What a difficult headline to write. I still can’t believe that I made the choice to not reapply for the team. It’s been an amazing time working with Bonnie and the entire amazing and talented team at Archer & Olive. I love everything that the company stands for. Mental wellness, spreading creativity, having fun! I mean, their notebooks are so amazing and special. But after being on the team for a full year, I decided that I need to take a break.
Being on the design team has been one of the coolest experiences of my stationery “influencer” life. I got the chance to provide input on products, sneak peek things to you, and to just appreciate the love of cool notebooks and stationery with like minded friends. The community is fantastic. All my spoiler friends, creative crew, stationery lovers – we are all here for the fun and excitement and fandom of something cool like A&O. But along with the fun, it’s also work too, and on top of a full-time job, family, and trying to keep my own ship afloat, taking on any extra work can get a little overwhelming sometimes.
Let me just say, Archer and Olive is the most caring and supportive group of people I have ever had the chance of working with yet. That’s not saying other people and brands are not, but from my time with the team, it’s given me the opportunity to really get to know Bonnie and her team. The team has always been flexible with time and the needs of the design team. But the reality of this design team, or any design team, is that you have responsibilities and expectations of you. This design team is a paid partnership. You are compensated for the content you create. Videos, Blogs, Printable content, it’s a part of the expectation – and I am firm believer that if you are given an opportunity like this, you hold your own and do what is right.
I will still be an Archer & Olive affiliate. I will always cheer them on and share my love for their products. At any point, if you want to trying something out, please feel free to use my discount code to save some extra money. MENWHOBULLET10
I hope to be a part of the design team in the future, if they will have me. I really do think that they are doing everything right in the community. I stand by that 100%. And I am thrilled for the new team to come in and I will be their biggest cheerleader!
If you are interested in learning more about my decision, I have a video I just posted to Youtube today.
I can’t wait to share with you what is next for me and new opportunities that might be coming my way.
-Mark
@menwhobullet