It only took 10 years: Patreon Updates after a decade
I joined Patreon in 2016, inspired by Amanda Palmer’s growth and sustainability. Ten years later, I’m still here, with a lot more to say about what it actually takes to build a creative community for the long haul. Plus: I’m updating my tiers after a decade!
Snow Stories
If you woke up and wondered why this snow wasn’t around for Santa and the reindeers, you’re not alone. Whether you’re facing another school closure, on a delayed bus, train, plane or defrosting the windshield after digging out your car, I’ve got a couple Snow-related audio plays to share from Playing on Air to keep you company and alleviate a little frustration.
Episode 3 – Work Share – Poem: “First Lady”
It’s late. I couldn’t sleep.
I’m also trying to get in the practice of doing this more and the first step is always the hardest, right… so… here we go.
I’m sharing some of my writing. A poem I wrote.
The Puzzle of my life
Episode 2 is here. This one will be for Patrons only!
I’m back from Detroit as you read in my last post and have been thrust into figuring out these puzzle pieces.
It only took a crisis to hang some photos…
But the only way I will be able to handle this shift is by accepting that things are changing… the how is the question. Could I get everything that I want? It’s time to ask. It’s time to declare it so and not keep it to myself.
IMPACT IS HERE
My dear patrons… and non-patrons…
This is the first of its kind… and it will NOT be the last.
So many times, I think that the only way to truly bring you into my work is to audio record it and turn it into a podcast.
Transition Sundays
Below is a sneak peek of this content! Dearest Patron, Sundays are not easy. They never have been. It’s something different every week. This Sunday, I sat in a local suburban cafe. I was feeling relaxed. I had a cinnamon raisin bagel with… To view this content, you must be a member of Garlia’s Patreon … Continue reading Transition Sundays
Stream New Black Plays (for Free)
With the rise in streaming and virtual productions during the height of the pandemic and lockdown, I am as passionate as ever about being part of any organization that prioritizes accessibility in this way.
🎉 I’ve been sitting on this News: Mellon Foundation Awards $500k For Detroit-Focused Propulsion Theatre Project
Below is a sneak peek of this content! 2023 was a heck of a year…But here is some News….It’s been a long time coming with this post… a loooing time coming. I have likely mentioned it, but seeing it in print is a… To view this content, you must be a member of Garlia’s Patreon … Continue reading 🎉 I’ve been sitting on this News: Mellon Foundation Awards $500k For Detroit-Focused Propulsion Theatre Project
48Hours came and went…I slept…and then worked some more!
Last we spoke, it was the Tuesday before #48hoursinelbronx, January 30th
The rest of that week I was in a flow and checking things off my list. The adrenaline of a pending production was upon us!
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PATREON POSTS
This is my 10th year on Patreon!
I started in 2016 with a dream to be like Amanda Palmer and make my entire living there so that I could independently produce and focus on my writing.
That has been hard.
A colleague of mine from the cell, and my very first patron, raved about Amanda’s book, “The Art of Asking”, so I found the money to get the audio book and listened to it during every free moment, furiously taking notes on my phone and dreaming about the hundreds of patrons I would soon have on patreon. My children were really little back then, and I was younger, so had a bit more energy and desperately needed to change my situation.
I launched my patreon in July of 2016 with a simple thank you post. I dove deeper in August of 2016 with a little post about getting ready for #48hoursinharlem with two small kids surrounding me.
By the end of September, I had rewards and an intro video. That intro video hasn’t changed in 10 years…. that WILL adjust this year!
I had a spike in 2020, when people were home a feeling guilty around racism. No joke.
But in recent years, for a variety of reasons, mainly financial, people had less money to support independent creators.
After 10 years, I’ve learned a lot of lessons, and am planning on making my first big reward and level adjustment in the coming weeks.
The question you might be asking is “what are you creating?”
If you’re taken a look at my patreon over the years, or even recently, you’ve seen videos and links to substack writing or podcasts I produce or stories about my family. You’ve seen a variety of things that all give a behind the scenes look at what my life has been like as a creator. You even had a back seat to a year of pivotal change for me: 2018, when my divorce was finalized and when I was hired at The Public.
