Lost in the Food Chain
31 startups launched over 31 days, 90 days to cashflow positive
Day Three: Artist Coast Retreat
Coastal tiny cabin retreat free for visiting artists from around the world
Launch Journal day 3 of 31
31 startups | 90 days to cashflow positive | do good | podcast | community
Artists really are the window into the soul of the world. From musicians to writers, painters to sculptures, photographers to poets. These artists who work their magic and are some of the most talented among us. Artists allow us to see the world from their unique perspective and often open our eyes to the possibilities in the world. And amongst the most dedicated out there are the independent artists. They live day to day, work at their art, and do all they can to simply eke out a living.
I’m fortunate enough for some reason to know a boatload of people that are writers. If you look at this photo taken today, the middle bookshelf are books written by friends, or at the very least people I’ve met face to face or talked to at length on the phone. Muhammad Yunus, Arlan Hamilton, William Kamkwamba, Dee William, Bassam Tarazi, Brad Aronson, Christopher Locke, Howard Bloom, Stephen Johnson, Chris Guillebeau, Soren Gordhamer, Paul Polak, Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, and my very good friend John Callahan, may he rest in peace.
Back in the mid-80s, I worked as the Marketing Director for counterculture Storefront Theatre and guided their growth from 100 subscribers to 7,500 over the period of 3 seasons.
Late one afternoon, taking a smoke break from managing the telemarketing team, I stepped out to NW 13th avenue (I’ve long since quit smoking). Cartoonist John Callahan came rolling by, and it was easy recognizing him from his flame-red hair and, of course, the fact he was in a wheelchair. I said, “Hey there,” like the wicked conversationalist that I am. He stopped, and we chatted for a bit. One of us said let’s grab lunch some time, and the following week we met for lunch at Cassidy’s Restaurant and Bar.
It was the first of hundreds of coffees and lunches together, and we stayed great friends for well over 25 years. He and I worked together on a few things, including a short book of twisted cartoons I gave to my wife 27 years ago after giving birth to our first son. I could tell Callahan stories for hours.
Around the same timeframe I also became acquainted with Susan and Obo Addy, I’m listening to Obo on Spotify today as I write this. Here’s what Wikipedia says about Obo: Addy was born into the Ga ethnic group in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. He was one of the 55 children of Jacob Kpani Addy, a wonche or medicine man who integrated rhythmic music into healing and other rituals.
Obo Addy’s earliest musical influence was the traditional music of the Ga people, but he was also influenced as an adolescent by popular music from Europe and the United States and performed in local bands that played Westernized music and the dance music of Ghana known as highlife.
Our three sons have seen and heard Obo Addy in concert more than any other recording artist. When our oldest son was just a few months old and had colic, I would hold him in my arms; I would sway too and fro, and blast Obo’s drum music…and that’s what would calm him down. The little f#cker. Every night for weeks, standing, swaying, in the middle of the night, blasting African pounding beats. One time Pam and I met Susan and Obo at the Oregon Zoo Concert’s performance of one of Obo’s all-time favorite musicians, Ray Charles. Super special memory.
Those are just the authors; we know artists in various disciplines as well. In the last year in Tillamook alone, we’ve met painter Wendy Stevens-Mizée, designer Seasons Kaz Sparks, soapmaker Sky Veek, photographer Jim Young and potter Kristy Lombard.
Ok, I could go on and on about artists and their various disciplines, but you get my point. And to that point, many artists live very much on the edge of the financial side of life.
When we purchased our home on the Oregon coast, we were delighted to discover a tiny cottage buried under an overgrown garden behind the main house, a small green log cabin to be exact. It’s no more than 200 square feet, but within that space, it has a front room, bedroom, kitchen, and a bathroom complete with a toilet and shower. From what the locals tell us, it was built sometime before 1936 and was inhabited by a little old lady named Mrs. B, who made tiny quilts for babies. She lived in that small log cabin until she was 100 years old.
So, what does that have to do with today’s startup?
Pam and I want to find a way to salvage this tiny green log cabin. As you can see from the photos, the ivy has enveloped this place. It has been so buried under greenery and other foliage that frankly, most neighbors forgot it even existed. So Pam and I want to bring it back.
We are working to build a business model that allows us to turn this tiny green log cabin into an artist’s retreat. A retreat we can offer at no cost to the artist. A place where artists can go (with a spouse if desired) and just chill. A place to find inspiration and create and to simply be. Artists could stay at the cabin between 2–4 weeks at a time, well beyond a typical one week vacation. Visiting artists from around the world would be selected or curated, as it were, to introduce some fantastic people to the Oregon coast.
They’ll be on the beachfront at Netarts Bay. They’ll have access to a couple of kayaks to enjoy the serenity of floating on the water, surrounded by seals and at the right time of the year, pelicans, and bald eagles flying overhead. They can hike, bike, fish, crab, go clamming, and many other activities. At dusk, they will look out their front window, or step out of their front door to watch a spectacular sunset similar to the ones below. And if the mood strikes, they can walk down to the water through private beach access and dig their bare toes in the sand.
They will be warmly welcomed by neighbors and get connected to the local artists’ community too. People will greet them with all the charm and hominess you’d expect of a 700 person village, 5 minutes from a 5,300 person city, inside a county of around 26,000 people. The entire county is dotted and speckled with other amazing little hamlets and townships.
So each year, 12–24 artists from around the world would be welcomed. Now, to figure out the business model to allow that to happen. Grants? Sponsorships? Something else?
31 startups | 90 days to cashflow positive | do good | podcast | community
