Can We Please Stop Monetizing Every Hobby?

You bake the cake, finish the sweater, frame the painting — and someone asks when you're going to start selling it. They mean it as a compliment, and it usually is one. But when did, "someone would pay for that" become the main way we tell people their creativity has value? On this art therapy podcast, Emily and Allie get into what that does to the making itself, and why the pressure shows up fastest on the things we love most. Allie explains why she has never sold a single piece of the jewelry she taught herself to solder, and what she says when people are taken aback by that. Emily tells a story about being asked to illustrate a children's book, and hearing herself say something about her own art she has genuinely never said before — the second money entered the conversation. They talk about how to tell the difference between wanting to build something and feeling like you should, why touring musicians are the right test case, and what it might mean that in Denmark the community center art classes sell out every week with no one expecting to get good. This is an art therapy and creativity podcast, and this episode is a reminder to our creative community that not everything you make has to become something. In this episode, they discuss: Why "you should sell that" lands as pressure even when it's meant as praise — and what to say instead The creative practice Allie protects by never selling it, and how she responds when people push What Emily heard herself say about her own artwork the moment a paid project was on the table How to tell whether you actually want to monetize something, using the touring musician test Whether the pressure to make hobbies productive is a US-specific problem — and what a culture of hobbies looks like instead A yes/no/maybe experiment on selling, resting, and keeping one practice completely private Resources & Links: Absalon - Community art center in Copenhagen (great for a visit if you're traveling!) Creative retreats - the retreat Allie mentioned in Greece Allie's metal smithing class Beacon Gem Tack - our favorite for bedazzling! Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode, follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ or visit our ⁠website⁠ to learn more. If you'd like to be a guest on the show, you can apply ⁠here.⁠ You can find Allie on ⁠Instagram⁠ or her ⁠website⁠, and you can find Emily on ⁠Instagram⁠ or her ⁠website⁠ to learn more about all they do and stay connected You can find Austin on ⁠Instagram⁠ for all of your podcasting and musical needs If you enjoyed this episode, follow along and share it with someone who could use a little more creativity in their life. And this is your reminder that you don't have to be an artist to benefit from creativity. You're welcome, as you are, in this creative community.