But what does this all mean?
Most recently I’ve been refocusing and rebuilding.
My ecosystem begins with 55AP (Think Oprah’s HARPO or Issa Rae’s HOORAE)
- Jones & Co. is my marketing consultant arm ( I built out the webpage more this weekend)
- “Producing with Garlia” is the podcast I’ll be building out, but it’s also more than that…
- Producing with Garlia” is where everything lives: my writing, my essays on producing and parenting, strategy for theatre makers and arts administrators, and soon, in-depth conversations with the people shaping this field.
- It’s a newsletter (Substack), a podcast, and a community (Patreon) built around one idea: everything is performance — how we produce, how we parent, how we write, and how we build structures that let us actually sustain. You can find the podcast on Patreon and on your favorite podcast platform.
- Producing with Garlia” is where everything lives: my writing, my essays on producing and parenting, strategy for theatre makers and arts administrators, and soon, in-depth conversations with the people shaping this field.
So after 10 years… I FINALLY figured it out!
But that’s what Patreon is for. Patreon isn’t for perfection, but for growth and transformation, and the people that have been here since DAY 1…. The patrons that have stuck with me from the get go… from frequent to infrequent posting and unfulfilled rewards because life and solo parenting. The ones that said, “don’t give me anything.”, we just want to support. We see potential, we believe in you.
Patreon is for that belief. That interest and desire for me to give back a little more. Not a magnet or note card, but an ecosystem of creation built upon an infrastructure of care that accompanies 14 years of being a parent and artist in a world that values war over peace (quite literally if you’re keeping up with this weekend’s news).
In the coming week(s), I will be streamlining my patreon levels as well, so now is the time to enter at $1/$3 as those levels will shift to seasonal, but once you have it, you’re grandfathered in! 🙂
My new levels will be re-named to reflect my hometown of Detroit.
- BELLE ISLE
- WOODWARD AVENUE
- ARDEN PARK
- UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
- BOSTON-EDISON
- PALMER PARK
More details to come via my patreon and right here on my blog.
So welcome to what I’m rebuilding.
Would you consider becoming a paid patron at $1 a month?
That’s it. A dollar.
It’s not about the amount, but what it signals.
When you move from free to paid, you’re telling me the work matters enough to invest in, even just a little. And right now, as I’m rebuilding and going deeper on fewer things, that means everything.
New month starts Sunday (tomorrow).
If there’s ever a moment to make it official, it’s now.
Thank you for being here!
Below is a sneak peek of this content!
It's late. I couldn't sleep. I'm also trying to get in the practice of doing this more and the first step is always the hardest, right... so... here we go. I'm sharing some of my...
Unlock with PatreonBelow is a sneak peek of this content!
Episode 2 is here. This one will be for Patrons only! I'm back from Detroit as you read in my last post and have been thrust into figuring out these puzzle pieces.... Unlock with PatreonBelow is a sneak peek of this content!
But the only way I will be able to handle this shift is by accepting that things are changing… the how is the question. Could I get everything that I want? It’s time to ask.... Unlock with PatreonMy dear patrons… and non-patrons…
This is the first of its kind… and it will NOT be the last.
So many times, I think that the only way to truly bring you into my work is to audio record it and turn it into a podcast. Tonight / this morning, as I sit here half away, looking out at the Detroit Athletic club from my hotel room in/downtown Detroit, about to embark on the inaugural Detroit /impact arts Conference, I want to share a word.
It’s been a challenging couple months. May focused on health and mental health. Between my kids and I, we were at urgent care weekly for 3 weeks. I also took my own mental health support a step further.
June has been more focused! I’ve been sharper and more able to tackle the work ahead of me because of my mental health support, but I’ve also been catching up!
Anyway, it’s 6:18am and I need to tackle a mini list before getting out the door.
We launch this today! The inaugural Detroit IMPACT Arts Conference. The Youth workshops are in the morning and the afternoon line-up is packed!
