But, why?

Why did Meraki Mailouts start?

As a blocked actress and writer, I was recommended Julia Cameron's wildly successful workbook 'The Artist's Way'. I found tending to my creative spirit through the prescribed weekly 'artist dates' deeply beneficial for my [acting and writing] work as well as my general mental health. However, I ran out of ideas for artist dates (especially as we were deep into lockdown, so was restricted to having these 'dates' in my flat). After speaking to other creatives, I discovered that finding the sustained motivation to be constantly creative was hard at any time and very much exacerbated by the stagnation and monotony of lockdown. The publication Elephant [2020] highlights this, admitting that artists suffered "a record number of creative blocks" during the isolate period. Knowing how beneficial creativity is for us, I considered how to provide people with everything required for regular creative play in an easy, fun and engaging format.

A subscription box fast became my device of choice having always held a fondness for the delivery service ever since they entered mainstream accessibility. Their dependability, structure and excitement is something to truly sooth a locked-down creative spirit and kindle the inner child within us all.

From Pet Treats to Wine Cases to Deodorant Refills, there seems to be a subscription box for just about every buyer. Yet, unlike other businesses on the market, my subscription service helps the user to develop and nurture their creative practice. While there are some art and crafts boxes on the market, these are targeted at kids, and I do not feel that creative play should be reserved for children alone.

What are all the unstimulated and blocked artists of the world to do? MM provides a solution. I aim to both prevent and treat the infamous 'artist's block' by giving users access to their full creative power through exploration, play, restorative thinking and rehabilitation with multi-sensory engaging tasks

Knowing that you are going to get something on a regular basis that will brighten your spirit is both reassuring and up lifting.

I believe anyone can benefit from carving out time for themselves to work with their creativity. Meraki Mailouts aims at keeping the well that we draw from when we are creative full and flowing, in turn nourishing our work, minds and life.

You can read more about the benefits of creativity via our other blog posts.