What is the Buddy Program?

What is the Minted Buddy Program? 

• The Minted Buddy Program is an opportunity for artists, designers, and writers to make connections in the Minted Community and to learn from one another. Minted will group each artist who signs up for the program with a group of fellow Minted artists. We group individuals based on medium, experience, and other factors.

Why should I participate?

• You want feedback on your work in a small, supportive group setting.
• You want to get to know other Minted artists in the community and connect with other talented creatives.
• You want to find and share resources.
• You are new to Minted and need help figuring out how things work.
• You are an experienced creative and want to provide mentorship to another Minted artist.

Who can join? 

• Anyone who has participated in a Minted design challenge! We welcome newbies and experienced Minted veterans alike. While artists participating in our Minted Marketplace are welcome, this program is primarily designed for artists to support each other through the Minted design challenge process. 
• A key benefit of the Buddy Program is sharing feedback and critiques on your Minted work. We encourage artists to share tips and tricks of the trade, offer advice on participating in challenges, and ask questions.
• After you are grouped, we will share some icebreaker questions and suggested themes and topics to discuss in the Buddy Group main Slack channel. You can decide whether to follow our prompts or choose to chat about something completely different. Our recommended topics are completely optional and are intended to inspire dialogue. We welcome you to make this program your own, so we encourage you and your Buddy Group to do whatever inspires you!

What is the time commitment? 

• The success of a buddy group depends on each individual's willingness to actively participate. Be prepared to commit, at minimum, a total of one hour per month to your group.
• You and your Buddy Group can determine how much time you want to spend with each other beyond that hour.

How do I sign up?

We will re-open the Buddy Program roughly every year. This means you can participate with a new Buddy Group every year, participate in the program just once, or continue to participate in the program with the same group. Our goal is to create more opportunities to make meaningful connections with other talented creatives. We hope you’ll keep in contact with your Buddy Group, even after the program ends. Check out this success story about two Minted buddies! 

When the program opens, we’ll share an interest form through email and on the Minted Artist Community Slack #announcements channel with instructions on how to join. 

What if I decide the program is not for me?

We encourage people to sign up only if they have time for the program and are excited about it, but we understand that things come up and life happens. If you find yourself too busy, or if something unexpected comes up that will prevent you from being a good buddy, please email us at [e-mail].