Crossroads and Fingerposts

Hello again - it’s almost Friday and I’m here with the usual roundup of pictures: local walks, glimpses of the house, spring flowers… but also with a question or two.

As you know, I’ve been blogging for nearly ten years now, and I enjoy it - both the idea of communicating with others from near and far, and as a means of recording our lives as a family.

I’ve reached a crossroads though, and I’m looking for a bit of direction.

It’s a lucky coincidence, by the way, that some of these photos show our walk through the woods at the weekend; were it not for the helpful yellow dots sprayed onto the trees along the way we’d have taken a good few wrong turns. And that ties in with what I’m writing about here. I need some more yellow dots.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to Frond and Feather lately. It’s a website which houses this blog, one (slightly neglected) blog for Joe and a few offshoots detailing places to visit. The shop is no more; indeed, someone’s buying my etching press and is coming to collect it at the weekend.

That’s not to say I’ve abandoned printmaking altogether. I might occasionally dabble, employing the hand-burnishing methods I used prior to purchasing the press (nice bit of alliteration for you).

My passions lie in writing and taking pictures. And as someone who’s a parent to a young child and who works part time, I’ve had to whittle things down to those that really matter. The things that if I don’t have time to do them, I feel stifled and dissatisfied.

So I’m considering a few additions to Frond and Feather.

I intend to keep the same format: a (reasonably) regular update on life here in West Yorkshire. But I’d like to do more.

In order to make this into more of a profession I need to do lots of things - some bewildering (SEO, anyone?) - some not, whilst preserving the spirit and feel of what I’ve created and established. I don’t want to go down the road of adverts: I want Frond and Feather to remain somewhere relaxing to visit, somewhere that looks beautiful and is aesthetically pleasing and calming.

Nor do I want to post sponsored content. I have been approached over the years to do this but it wouldn’t feel right, just as I don’t enjoy leafing through lovely magazines which are half-filled with adverts or sponsored features. It seems disingenuous somehow. I can’t write something from the heart whilst having ‘an agenda’.

So what do I want to do?

Well, having researched this, there are a few options which seem a better fit.

One is to offer my own products for sale. Obviously, I’m not selling prints any more so that’s not really a thing. But I am thinking of making a calendar using my photography - a small number of them. Another consideration is ebooks. Digital content with thoughtful words and beautiful pictures (suggested topics to follow).

Yet another possibility would be to offer how-tos or tutorials. Photography tricks, things to make, simple printmaking techniques… even blogging.

A member’s subscription is something I’m seriously considering, too.

I’d still be posting here on the blog regularly with the same format, but would offer further exclusive content (perhaps to include the previously mentioned tutorials?) Extra posts and photography which would delve deeper, behind-the-scenes kind of stuff. In addition to the usual catch-up posts I’d be writing more specifically about things which inspire and interest me.

I wrote a list of these earlier - so far I’ve come up with:

• Interiors (the new house is supposed to be ours within days!)

• Photography

• Books

• Family (activities)

• Nature

• Seasonal living

• Wisdom

• Stories and memories

• Wellbeing

• Keeping house

• Things to make

• Gardening

• Rituals

…and I could perhaps resurrect a few Mitenska favourites, like Food Memories, Precious Things, and Elegant Economy. I could bring everything together in a monthly digital magazine of sorts. Much as I’d love to produce a paper version, this would be the next best thing (and far less expensive). Independently published magazines, free of adverts, printed on quality paper, generally cost upwards of £12 per issue and can go beyond £20.

It goes without saying that all my content would be original, not re-hashes of articles found online or images taken from stock libraries or Pinterest.

This post isn’t a request for payment. I’ll always keep this space for words and pictures, free for everyone who wants to visit.

But wanting to grow and to develop what I do into something which at least pays for itself (annual domain and site hosting - even computer repairs) is fine too. Of course, there are the more difficult to quantify costs in terms of time - planning, writing, editing, proofreading, photography, photo editing, uploading images). I think it’s important to value your skills and not feel awkward or uncomfortable about it. Offering the option of additional content is a means of doing that which feels right for me personally - it’s honest and in keeping with the philosophy of Frond and Feather. And I’d really appreciate your ideas with this.

I know most of my readers don’t comment - I don’t either, when it comes to other people’s blogs! You’re free to contact me directly via email or Instagram if you’d prefer. But any suggestions would help.

If you were open to paying a small monthly fee (say, £1.99) for access to an online magazine (or something along those lines), would any of the subjects listed earlier appeal to you? Any I haven’t mentioned? Do some stand out more than others?

Would you like to read tips on photography perhaps? What kind of images do you like - dark and moody or light and airy? ‘Styled’ pictures or landscapes?

All this is very much at the ‘ideas’ stage for now but it’s something I’m excited to do. I’ve always loved the idea of writing and publishing my own magazine but I think this could be a good starting point.

Thanks for reading :)