I’m raising $30,000 to bring creative kits, artist-led classes, and a community for curious adults to life. Help build the next chapter of SoCurious by November 17.
Campaign closes November 17
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Hi, my name is Justin and I’m on a mission to save human creativity.
We are at a cultural crossroads. The most powerful tech companies are selling us a future where the arts are treated as optional—where creativity is outsourced to AI or simply eliminated.
But creativity is how we make meaning, connect with each other, and imagine a world that doesn’t exist yet. Creativity is our way back to ourselves.
I need your help building the next chapter of SoCurious—a company making creativity part of everyday life.
Back SoCurious with a one-time $30 contribution and receive a year of monthly creative workshops and live community gatherings.
Our first goal is $30,000 to create the first SoCurious Create products, launch the first year of SoCurious Society, and build the foundation for an arts and crafts academy for adults.
Your support helps more people make things, learn from artists, and find connection through creativity.
Who is this for
Maybe you’ve said, “I used to be so creative,” and wondered if that part of you is gone. Maybe you’re a working artist tired of building alone. Or maybe you keep saving the craft class you want to take, even though you’re not sure you’re creative enough.
You are. You don’t need proof that you’re talented. You just need to begin.
What we’re building together
Creative tools to help you get out of your head and make something of your own. Think journal pages, stickers, and collage kits that give you a place to start.
Reset Journal Pages for reflection, intention, and creative reset
Stickers to bring a little creativity and encouragement into your everyday life.
Junk Journal and Collage kits to make it easier to play with images, words, and ideas
SoCurious Society
A community for people who want more room for creativity and connection. Each month, you’ll get a creative workshop to explore on your own schedule and a live gathering to make things together.
The Academy
Short, affordable classes taught by artists. Come for the joy of learning something new, from collage to creative writing, or build practical skills to help your creative business grow.
Creative Lab
Group coaching for professional creatives ready to move an idea, project, or business forward. Get practical guidance, accountability, and creative people to figure things out with. Our next cohort starts January 2027.
Why I started SoCurious.
It started with a mental breakdown and the unexpected decision to leave my toxic corporate job in advertising.
Journaling, coloring books, collage, and dancing to disco helped me find my way back to myself.
After applying for a billion jobs and getting literally zero responses, I went all in on my childhood dream of becoming a professional artist and writer.
I launched a line of greeting cards, card decks, and art prints and found traction through pop-ups and e-commerce.
From there I made a meaningful impact through interactive arts and crafts events, workshops and presentations, and by helping grow small businesses founded by creative humans.
My company, SoCurious, helps adults make creativity a part of everyday life: to feel less alone, reconnect with their inner child, play, and remember who they are.
I’ve carried SoCurious forward as a solo creator, powered by one stubborn belief: the arts have to survive.
Now I want to move beyond sharing my creativity and create a business that helps people reconnect with their creativity.
How the first $30,000 will be used
SoCurious has grown through resourcefulness and persistence. But I want to be 100% honest. As a self-funded artist venture, it’s been HARD rebuilding my life from scratch while building an arts business in the age of AI.
This campaign will help create the next layer of support: the equipment, operating capacity, part-time help, and marketing that can help SoCurious reach more people.
The goal is to build a flywheel: make useful creative products and experiences, share them with more people, bring more people into the community, and use that momentum to keep creating.
$8,000 to develop and produce the SoCurious Create collection and fulfill rewards, including Creative Reset kits, SoCurious cards, custom art, and framed collages
$5,000 for equipment needed to create and share the work
$3,000 for part-time help with project operations, production, and reward fulfillment
$4,000 for SoCurious Society’s monthly creative workshops and live gatherings
$5,000 for marketing and publicity to introduce the collection and promote SoCurious’s 2027 products and programming
$5,000 for processing fees and taxes
Whatever we raise, I’m committed to bringing every part of this plan to life. If we fall short of $30,000, I’ll keep moving forward and adjust the pace as needed. Reaching our goal will let me build with the equipment, part-time help, and marketing this next chapter needs.
Stretch goals
$50,000 raised: Camp Create in Austin
If we reach $50,000, we’ll create a larger, one-day Camp Create experience in Austin, Texas, in summer 2027. It will bring people together to take creative classes just for fun. We’ll also be able to pay artists to teach, share their knowledge, and bring more people into the arts.
$100,000 raised: A Camp Create Tour
If we reach $100,000, we’ll take Camp Create to four cities. The SoCurious community will help choose where we go. We’ll bring artists and participants together for a day of classes, play, and creative connection in each city.
SoCurious is a people-powered creative studio
Backers will be invited to share input on what products we create, what classes we teach, and where events take place. Their ideas will help shape the 2027 year of products and programming. The bigger vision is to make art an accessible part of everyday life.
Our Impact
If you’d prefer not to receive the rewards, you can opt out. We’ll direct the funds that would have gone toward those rewards to scholarships for people to take part in the Creative Lab or the SoCurious Academy.
Shipping note: Physical rewards can only be shipped within the United States. International shipping isn’t available for this campaign.
When to expect your rewards
The campaign will run from October 20 through November 17, 2026. SoCurious Society membership begins in November 2026 through November 2027. The Academy beta and the Creative Lab will launch in January 2027.
Physical rewards are planned to ship in January 2027.
I’m not promising delivery by Christmas. Production and fulfillment take time. If I’m able to ship sooner, I will. I’ll keep backers updated as the project moves through production and delivery.
About the creator
I’m Justin Shiels, an artist, writer, educator, and the founder of SoCurious. I started the company because I believe art is for everybody and creativity is our way back to ourselves.
My work brings together illustration, creative learning, and community experiences—all in service of making more room for people to imagine, make, and connect.
I’m building SoCurious from the ground up, with the hope that it can become an enduring home for everyday creativity. Thank you for helping me take the next step.
Join the first 1,000 people building SoCurious. Art is for Everybody.
