Earlier this week I shot, edited, transcibed and captioned what I call a video postcard – a simple and straightforward video greeting from me where I talk about a project I am working on. I create the postcards for my patrons.
If you want to get my video postcards you are welcome to become a patron on patreon.com.
I made my first video postcard a couple of years ago when I was on holiday in Abisko with my family. I talked about the area and the vast landscape in the northernmost part of Sweden and the middle of Sápmi.
A compelling format
That first video postcard was just a spontaneous greeting. I did enjoy the format and decided I would do it as a regular thing, just saying hello to my patrons once a month. It gives me a more personal connection to a smaller group of readers than I can provide in my public videos.
Since then I have made several video postcards, some from vacations, some from home and some from the weaving room. I have talked about spinning bulky yarns, weaving a rya rug, spinning a lopi style yarn, teaching at Sätergläntan, picking a fleece, spinning silk and lots more.
Patron perk
I create my video postcards as a perk for my patrons. They have chosen to support me financially because they enjoy what I do. By the monthly fee they support me with, they play an important role in helping me keep my free stuff free for those who can’t pay. This way a large part of what I publish is free and accessible for a larger audience; this blog, my youtube videos, webinars and a lot of the courses, challenges and lectures in my online spinning school.
Relaxed
The video postcards are always very simple and unpretentious. To keep them as simple as possible I don’t use a script and I usually shoot the video in one take and with a minimum of editing. I allow these videos to be as natural and low tech as possible. I want to enjoy making them and not see them as a burden. It’s very liberating to make these videos totally unscripted for a group of people that is as nerdy as I am, very differently from how I would approach a public youtube video.
Sneak peeks and deep dives
Sometimes I make the postcards as a sneak peek into something I blog about later, sometimes I dive deeper into something I write about. Other times it’s just a simple greeting from a place I am visiting. Every postcard is a sincere thank you for the support I get from my patrons.
Fresh from the editing room
The video postcard I made this week was about a project I have been working on for several years now and that is almost finished. Two shots in different angles, a bit of editing, transcribing the narration (this takes time, though) and captioning.
Just to give you a glimpse of what a video postcard can look like, I will share one of them with you. This one is from July 2022 at Sätergläntan where I talk about my course A spindle a day. Enjoy!
Happy spinning!
You can find me in several social media:
- This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
- My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
- I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
- I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
- On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
- Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
- Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
- In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
- I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
