Desk Notes: June 2026

Desk Notes: June 2026

A snapshot of current projects, systems, and tools in use.

Coming back from Ireland was wonderful and also a little humbling. It took me a minute to get back into the groove, which is completely normal and also a little annoying. If you got my last newsletter you read about the trip. June has been about getting back up to speed and building some new systems behind the scenes.

Early morning before the Summer Games kicked off on June 5th

This Month's Focus

• Patterns of Meaning work has focused on their pop-up gallery at The Shop at Southside Works. We've updated content around gallery events, and using their LinkedIn page strategically to connect with adjacent organizations and partners in their space. We also created a video featuring the completed works from a current series. Seeing a body of work presented together sometimes tells a story that individual pieces can't.
  

• Robert Yonke's Deep Creek Lake campaign is rolling. This month I facilitated a direct mail piece with a personal twist: handwritten, hand-stamped, designed to actually get opened. We're supporting it with email, social, and blog content to round out the campaign.
  

• I had one of the most rewarding days of the month so far helping out with PA Special Olympics' Summer Games.
  

What's Actively in Motion

• Agency systems. A lot of my behind the scenes time this month has gone into building content infrastructure and getting my weekly systems in place. It's not flashy, but it's what makes everything else run consistently.
  

Tools and Systems

• Mailer Lite Changes! If you’re using MailerLite’s free plan, or thinking about starting, there are some changes to the free tier, which is the one I frequently recommend to artists. The good news is that the free plan now includes more features, such as templates. The tradeoff is a tighter limit: the free plan now covers up to 250 active subscribers (previously 500) and 2,500 monthly email sends.
  

  I still think MailerLite is one of the best starting points for artists building an email list. It's easy to use and the free plan gets you further than many platforms, especially if you are just starting out. But, it's important to understand that if you have more than 250 active subscribers, you’ll need to either clean your list or move to a paid plan. Find full plan details here.

That's June. If you're trying to get back into a rhythm after a trip or a busy stretch, you're not alone. Drop me a line and tell me what's happening in your world.