My session is at 4pm, followed by the keynote – Dominique Morisseau at 5pm
Register for these sessions here: https://bit.ly/glai-impact-reg-24
The conference is free and open to the public! I sincerely hope you are able to come by today or any time this week, and take in what we have to offer!
More soon!
Thanks for listening and reading!
MOTHERHOOD
If you are reading this, then it is possible that you have read my piece that was published this morning on Brain, Child.
There is a framed quote at Bohemia that embodies my MO in this real estate business I have chosen.
Dressed in Black, they headed to a baby shower, to mourn the loss of Laney, a friend who had left the single NYC life behind, married a Wall Street banker and moved to Connecticut. Charlotte was of course excited and respectful of all the baby shower duties, so it only made sense that she felt the sting of her baby name being stolen. Which is exactly why you don’t tell your baby names to other people…
My plans included the working mother balancing both and loving it. It is what I feel I was made to do… And in this city, no less.
women in black heading to the baby shower), I have only felt a strength since embarking on this journey that was unknown to me in my single mingle days.
So instead of mourning the loss of life, I would love to see having children depicted not as a burden, but a celebration – an extension of your life with your partner. I understand that it is difficult to express that within a culture that is mainly one side or another. The in between is where I feel there is much exploration and where that discussion truly lies. The capable and educated women who cannot afford full-time or part-time childcare, the families of two-parents working multiple jobs to make ends meet. We loss this in-between exploration with the dawn of Reality Television and The Real Housewife, who did everything and looked perfect while doing it.
So let’s raise a glass to being a mother in all it’s many forms!
If you knew me way back when – you may not recognize me now.
Some days I feel like Martha Stewart: baking, taking care of our daughter, keeping up with housework…truly domestic. Other days, I wish I could call on my French au pair to go where I go so I could do the simple things in life that we all take for granted…like go to the restroom without fearing I’ll have to jump off to save my daughter who may have fallen in the other room, even though she’s just fine and asleep soundly in her crib.
I mechanically begin working on dinner around 5:30/6 so by the time my husband comes home, something is on the table. Numerous things fall by the way side and I have the most fun after midnight – writing. Sleep comes when I need it, but my candle is certainly burning at both ends…. And why?
Because I can’t just be a mother. I can’t just plan play dates and obsess over what nursery school my baby will go to in 2 -3 years. I try to do it all and end up in a race with myself. Every time I take a breather, I regret it- I try to stay one step ahead and end up feeling like I’m one step behind trying to please everyone (especially myself).
I am certainly not alone (I sure hope not) as mothers like me around the country figure out how to have “it all”. Some have more help than others, with an au pair or family member – others, like me, do it alone during the day while the other spouse works. Others have no other spouse and do it all alone.
Help or no help, the June Cleaver competition is always in our subconscious.
But June Cleaver had it easy – if all I had to do was clean the house and have dinner ready, life would be a breeze… Instead I think about a career and my own personal happiness as a human on this crazy planet – never mind my husband and our happiness in life as a couple and family (which is of course a constant on my mind).
But how did I – How do we get this way – wanting everything to be perfect – or just right… trying to juggle motherhood and wife-Dom like we’re going to get a badge at the end of this raceto add to our sash – like we’re going to move up in the rankings.
I mean … sometimes It would be better if sleep were optional…
… And who is all of this for? Maybe we want to win one of those network tv “Mother of the Year” contests, and be picked over thousands of other deserving mothers…. Is that what our mothers wanted?
Are we recreating their lives in a google age?
My 1st year into this life as wife AND mother sent me into a homemaker mode many never knew existed or thought I would enjoy (myself included). But I was no longer “playing house” as I did as a child. This was real!
At the end of the day, June Cleaver’s life seemed perfect, but that sort of perfection has a dangerous price. If you find that you are driving yourself crazy over the minutiae and need a break, take one! Afterall, June Cleaver had commercials…
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If you are wondering what this has to do with “being black”, it has everything to do with Identity which is what I gained when I “discovered” my blackness… A sense of self that could be carried throughout the different avenues of my life.