If You Can: Support Creatives During Times of Uncertainty
Photo Credit: Viola Chip
As the entire world comes to a screeching halt, everyone feels the inertia that these dark times bring.
Like a short stop at a red light, your chest and head are flung forward toward the windshield. You are no longer the idle passenger. Normally, we would be consuming and purchasing at the speed of sound - cash drawers singing, cards swiping, and even the almost silent - yet all too important - double tapping. In a short time, we have become dramatically conditioned to what is essential and non-essential. The pendulum has swung heavily and unjustly. In times of sacrifice, we rely on our moral compass to point us due north when facing a question like, “Is now the time to shop?” Or, “Should I really be spending my money on things I don’t need?” Vanessa Friedman’s recent article in the New York Times poignantly expressed this internal conflict in a way that had us thinking, “How important is it to support fashion and retail industries right now?”
In short, we think it’s pretty damn important, but with one huge caveat: if you can. Many of us are looking for support in many ways, and some need it more than others. If you have the means to support your favorite artist, a designer, a small business, or your favorite local shop, we say do it and do it safely. Make inherently good decisions. What does that mean? Support those who support others. Creativity and art has long-built its own ecosystem amongst humans. It is the official vehicle in which we express ourselves and in turn inspire one another. This ecosystem relies on us; our relationship is symbiotic. If you have the means to support, if you can support, here are a couple of creators, brands, artists, and designers that you can support and feel good while doing it.
Photo via: Entireworld
Entireworld
Scott Sternberg’s LA-based, self-referred ‘wardrobe essentials’ love child just turned two years old. To celebrate two years of being, all weekend long 10% of all sales will go to Doctors Without Borders and all orders will have free 2-day shipping.
Packer
The NJ-based sneakerhead powerhouse is paying its respects, literally, to the true heroes: the health care professionals. They’re offering 20% off the entire site with 20% of all sales donated directly to The Holy Name Medical Center Foundation in Teaneck, NJ, for their efforts.
Photo via: Packer
Photo via: Yowie
Yowie
Philadelphia-based home and life curator, Yowie, is a shop who supports and advocates for independent artists and designers who create more than just trends.
RETROSUPERFUTURE
See the world through a new lens. You can help LA-based Italian eyewear brand pay homage to the origin of its luxury pieces by helping to donate medical goggles to the Italian White Cross.
Photo via: RETROSUPERFUTURE
Photo via: Kin Euphorics
Kin Euphorics
Take a mindful, alternative approach to unwinding with a new kind of nightlife beverage. As they put it, High Rhode’s “balancing adaptogens, replenishing nootropics, and nourishing botanics lift the mind and relax the body.” Don’t believe it? (Here’s our take on the brand’s alcohol-free High Rhode drink.) And if that’s not enough, you can enjoy their very-own live entertainment program, Tune In Together, featuring creators and artists sharing their craft for your viewing pleasure. Tune In Together airs every Wednesday at 7/6c.
Great Jones
Whether you’re hunkered in with family, roommates, friends, or even if you’re flying solo - the way to the heart is always through the stomach. Great Jones’s Potline is your go-to source for recipe suggestions or real-time cooking advice. Simply call, or text 1-814-BISCUIT (that’s 1-814-247-2848 for all you non-T9 millennials).
Photo via: Great Jones - Noah Fecks
If you’re reading this and saying, “Wow these are all really cool, but how can I support if I don’t have the means to?” Well, this one’s simple. We’ll call it social currency. One thing you can always do is like, share, double-tap, hell even write an email. Don’t be exclusive with your gratitude - a little love goes a long way. So go ahead and reach beyond the digital glass veil that’s between you and a creator, artist, or designer you love. We do it all the time.