Some Notes from the "Guild": Let's Gather at the "Hearth."

"Guild"? "Hearth"? What?

Part of papermancy is playing with language, and adopting and repurposing language in the same way we fold and stick together paper.

We talked a bit in the last discord event (now on Sundays from 11am-1:30pm CST (UTC-6) about what felt like a good name for the gathering. "Hangout" or "livestream" or "office hours" didn't feel quite right, because it's not explicitly a teaching event (though it could involve teaching), and those terms also don't really fit within the magical theme we're indulging in.

Natasha suggested both "Guild" and "Hearth", and I love both of those – "guild" as a delineator for the discord itself, and "hearth" as the metaphor for that little gathering on Sundays.

Why a Guild?

I like the idea of guild because it has a long history. I'm also aware that the history, like most, has both good and bad parts, but I'm thinking of the original intention of the Guild as an organization to support practitioners of a particular trade or craft.

One of the parts of the guild metaphor that I don't like is the idea of rigid hierarchies, privileges, gatekeeping, and permissions. I believe that's actually where the term "pay your dues" came from, and I don't want any part of that. So while I'd love to call our little Discord channel "the Papermancy Guild", please don't worry that I'm going to start slapping labels like "Journeyman" or "Master" or "Apprentice" on people.

On the other hand, you can feel free to slap whatever label you like on yourself! If you want to think of yourself as a "Dragon Binding Fourth-Circle Apprentice (Moon-called)" by all means, go for it! The point is to find the joy in what you do, learn, or create in Papermancy.

We need more hearth.

I don't know about you, but the world is a cold, cold place these days...and we could all stand a little more warmth.

For me, the image of people gathering around a warm hearth, talking, crafting, learning from each other and exploring ideas feels like exactly the environment I'm trying to create in the weekend meetups. Honestly, they've all been something like that – the most recent one, I believe, more than ever. I made notes on my glass cutting surface that I'll be writing more about later.

It also brings to mind the "fireside chats" started by FDR back during the depression, designed to create a space and time during a dark period of suffering where people could find little embers of hope. In the end, that's what I'm trying to create with Papermancy: a little hope, a little connection, and kindle some joy out of the simple act of making things with paper.

What do you think? Do these resonate with you? If not, is it a dealbreaker, or can you roll your eyes and bear it like the Sheriff in Stranger Things every time someone mentions D&D?