Hello Partners!
We’re halfway through the first year of Bonsai projects, and I wanted to give a quick recap of all the work that you’ve enabled me to accomplish since starting in August 2019:
Bonsai Newsletter (previously 100 for 100)
- 4 emails (4,250 words)
- 1 concept I’m planning to expand into a longer essay and submit to design publications
Technicolor
- 3 published interviews (and 2 more recorded, not yet published)
- For those published interviews, I edited 4 hours of audio, 31,252 transcribed words, and 500 photos down to 6,600 words and 27 photos
- 174 Instagram followers
- People are spending over 2 minutes on the interview pages which means they’re actually reading the interviews on the website (!)
The Valleyist
- 8 emails (7,000 words)
- Around 30 different email threads/replies/conversations started in response
And! An updated website that shifts the focus from being a portfolio of my design work to highlighting all of the Bonsai projects: https://jstnbrbr.com
Of course, Bonsai is not about numbers (the best things in life can sometimes be described but never quantified) — so here’s a message that Luis and Yuka, our most recent Technicolor couple, received after I posted their interview:
“Read the interview article of you and Yuka on Technicolor and totally loved it, I actually choked up a bit, really. I was close to losing faith in people but I think I can sit back for awhile. Thanks.”
I couldn’t have done any of this without your encouragement and support — thank you.
2019 Reflections
In 2019 I placed a lot of pressure on myself to measure up to an imaginary standard that I had set for my creative output — and I let that feeling of constant worry and inadequacy dominate my spirit in 2019.
In 2020 my goal is to shift my perspective on creative output to one of…peace? Instead of beating myself up for missing an imaginary deadline, I’m going to be thankful for the opportunity and the audience I have. This year let’s be a little more generous with the way we treat ourselves.
2020 Goals
- Fund an event to showcase work/art from a young, minority creative
- Host a gallery and/or run a Kickstarter for a printed magazine version of Technicolor photos and interviews
- Gain my first partner who I don’t know personally
- And more…
January Playlist
As part of my vision to extend Bonsai beyond just myself, this month’s playlist is curated by a guest! These songs were put together by Nineesha, my sister-in-law (and musician herself). Here’s what she had to say about her song selection:
“Since moving to Austin, I’ve come to start relating to listening to music as an active experience, not just passive consumption. I’ve fallen in love with these 5 songs not only for the rawness in the musicality and the lyrical honesty, but also for how these songs helped experience the space and moment I was in.”
Listen on Spotify
Whew! Thus ends the longest partner update yet.
Happy New Year, and thanks again for your support — there’s much more to come.