Small is Beautiful: December’s Featured Bloggers

Several years ago Jen Lemen fell in love with this new thing called BlogHer, and in 2007 she took me with her to the BlogHer conference in Chicago. We had been recommended as workshop presenters, and along with Krystyn Heide of  HopeRevo we held a little session on why Small is Beautiful. What we rapidly came to realize was there were a whole lot of overwhelmed women at the big conference — dedicated and passionate bloggers who felt a mysterious call to tell their story, but who were struggling with feeling lost and unimportant in a giant sea of personalities.

When we got home Jen and I promptly started a small but beautiful revolution, throwing up a page with this manifesto:

We believe stories are valuable, no matter how many people read them.
We believe following your passion is more important that watching your site meter.
We believe in the handmade, the first try, the small start, and the good effort.
We believe that small is beautiful.

What happened was amazing. Hundreds of small and passionate bloggers filled up our list. We changed methods to try to make the thing more manageable and it filled up again. When that method failed, we reopened one more time and the list filled up again. Without any maintenance or encouragement, there are still nearly 500 women on our Small is Beautiful blogroll — even though neither Jen nor I have managed to do one proactive thing with the revolution since it’s inception in 2007.

So this week, with the dawn of a new year rapidly coming upon us, I decided to finally get with it and feature some of these SIB bloggers. I dedicated myself to looking at 10 sites today in the hopes of featuring just one. I’ll be damned if there were too many great ones to choose from. So here, for our first SIB feature in who knows how long, are some intriguing blogs for you to check out, and quite possibly fall in love with.

Carmen Torbus: The concept of Bliss is sweeping the blog-o-sphere lately. Frankly, I’m a bit Eyeorish about Bliss — which probably means it is exactly what The Universe is about ready to unleash upon me. (One big ole’ can of Bliss Whoop-Ass, coming up!) Thankfully, while I struggle with feeling Bliss-y, Carmen has really got it going on. Join her Bliss revolution here.

When I Grow Up Coach: Michelle is just full of inspiration and motivation over at her place. It seems there is something inspiring or thought-provoking just about every day of the week. Click on over, and tell her Rachelle sent cha.

Living Senses: Heather Jane keeps a simple blog, which I’m sure many of you can relate to.  I love seeing where artists work, so I especially enjoyed this peek into her clever sewing studio, with walls made of re-claimed wooden doors and the coolest fabric sorting method ever.

Dirty Feet: I’m really liking Dani Johnson’s catch-all typepad blog. There’s something about the enthusiasm with which she writes about her everyday life. From the joy of her partner finding work, to how she learned to french braid, Dani embodies our belief here at SIB that “Your story is important. May you sing it from the rooftops.”

Mama Craft: I like blogs that are what I call “value added.” By this I mean that there are good tips in there, stuff you can take away and use. Sara at Mama Craft has a simple, homey blog with recipes and craft ideas. In good SIB fashion, it’s not flashy, and it conveys that sense of coziness that happens when all your little house hold projects really add up to something good. Stop on by. I’m pretty sure she’s home.

Fellow Revolutionaries are featured once a month for link love and general accolades. Readership numbers, fame, and fortune matter not one whit.  Grab a button to play along, then sign up on the mailing list or follow me on Twitter. Thanks for being here!

Posted in Magpie Girl
Tags: Small is Beautiful |