Gems of Patreon 001: Live brainstorm sessions, blunt marketing tactics & more

Hey everyone! I'm Mia, an Associate Producer for Digital Spaghetti and writer of a weekly roundup newsletter called Gems of the Internet, which I started as a way to share all the creative gems I come across in my work. Now I'm taking this series here, bringing you the best work I find on Patreon: the outliers, incredible merch drops, amazing art, and more.

Each week, I’ll share a roundup of the most inspiring and innovative Patreon creators I find, as well as two quick creator economy news updates and two cool things I’ve found across the wider internet. Let me know in the comments how you like it!

💎 Patreon gems

• I love seeing the behind-the-scenes of someone’s creative process, and VFX artist Kevin Parry’s live brainstorm session is a great example! It’s available for free members, so all of his fans are able to learn about the reasoning and storyboarding that goes into the videos they love. I also appreciated the split screen view of him talking to the camera and an overhead shot of him drawing - it made it easier for me to keep up with his ideas as a viewer.

• Kevin is also part of a group of visual effects artists who created a 'network effect' in launching free memberships together on Patreon. Karen X. Cheng, Kyle McCarthy, Javadoodles, Ethan Uncurated, and Hallie Tut all teamed up to cross-promote each other, as a way of pushing back against algorithmic ranking and scarcity mindset. I especially love how their announcement videos all uniquely capture why creative freedom is important to them. Teamwork makes the dream work!

• I loved Jordan Rakei’s album lyric walkthrough. It’s available for free members, so all of Jordan’s fans can learn about the decision-making behind his music. I loved hearing about his exact feelings behind each lyric, like his love for his son in the song “Hopes and Dreams”. His vulnerability gives each of his fans an insight into his personality, and he kept in funny moments like his silly jokes and his dog Marnie barking in the background. I’m a big fan of Jordan’s music, and even featured his song “Learning” back in Gems of the Internet Issue 008.

• While interviewing Wiz Khalifa on her podcast, Bobbi Althoff cleverly dodged YouTube censorship rules by cutting to black right before the weed was brought on screen. If viewers wanted to see behind the curtain, they had to go to Bobbi’s Patreon for the uncensored version. This may seem unfair, but for Bobbi’s fans, her dry humor made this blunt marketing strategy come as no surprise.

• I recently got to meet Laura Kampf, a prominent creator in the “maker” genre on YouTube, whose DIY projects include innovative tool storage, unique furniture and usable sculpture. She hosted a small meetup at a hardware store here in LA, where fans had the opportunity to buy the Tape-Mate - Laura’s handmade belt clip for tape measures. Like with all her merch, Laura gave her members first dibs on buying the newest Tape-Mate before they sold out.

💎 Creator news

• Computer company Lenovo partnered with game developer @SonderingEmily to kick off its mentorship program.

• Reddit announced a new partnership program with multiple sports leagues, including the NFL and NBA, in order to bring sports content to its users (The Publish Press).

💎 Internet gems

• LifeofRiza’s heartwarming vlog about her trip to support her friends at the London marathon.

• I learned a lot after watching Cleo Abram’s newest video about “tech doping”, an ongoing debate about whether advanced sports tech gives athletes too big of an advantage in competitions.

Do you have any creators whose work you’d love to highlight? Drop them in the comments and you might see them in the next Gems of Patreon!

To stay updated on the latest product news, tips, and perspectives from your fellow creators and the Patreon team, join for free below.