Hello, friends (a.k.a. Plumesters)! We hope that your transition from winter into spring is going well. Over here at Plume we’re busy with our day-to-day operations and with coming up with new ideas for how to foster a supportive writing community. Sometimes, though, it can be easy to forget to slow down a little and take a breath. There are days when people ask us, “What exactly is this ‘Plume’ business?”. We’re so glad you asked!
Who
You may have seen our social media posts or read our newsletter, and so you know us as “Melanie and Jennifer, The Plume Gals”. To give you a little more context, we are two women creative writers who moved to New Mexico for graduate school about ten years ago (Melanie from New Jersey via Pennsylvania, and Jennifer from San Diego), and received MFAs in creative writing from The University of New Mexico. Melanie got the idea for this business after taking an entrepreneurship class, she teamed up with Jennifer to put it all together, they entered a business plan competition (which they didn’t win, but they learned so much!), and now it’s full steam ahead.
What
Plume is a support community and a subscription service delivering inspiration, encouragement, creativity boosting products, and New Mexico magic to creative writers.
In other words, we are two-pronged: we’re an online community for women writers, but we are also a subscription box service that features and supports women who write. As we’re based in New Mexico, we strive to infuse a little New Mexico magic and Self-Care for Your Creative Soulâ„¢ into each edition.
Where
You can find Plume on social media (Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook), sharing everything from inspirational quotes by women writers to writing prompts to pictures of cats (we enjoy dogs, too, but we’re both more cat people). We also run this very blog you’re reading, with regular posts on a variety of topics on Tuesdays and an exciting new women writers interview series launching on Thursdays! Digitially, you can also sign up for our bi-monthly newsletter, which offers a writing prompt, updates, best of the blog links, and so much more.
You can find Plume locally in Albuquerque, NM. We’ve hosted numerous events so far, including an official launch “baby shower“, a community-building event with another local women’s group, and a storyboarding workshop. In January we were one of the official sponsors of the local Women’s March event, and next month we’re hosting a reading that will feature four out-of-this-world local women writers.
You can also find Plume in your very own mailbox! If you purchase an edition of Plume (or go for the monthly subscription!) at the beginning of the month you’ll receive a personalized letter from a successful woman writer, along with a sampling her work. We also include tea, something sweet, and writing prompts. We also offer a Plume Plus box option, which includes everything in the standard edition, plus a book by a woman writer and more fabulous tea. We source as many of our products as possible from local New Mexican vendors.
When
We started Plume a little less than a year ago. It’s been quite an adventure, and we love continuously growing this community and getting to know all of you!
Why
It turns out, women are the majority of writers, but they often lack the support, encouragement, and publication opportunities of their male counterparts. Beyond selling products, we want to create a community around our business, one that supports women* who write. As we continue to grow, we also plan to offer publication opportunities for our community members.
*Non-binary folx and even men are welcome to subscribe and engage with Plume, too!
How
Our goal is to build an empowering, supportive community that helps you connect with your own writing, as well as established and emerging writers. We will do this with gusto! (Poor “How” is always a little awkward, right?)
We hope that we’ve answered your burning Plume questions, but if you think of anything else, or if you just want to say hey, please feel free to do so on any of our socials or here on the blog.
Happy writing!