whereas money spent on commercial products leaves the local economy. Once your art group has a handful of business customers, make a flyer listing them that you can show to new contacts. This helps drum up reciprocal support for businesses that are boosting the local economy.
Take the soap for instance. Buying one bar at a time, it's usually pricey. But suppose a business buys an entire slab. Now you can give them a wholesale price. Instead of cutting it into big chunky bars, they have the option of requesting little hotel-size slivers suitable for stocking the bathroom at a business, so they can put out a fresh one regularly without wasting a lot of soap. (Also you don't wind up with liquid soap drooling everywhere.) Other options include making soap leaves, paper soap, and soap curls. It depends on how fancy you and your customers want to get. They can advertise that they're supporting the local economy, and a piece of homemade soap in the bathroom makes a place look really upscale.
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dancing_serpent
Re: Okay...
Date: 2016-02-17 09:18 pm (UTC)Woohoo!
>> I'm in a somewhat in-between place for a lot of things; while I'm registered to vote locally <<
Okay, great. That entitles you to attend town meetings. Check your municipal government website, there should be a listing of meeting times and topics. Pick a cause or two and attend whenever those come up. Most town meetings are sparsely attended, except for getting mobbed occasionally due to a hot issue. The stuff you're looking at is not that hot. Go, listen, and be prepared to back your arguments with good research. People don't often bother to do their homework, which gives you an advantage.
It also gives you access to the local library. Check it for programs. Some libraries still run classes, book clubs, literacy outreach, and other socially ept stuff. It's a good resource, but also a good place to meet like-minded people.
>> I rent a room in someone else's house so there's very little I can do property-wise. That said, they seem to be into the idea of putting a little free seed library in their front yard, which is a happiness. <<
Woohoo!
This actually is a very T-American thing. Renting rooms, shareshouses, and boarding houses are all popular. They have far fewer laws against adults living together as they see fit. You may want to look up resources on communal living and intentional community. There are lots of ideas for making it a household rather than just a flop room.
>> I wish I lived somewhere closer to the center of town -- there's more I could do from there -- but as I can currently pay rent only in handmade soap, well, there are limits. One thing at a time, though. <<
Work with what you have. Homemade soap is a luxury; many people love the stuff but can't afford the usual $5-6 a bar for it. This makes it an awesome barter item. Get together with other local artists and crafters. There may be a group already started, or you may need to launch your own. Once you're connected, you can do things like share tables at events or consider getting a storefront. It is much easier to afford things when you band together than going it alone.
A key goal should be establishing local demand for local products, and community support for creative folks in the area. Get your names and faces out there, whoever's comfortable dealing with the public. Talk with local businesses about hanging your art, playing your music, stocking your products.
Emphasize that money spent on local products tends to stay local, meaning it can cycle back to them; whereas money spent on commercial products leaves the local economy. Once your art group has a handful of business customers, make a flyer listing them that you can show to new contacts. This helps drum up reciprocal support for businesses that are boosting the local economy.
Take the soap for instance. Buying one bar at a time, it's usually pricey. But suppose a business buys an entire slab. Now you can give them a wholesale price. Instead of cutting it into big chunky bars, they have the option of requesting little hotel-size slivers suitable for stocking the bathroom at a business, so they can put out a fresh one regularly without wasting a lot of soap. (Also you don't wind up with liquid soap drooling everywhere.) Other options include making soap leaves, paper soap, and soap curls. It depends on how fancy you and your customers want to get. They can advertise that they're supporting the local economy, and a piece of homemade soap in the bathroom makes a place look really upscale.
>>Thank you!<<
*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.