With A Little Help From My Friends

Looking at the calendar, it’s already shaping up to be a busy summer. At least one event (usually more) every month between now and the end of October. I’m really looking forward to them – some are at new sites, and some at sites I’ve been going to for years. I’ll be talking about historic clothing, spinning, cooking, and medicine from the 18th and 19th centuries.

I love doing living history, but between the clothing, gear, food, and travel costs, going to these events isn’t exactly cheap. Most of the time, I’m a volunteer at these sites, so I’m carrying all of these costs. As a result, I’ve set up pages on two of the crowdfunding/creator support sites – Ko-fi and Patreon.

With Ko-fi, donations are small ($3, basically a cup of coffee) and usually a one-time thing. However, those small donations add up. During setup, the site prompted me to set a goal. My first goal ($120) will pay for an extra pair of 18th century shoes. I currently only have one pair that’s okay for wet/muddy events (soles are all leather), and I’d like to get a second pair.

Patreon is a monthly donation with reward tiers. In my case, the $5 tier gets you a thank you and access to project progress and event photos. The $10 tier gets you a 375 yard skein of my handspun yarn for every 6 months of support. If I can get up to $75/month in support, I’m planning to start doing short videos explaining various spinning/living history tasks, such as how a spinning wheel works or how to make a paste (pastry shell for sweet or savory pies).

If you’d like to give me a hand, I can be found at FiberandFluff on both Ko-fi and Patreon.