Creatures of Impact started with a question.
I had just finished making 15 small, strange, joyful creatures out of felt and foam and googly eyes. I was days away from displaying my art in public for the first time. And my colleague Wes asked — maybe a little facetiously — "So what's the impact business model?"
That question cracked something open.
What started as a casual art show at a café I love turned into something I didn't have a name for yet. A creative endeavor. A community experiment. A small act of collective faith that the world can be different if enough of us decide to make it so.
The creatures already had personalities. They had names. Once I started thinking about what each of them cared about in the world — what kept them up at night, what they'd want you to do on their behalf — the whole thing clicked into place. Each creature comes with a direct action. Not a donation ask. Not a vague suggestion to "get involved." A specific, real thing you can do to put a little more good into the world.
Because there is no such thing as a small act of service. Everything is something.
The sewing circle lineage
Historically, sewing circles were subversive political spaces. Women gathered to make things with their hands — and also to organize, fundraise, advocate for suffrage and abolition, and express dissent through protest art. These gatherings gave women a place to hold power at a time when they were excluded from public discourse.
Creatures of Impact carries that lineage forward.
We make things. We take action. We bring our creatures along when we do, snap a photo, tag @creaturesofimpact on Instagram, and let the ripple move outward. The making and the doing are not separate — they're the same gesture.
What this is becoming
The art show was the first chapter. What comes next is a collective endeavor.
This site is home to creatures made by me, and eventually by other artists who share the vision. Each creature has a price, a nonprofit beneficiary of your choosing, and a direct action that belongs to it. You don't have to take the action to bring a creature home. But we hope you will. And if you do — we really hope you'll bring them along.
We also host a quarterly Craft Circle — a gathering where artists and creators come together to make things with their hands and maybe also talk about revolution. If that sounds like your kind of afternoon, follow us on Instagram to find out when the next one is.
Creatures of Impact is a TIC initiative — an extension of The Impact Collective's belief that the strength of the collective determines the success of the economy. And of everything else.
Contributing to Creatures of Impact
Creatures of Impact is a collective endeavor - and we're building it slowly and intentionally. Right now, it's just me and my creatures. But the vision was always for other artists to bring their own beings into the world here, each one carrying a cause, a care, a call to action.
If you make things - felt, fabric, clay, wire, paper, whatever your hands do - and you believe that art can be an invitation to show up differently in the world, we'd love to hear from you. Contributing artists bring their own creature, choose a cause that matters to them, and design a direct action that belongs to that creature. The platform, the community, and the mission are the offering.
Fill out the form below and we'll be in touch.
Interested in Contributing a Creature or a Piece of Art?
We're so glad you're here. Tell us a little about yourself and your work - this is the start of a conversation, not an application.