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June

Magic Makers

COOLLECTING ARCHIVE

Bea Forte

7/26/20262 min read

Every message I receive, every photo of my art hanging in your home, glued on the cover of a journal, sent as a postcard to someone you love, there are no words capable of describing what that feels like. You support me beyond the financial. When you engage with a post, when you share something containing my art, you are doing something more impactful than you might realize. And I am so, so grateful.

You are all magic makers. When you draw, sew, bake, write, make anything at all, you are adding something to the world that wasn't there before. The world needs more of that. The world needs more of you. I'll leave you with something my dad used to tell me: don't wish for something that doesn't belong to you. But never let anyone take what is yours.

Don't let anyone take your magic away. Some people would call the events of last month a coincidence. I prefer to believe in magic, but not the rabbit out of the hat kind. The magic only humans have. Creativity, empathy, kindness, support. I truly believe that can do more than any magic wand ever could. And last month, you proved it.

Thank you. Truly,

Bea

Dear Coollectors,

The other day I was watching Cinderella for the 45th time. My favorite scene has always been the mice and birds sewing a dress for her. I love the fairy godmother moment, but even as a kid, the mice always seemed like the real magic to me. The love and effort put into that dress. To me, true magic has always been in the handmade.

This month, I felt like one of those mice. Then midnight struck. This is not our usual letter. And I think you deserve to know why.

Last month was the most challenging month I've had in a while. For those of you who don't know, I started illustrating about a year ago, after being let go from a job I loved, navigating between two cultures and trying to make sense of who I was. Art became my way through that. My first illustration, a collection of icons of Brazilian culture, was recently stolen and massively reproduced across multiple platforms. I lost so much time reporting it all, and I can't express how awful it feels to see something so meaningful to you used like that. To see so many people profiting off of it. I couldn't post anything. Customer service wasn't what it should have been. I was barely keeping up.

And yet, without most of you even knowing any of this, you showed up. You were patient. You shared your content. You engaged. You helped more people find this club at the exact moment I couldn't do it myself. And this club grew and surpassed 500 members this month. I am beyond words.

I want you to know that part of this month's profits will be donated to an institution that provides support for small artists who can't always afford a legal battle when their rights are taken from them. I can fight this, mostly thanks to all of you.