August Stories & Creative Happenings
Another full month of interviews, IRL gatherings, guest contributors, Substack lives, & more!
I know I’ve been in your inbox a lot this week, so I’ll keep it quick! Here are some ways to join us for stories & gatherings this month :)
August 6: “The Embodied Wisdom of My 5-Year-Old-Hula-Hooping-Self” by Nicole Rangel
Yesterday, we invited Nicole Rangel, who is a holistic educator and papermaker, to share a beautiful piece about hula hopping (that may move you to tears). If you haven’t read it yet, here it is!
August 14: Tomatokind x Creative Lunch Club x Adobe
Next week, we’ll be co-hosting a lunch gathering with or multi-disciplined creatives based in the SF Bay Area with Creative Lunch Club and Adobe. It’ll be set in a vibrant community space called The Fold, and fueled by delicious mexican-styled tapas by Vegan Chula. More details here!
August 20: Live Conversation with Featherhaus’s Nicky Weldy
Join for an intimate Substack Live conversation with graphic designer-turned tattoo artist Nicky Weldy, who spent years in entertainment (designing assets for Blockbuster movies like Spider-Man and End Game) and tech before quitting her job at Apple to pursue her permanent makeup business (and a second full-time job as a mama of 2). Join here for all the career pivot fun!
August 25: Guest post by Laura Zhang
Later this month, we’ll be sharing a personal essay by Laura Zhang, who is an Oakland-based travel journalist and editor. Raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and returning recently from Berlin, she is passionate about diverse storytelling and writes about the Asian diaspora, food and drink, and boutique travel experiences. Get a sneak peek of Laura’s world on her Substack Golden Hour!
August 26: “Tiny Lessons From Obituaries: Stories That Could Change Your Life”
Grab your “deep-life-convos” bestie, and join us for a strangely joyful gathering with Mary McGreevy at my favorite community third-space Local Economy. We’ll gather to read real obituaries, uncover the tiny, unexpected ways people lived meaningful lives, and let those stories gently (or not-so-gently) reflect us back to ourselves. Join us here!
August 31: “A 4-Step Creative Flow for Inspiration Hoarders” Field Trip
Lastly, we’re leading a Creative Mornings field trip mixing playful prompts, self-reflection, and community that will help you pursue one of your many dream projects collecting dust on your notes app. Stay tuned for the RSVP link, but in the meantime, check out a variety of creative virtual field trips here!!
Ok, friends - that’s it from me this week. Have a gorgeous summer weekend!
With zeal and gratitude for this creative life,
Vanessa
P.S. Here are some reminders on how to make the most of this community!
Join our subscribers-only community chat here! - Think of it as a friendly group chat to hang out with fellow multi-passionate creatives and converse about all things worth dreaming about. The chat has been live since January and folks have connected through sharing creative rituals, advice on business/life dilemmas, book recs, physical and digital resources, and also cat pics. 😺 New in the chat: Possibilities Pings! To keep things light and breezy this summer, we’ll be sending you a short-and-sweet “Possibility Ping” with an inspo from our world or other corner of the internet.
Check out our Creative Journey Library here! - People are always coming to us for book recs on how to design their life (a.k.a., how to do more art, ignite their creative joys, start a dream project, tap into their inspiration, live more fully), so…we’ve compiled a list!
Follow us on Instagram (@tomatokindmagazine) and LinkedIn (Tomatokind)! - We share regular creative and playful tid-bits there, plus offerings, announcements, & giveaways.
Browse our Creative Spaces Map - This is our dynamic, open-source map of creative spaces, studios, and hideaways across North America. It is curated from our editorial adventures as well as reader submissions, and designed for you to get into the community and make stuff, co-work, and experience creative adventures!
Oh the obituary event 🥹 these all sound amazing! I didn’t know about lunch club will have to investigate!