Thursday 10 March 2016

Wildlife Watch Magazine

   This is quite sweet. Last summer I participated as an official blogger for The Wildlife Trusts' #30DaysWild campaign just for a little fun and try to encourage myself to get outside more, and because I was hoping it might cheer me up. I wasn't feeling all too happy at that time - my mum's disability gets quite severe in the summer, and as I'm her carer for 45 hours a week, a lot of pressure falls on me to get her through it. Fortunately it worked. But not only that. I made an impression with my woodland jewellery that I made specially for a charity raffle to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and they wanted to include a 2 page article about my work in their child membership's magazine, Wildlife Watch. I love charities and trusts that do that kind of thing because it really does encourage kids to get involved in broader and less obvious passions, such as an interest in wildlife in this case, and that really does wonders for conservation and, to be honest, a child's desire to learn, and that can carry over into adulthood. It did for me. I live off of documentaries, alongside fantasy, oddly enough.


   Four issues are sent to subscribers every year, each released with the change in seasons, and I was included in this year's spring issue which went out very recently. It was such a cool little thing to do, because I used to get these kinds of magazines as a kid, so I remember how exciting it was to receive the magazines in the post at 10 years old - post for me! - and I would read it cover to cover a number of times, absorbing everything. But I also remember what kind of information I didn't get from them, and that competitions could be a little too simple (meaning lots of entries and no real chance of winning). So, I wrote the article that was asked of me, including what I felt were 4 valuable things for kids (and the easily-defeated) to keep in mind when crafting, and offered a few pieces up for a competition with the request of it being for more than just answering a question.
   So! I got a wonderful 2-page spread in a kid's wildlife magazine just like the ones I used to read as a youngster, as well as donating for a competition that really encouraged creativity, thought and study by asking kids to make a sculpture of an animal, be it from clay or Lego. I really hope it goes well! And to improve participants' chances I volunteered 3 necklaces, for 3 winners rather than 1, just to satisfy my inner child who never won anything.

   Like I said, this is a kid's magazine, and it's subscription only so it's not in any shops, so it's not a massive publication, but to be honest it still means a lot - that my work was interesting enough for people to think others - even kids - would be interested in hearing about me, and that it was included in a magazine that is guaranteed to actually be read by the recipient rather than glossed over.
   The magazine is sweet, and it's a wonderful opportunity and experience for me, personally. It's also the first time any of my jewellery has been featured in a magazine before - my baking and my fitness has been, but not to this degree, either.



0 comments:

Post a Comment

I do read every single comment, and I will try to respond where I can. If you have an important question about my blog or my shop, however, then you might be better off contacting me directly by email. Thanks so much for reading my blog!