The Monetization of Hobbies

When someone is really good at an art form, people will often tell them to open an online store. When someone is a really good gardener, people will tell them to set up a booth at the farmer’s market. When someone has an eye for antiques, people will tell them to become a thrift store reseller. 

This is all fine and well. Freelance photography is a great way to make some extra money. Homemade soap is a fan favorite at the craft fair.

But you’re also allowed to do something just because it’s fun. Because it makes you happy. Because you aren’t worried about optimizing efficiencies or growing markets or following trends. 

The past few years have seen the rise and fall of Boss Babe Culture. The constant hustle. The grind mindset. And it’s hard not to feel that seeping into our leisure time culture. 

There is an inherent privilege to having this free time, to not having to spend every moment working or looking for ways to work or make money. But barring that, I’d be remiss if I didn’t see the negative implications of a world in which each of our interests must be monetized.

I go through spells of loving to knit, though I can only knit one thing—a straight, single line scarf. I have no desire to get better at it. I have no desire to make money off it. I have every desire to spend cozy winter evenings watching a movie with my partner, unraveling yarn as I go, knowing that the finished product will make a great Christmas gift for a loved one.

Create art that never leaves your studio. Make pottery to give to a friend. Put on a free concert at a local nursing home. Or do a little bit of everything.

Because the pursuit of the thing—not the pursuit of improvement, advancement, or perfection—is what matters. 

Things are allowed to be simple and fun. Your hobbies don’t need an end goal or a 5-year plan. They just need you to show up to them with an open mind. 

So get lost in a book. Teach yourself to code. Invent your own recipe. Not because there’s a promise of fame or fortune at the other end. But because you want to read a book. You want to learn to code. You want to play in the kitchen. 

Leisure is a luxury and hobbies are a privilege. May we learn to appreciate them.