Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I’m a chronically ill/disabled artist in Puerto Rico. All of the flora and fauna in my work are based on species here in the Caribbean, and I study and incorporate our indigenous Taino designs and stories into my work. I’ve always been a creative person, whether working directly with a creative art like sign painting, music, and sewing, or finding creativity in "non-art” careers like massage therapy. My current art practice–digital painting, illustration, surface design, and animation is influenced by my experiences in all of those previous creative pursuits and is an accessible way for me to express and support myself through the limitations of my chronic illnesses.

What do you write about in your newsletter?

There is a huge contradiction for me in newsletters, where I know both that our inboxes are overflowing with emails and that email remains a more solid way to stay in touch with our communities than social media. So I try to strike a balance between consistency, experimentation, and only contacting my community when I have meaningful things to share. 

Currently, I do a monthly-ish newsletter with updates related to my art and business. I'm anchoring what I've started on Ko-fi to my website and newsletter as the Borikén Mail Club! While I’m most active on Bluesky, folks follow me on different platforms, so I pull together my favorite posts they may have missed out on. I am in the process of starting a couple of long series on my website that will allow followers to go along with me in the process of creating a Taino-themed oracle deck, as well as a series called Your Favorite Artist Was Disabled, which looks at artists in history through the lens of disability, so my newsletter subscribers will get updates about those. I include a handful of links to other artists, articles, or music that I’ve been enjoying throughout the month that I think folks might be interested in. 

When I have the capacity, I like to do video newsletters, which give my community a different way to take in the same information and give little glimpses of the things in my environment, like nature and color that inspire my artwork. And when I have a new collection release or shop update, newsletter subscribers are the first to know.

Where did you first learn of Buttondown, and what made you decide to give it a try?

I honestly don’t remember where I first learned of Buttondown! I do remember looking at the newsletter landscape a few years ago and wanting to go with something different than the big names. I’ve had newsletters for various pursuits since around 2010, and I’ve tried so many. When I did learn of Buttondown and read about the company’s values, direction, and functions, I was delighted.

I really love that there is so much flexibility and many ways to expand with using Buttondown.

What are some ways Buttondown has helped you run your email?

Through Buttondown, I’ve been able to early-release three of my Limited Collections to subscribers before they were available publicly, including items exclusive to my subscribers. This year, I had a big shop update where I released new categories of items in a rolling release over several weeks, and Buttondown made it really easy to keep subscribers updated and engaged with that roll-out. 

Nearly every time I see that Buttondown has built or included something new, even if it isn’t immediately applicable to my newsletter in its current form, knowing that there are more ways that I can stay with Buttondown as my business grows and changes is really awesome.

What are some things you’d be excited to see Buttondown build in the next few months?

I really don’t have an answer to this! I am always looking forward to new builds and integrations, and finding ones I didn’t realize existed. I recently found the Obisidian-Buttondown integration; I’ve been a Markdown and Obsidian user for many years, and of course, there’s an integration with Buttondown, how did I miss that! I’ve been really excited about that. 

Anything else you’d like to add?

I really love that there is so much flexibility and many ways to expand with using Buttondown. Nearly every time I see that Buttondown has built or included something new, even if it isn’t immediately applicable to my newsletter in its current form, knowing that there are more ways that I can stay with Buttondown as my business grows and changes is really awesome. Keep up the great work!