There are hidden treasures on the websites of small businesses, freelancers and other public institutions and we've curated a few. We hope that this encourages you to check out their sites, get inspired and maybe even start your own business.
New York based illustrator Lauren Martin uses her creativity to spread green awareness. Check out her site for a free coloring book.
It's Nice That supports creativity through their platform, Creative Lives in Progress, offering advice and inspiration, and their job board, If You Could.
Rachel and Jenny of Magic Cat Publishing have produced some beautiful books while carefully weaving ideas of kindness, togetherness, friendship and inclusivity into their stories. They've also put together a star studded squad of children changing the world through acts of kindness. Check out Do Something for Someone Else: Behind the Book.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a small non-profit that invests resources into making kindness the norm. They also offer a free calendar highlighting monthly themes structured to create a kinder work culture.
Aurora Robson transforms plastic debris into beautiful works of art like it's no biggie. She is part of Project Vortex, which strives to inspire people to rethink and reinvent plastic debris through innovation, creative stewardship and education. Check out their free educational curriculum for workshops.
Catherine Madden is a visual storyteller who connects the dots to find clarity in complexity by drawing data. So if you've ever gotten into trouble for doodling, that's actually a good thing. If you think you can't draw, just check out her free class on drawing data to visualize ideas.
Nadieh Bremer transforms data into beautiful works of computational art with the added benefit of being able to extract insight. Check out her free class for data visualization beyond the default or listen to her and Shirley Wu talk about how they use d3.js for data visualization.
Bill Shander has a free course on d3.js concepts for beginners.
Shander Bawden recently launched The Children's Collection, to celebrate creativity and innovation in children. This is a repository of creative works by children.
STEAM Powered Family has tons of free activities and experiments to try out at home. They also have a recipe for home-made slime. Your kids will thank you. If you prefer biodegradable edible slime, check out Little Bins for Little Hands.
The Gothard Sisters add a twist to Celtic folk songs by combining layers of fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar, djembe, bodhran, whistles, and vocal harmonies with modern recording techniques and production and the result is pure magic. Have a listen.
Evi and Nefeli from Worldwide Buddies have crafted 30 beautiful short stories as narrated by children in the Book of Culture to remind us that diversity is our superpower. From Peru to Iran, they take us on a world tour highlighting the strengths of each and every culture. They also remind us that no matter how different we are, we all smile in the same way. You can download their free smile poster here.
