There are so many social media platforms out there and all have their own merits, however, I am very guilty of trying to maintain a presence on everything available. I have even tried periscope but I’m not sure if it works in the miniature embroidery world.

Facebook is great for keeping friends and family up to date with my work but trying to increase my audience has proved difficult. Twitter has a great craft community but I have no idea how someone who follows 13k people ever works out which posts to read. Tumblr, Flickr, Google+, YouTube, snapchat, swarm, Blogger, Pinterest, WordPress……arrgghh! If I try and work all platforms my brain will truly be frazzled, and I have been guilty of prioritising social media over actual work.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time on Instagram, I have had an account for a couple of years but never really paid it any attention. But there is something about it that just fits. I am not the greatest writer or mathematician, my brain works in pictures, if I have to do sums I picture dice or dominoes (at the risk of sounding like a primary school student!)

I am still getting the hang of picture composition and all of the available tools (although I will only use filters on non embroidery related photos, if I am trying to show my work I will mostly just adjust the brightness). But what I love is the interaction. It doesn’t take long to catch up with your feed and pictures will just jump out at you, inspiring, encouraging and brightening your day.

And the people, oh, they are lovely! Like @modernbotanics @celiahartartist and @leighannanewell to name a few. Fellow crafters on Instagram are encouraging when you are having a wobble, they are full of knowledge and advice and the range of skills is just mind blowing. There are collaborations and art swaps in the pipeline, and enquiries regarding commissions. You can join in on hashtags like #dailysketchbookgroup and #tfispring and all of this creates a friendly, online community.

Unfortunately Instagram has recently changed it’s policy and apparently will no longer show your feed by most recent. We all have fears that this could affect continuity and disjoint the sense of community but we will have to wait and see.

So, I have this here little blog (although I know I am not a frequent blogger), and I have instagram, and for the time being that is where I am planning on focusing my social media attempts. Please come and join me at @vkmatthewson