Join Tomatokind's Subscriber Chat!
How to Join The Chat & Other New Year Musings
Happy New Year, creative friends!
After procrastinating for months, I am finally announcing a brand new addition to my Substack publication: Tomatokind’s Subscriber Chat! 🍅
This is a conversation space exclusively for subscribers.
Think of it as a friendly group chat (or a private subreddit) to hang out and converse about all things worth dreaming about.
In my imagination, this chat is that cozy treehouse you and your childhood friends played pretend in for hours.
(…a little cottage up in the sky where you shared in each other’s messy lives, talked for hours, and encouraged each other’s dreams.)
Whether you’re a creative entrepreneur, small-business-owner, multi-passionate hobbyist, occasional photographer/ poet/ watercolorist/ tinkerer of things (or, even if you’re reading this thinking I’m not creative at all), pop into the chat and let’s dream together.
Spoiler alert: you are creative.
And, this community is waiting to hear what’s in that noggin →
How It’ll Work:
Every week, I’ll post prompts and topics for the community to explore, and you’ll be invited to jump into the discussion! The first one’s this Wednesday!
If you’re a paid subscriber, you also have the ability to start your own thread (a.k.a., introduce a new topic for the community to chat about!).
For example, you should feel comfortable to:
ask for advice on how to balance a 9-to-5 job with a creative side-project
crowd-source books, podcasts, tools, and habits to fuel your dream life
post a “does anyone else feel this way?” creative dilemma
ask for feedback on a messy draft or half-baked vision
share a small (or big) win — signing up for your first ceramics class, hosting a workshop, announcing your next book launch/ short film/ gallery show, learning a new language, starting an Etsy shop
…the list goes on!
I can’t wait to see you in the chat! ✨ (…where you can chime in from literally anywhere!)
And, if you’re anything like me…you’ll be posting random thoughts in the car between Zumba and the grocery store→
Join The Chat: Step-by-Step 🪜
Get the Substack app by clicking this link or the button below. New chat threads won’t be sent sent via email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens. You can also access chat on the web.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for this chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into the thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ!
The treehouse (our little corner in the clouds) is officially OPEN!
Other Musings 🍋
This morning (like every other morning for the past 6 months), I walked out to the old lemon tree in our backyard and squinted up into the skies.
Five little green lemons, I counted — head cocked to one side, then the other.
This past summer, I pruned the heck out of the aforementioned lemon tree.
It had stems that looked like dead snakeskin and an overall tree-in-front-of-haunted-house physique, clamoring in agony.
After taking a long shear to it for an hour (clip clip clip), I thought Oops.
Maybe I had really done it this time. (Killed it, I mean.)
“Death by callous pruning.”
(And, it wouldn’t be the first.)
To my surprise, though, little lemons finally sprouted from the flower buds in mid-December (the ones I had stared at longingly day after day).
Then, I thought of those of you who wrote me in late 2025 — about being in a funk, not feeling inspired, going through tough times, and being very confused about where life was headed. (Me too! 🙋🏻♀️) Well, perhaps…
2026 will bear the fruit that you have been patiently waiting for….working for… (and, that is my wish for you 🫶 ).
Thank You For Another Year!
In 2025, Tomatokind welcomed many new (paid and free) subscribers, and I am beyond grateful.
If you haven’t done so already, please take 2 minutes to fill out our Reader Survey so that we can continue to grow this community in a way that serves you! →
As a reminder, if you’re a free subscriber, you get 1-2 posts a month.
To get every post and other paid subscriber benefits, upgrade to a paid subscription (it’s only ~$8 a month, a.k.a., the price of a latte) →
Outside of Substack, you can find me on Instagram with more behind-the-scenes content! But for now…don’t miss out on the conversation in the subscriber-only chat! →
With zeal and gratitude for this creative life,
Vanessa
So exciting!!