No More Starving Artists!

I am hearing fear in the voices of my fellow artists whenever the subject of the economy is discussed. So I've decided to do something about it. Using the folktale, Stone Soup, as my inspiration, I am creating a grassroots movement in the art community to help artists overcome their fears and give them control over their future.

In Stone Soup, a stranger comes to a starving village and looks for food. He puts a boiling pot on the water and adds a stone, telling everyone he is making stone soup. Gradually, the villagers come forward with ingredients to add to make the soup. The contributions are items that the villagers are hoarding due to their fear of starvation. Each villager only contributes a small amount, but the end result is a soup that feeds everyone.

I see the same scenario happening in today’s economy. People are hoarding whatever resources they make because they are afraid. What we don’t realize is, that by hoarding, we are just perpetuating failing economy. We need to spend money and infuse the economy with cash. I’m not saying we should spend money we don’t have, but we should continue to spend.

I've created The Stone Soup Challenge to encourage my fellow artists and crafters to spend more and support one another. The basic concept of the program is to have each artist/crafter make a promise to set aside a small percentage of their net sales each month and use that money to buy something from another artist.

The challenge will officially launch on February 1, 2009, but you can get started now. Here's what you need to do to participate in the challenge:

1. Leave a comment on this post and pledge your dedication to the challenge. Once you have committed, please go to this entry and enter your shop link. Please only link to one of your online presences. We need to make sure everyone gets a chance to place a link!

2. Blog about The Stone Soup Challenge. Link to this blog everywhere you can and spread the word. The more people who take the challenge, the better. (If someone wants to make an HTML badge that we all could use on our blogs, that would be great!)

3. Decide on the percentage of your net sales that you will spend each month. It is recommended that you spend 10-25%, but it is okay to pledge whatever amount you are comfortable with. Don't forget-net sales dollars is the amount of money you make from sales AFTER costs.

4. Each month, when you know how much you will be spending, visit your favorite online venues and spend it! Focus on buying from artists and crafters. It's these people, just like you, who need the sales right now. Be sure to leave a message in the comments area of your order, telling the artist or crafter that you are making the purchase in the name of The Stone Soup Challenge and link to this blog. That way the artist you purchased from can pay it forward.

5. To help you find places to spend your money, visit this entry to see who else is a Stone Soup Challenger.

That's it! A simple, painless way for us to help one another. I can't wait to see us change the world!