Good morning. I'm excited to announce that I'll be hosting my first in-person jesmonite casting workshop on 15th May at Craft Central (Isle of Dogs) as part of the London Craft Week 2022 programme. In this two hour workshop, you'll make your very own pair of coasters and learn about jesmonite as a material. As a workshop attendee, you'll also get a 25% discount on all my products and get first access to new work that's not yet available online. Learn more and sign up here.
Additionally, I'll be at a London Craft Week Makers' Market on 14th May along with 20 other amazing makers across a whole range of disciplines (e.g. jewellery, prints, textiles, fashion, ceramics, woodwork). We're really excited to be hosting in-person markets again and it's critical for small businesses to receive your support right now, so do come visit if you're around the area. All details can be found here.
For any new subscribers, welcome to our re-branded By Shax newsletter (ex-Kwip) and thank you for reading. If you missed the announcement a few newsletters ago, you can read it here. As always, if you have any feedback or comments to help us improve (or if you just want to chat), simply reply to this email or shoot us a note here.
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SUSTAINABILITY
AI meets conservation
Widlife photos have become a new treasure trove for AI-driven conservation research, with computers being able to spot details that humans can't. A team at Ohio State University is pioneering a new field of study called imageomics, which uses machine learning to extract biological data from photos and videos of living organisms. They have recently begun collaborating with researchers studying leopards in India to compare spot patterns of moms and children using algorithms. The AI programs use existing content to generate meaningful data and analyze crowdsourced images to make biological traits that humans may naturally miss computable, like the curvature of a fish’s fin — or a leopard’s spots. Ecologists and other wildlife researchers are currently facing a data crunch — it’s tedious, expensive, and time-consuming for people to spend time in the field monitoring animals. Due to these challenges, 20,054 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species are labeled as “data deficient,” meaning there’s not enough information to make a proper assessment of its risk of extinction. The technology's aim is to help wildlife researchers overcome this data deficiency problem and, ultimately, better protect animals at risk of extinction.
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INNOVATION
Creator financing
A banking app built for online creators, Creative Juice announced its $50 million fund to underwrite creator businesses last week. YouTubers and other social media stars can apply for upfront cash to grow their businesses in exchange for a cut of their revenue over a certain period of time, usually between six months and three years. It sounds like a loan, but it’s not a loan (at least in the sense that Creative Juice isn’t a bank, so they’re not allowed to say they give loans). They refer to distributing “Juice Funds,” their investments in creators, as underwriting creator businesses or as revenue-based financing. But Juice Funds don’t accrue interest like a loan. And if the creator fulfills the terms of their contract, yet doesn’t make enough money to pay back their Juice Funds before their term is up, then it’s Creative Juice that eats the deficit, not the creator. It’s difficult for creators to get loans from banks, since their line of work is less established than your standard small business. Other startups have also sprung up to help fill in this gap, like Karat Financial, which offers creators access to business credit cards
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THE LOW DOWN
- UK moves ahead with mandatory climate plans for companies
- Twitter bans ‘misleading’ ads about climate change
- Sir David Attenborough named Champion of the Earth by UN
- BBC marks Earth Day with launch of sustainable sport awards
- 15 carbon removal projects score $1M each in climate Xprize milestone
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#ShowerThoughts
- Getting older is nowhere near as scary as your parents getting older.
- Since whales are milk producing mammals you could hypothetically make whale cheese.
- We all see how animals can’t understand things beyond their intelligence level, but somehow we think humans can unravel the mysteries of the universe.
- There's a chance you have already lived the happiest day of your life.
- Grey is the least desirable color of food.
r/Showerthoughts
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#RiddleMeThis
All about, but cannot be seen, Can be captured, cannot be held, No throat, but can be heard. What is it?
Solution
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