Hellooooo my darling Dabblers!

I choose to believe you thought about me at least once over the last couple of weeks- probably at 12:12pm when you realised your inbox was lonely (dabbleless? dabbless?), then immediately forgot when you realised your mouth was lonely (snackless? (what's that Japanese word again?)).

I also choose to believe that you were busy gallivanting! hurkle-durkling! nanty narking!? Which I'm totally OK with.
​No, honestly, I encourage!
Nay, I insist!

I just needed a moment. I have so much I want to say, and simultaneously, not?
​(the number of sentences/thoughts/lessons/musings/drafts I've started in the past 3 weeks...)​
I guess that's it too though- there's room for both of those things to exist at the almost-same time.
Feeling the pull to learn new things AND hibernate.
The want to build stuff AND reflect and sit still for a sec.
The desire to connect and share AND shut up and observe.
To plan to be in bed by 8:28pm AND decide to stay up until 1:03am chatting under streetlights to someone new.

Let me start with that one...

C.x ✨

With grand intentions of gracing your inbox last week (9:16pm Tue night rolled around and I shut the laptop), an event at ✨Photosynthesis✨ piqued my interest that I was going to tell you about (although TBF it was already fully booked by Tue) - a simple idea on the face of it (pun wasn't intended, but it is now), headshots taken 10 years apart.
A snippet of time. A before-and-after, but way cooler (maybe a "now" and a "nowier-now" is a better description?).

✨Panochron✨ is more than some time-worn passport photos, though (way more considered lighting than the local pharmacy, thankfully) - ✨Charlie✨ has been capturing people's mugs and tales since 2013-ish, and by the sounds of it, has grand intentions of building the project into a global, collaborative legacy (my synopsis, not Charlie's).
We started with a couple of "stoic" and then "relax however your face wants" snaps, and a small lapel mic capturing both casual chit-chat and the (slightly) more formal (and video-evidenced) thought-provoking-life-themed questions, before plucking at whichever threads of convo seemed interesting.

An hour whizzed by, and after realising that Charlie had not only spent two fully-stacked, back-to-back days interacting with 20 people (at an hour each - this introvert could never...), I figured a coffee and a hand packing down was the least I could offer. We ended up perched on camping chairs in the carpark for another couple of hours (discussing the merits of tiny houses and how time doesn’t exist, naturally), before realising it was in fact, a couple of hours later...

I'm very interested to see how this project evolves, and looking forward to re-discovering my little time capsule in 5-10 years time.

Charlie is aiming to do another round in a few (+/-) months, so if you're interested in being part of this (not limited to Ōtautahi, if you know of someone who would also be keen- please spread the word!), shimmy over here for project and contact details.

👋 Name: Charlie

💖 What’s your hobby/current obsession? Photography

🧃 Fuel of choice while dabbling: Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee

🏆 "My holy grail tool/material/gear I can’t live without, is ___"? An excellent sharp lens for my camera

📍 Fave local spot to get your fix: Well it’s a bit out of the way but there is this little cafe atop Mt John’s in Tekapo, and their coffee combined with the view is supreme.

🙅🏻‍♂️ What’s something people assume about your hobby — and are absolutely wrong about? That I know exactly what I’m doing. The truth is I’m on a journey and still developing my style and technique.

💭 What does this hobby give you that "normal" life doesn’t? People share their truths of life, they open themselves up to me and drop some real wisdom bombs. I also think that humans in general are interesting creatures who don’t often get permission or encouragement to speak about themselves. But I make space for this, I encourage and enable people to share a snippet of their story.

💡 Your top tip or one piece of advice for someone wanting to dabble? Do what you like, fill your cup, passion will eventually cultivate an audience. If you pander you’ll probably be creating the same thing as someone else and be competing for an audience, not to mention you’re trying perhaps to be someone else, not being authentic. Be yourself, that’s your true power, no one is more you-er than you.

🎟 What do you want to be a terrible beginner at next? Podcasting via Patreon, I am not looking forward to trying to make good clean audio.

A couple of Charlie's recent faves from the camera roll

Word Jumble: (hint: related to the events above, answers at the bottom of the newsletter)

ACPNHNORO

GPRIOEI NOIJT

SFOAMRO

Friday 27th February

🧘 Crystal singing bowl sound healing (End of February Reflection: A Self-Love Sound Immersion)​
​https://events.humanitix.com/copy-of-crystal-singing-bowls-sounds-healing​

Saturday 28th February

🪶 Farewell to the Godwits (~13,000km to Alaska for these lil guys)
​https://www.facebook.com/events/2488999258182829​

🥟 Community Class x Pierogi Joint (no-one's judging if you eat all 24 in one sitting)
​https://pierogijoint.co.nz/products/community-class-x-pierogi-joint​

Sunday 1st March

🏰 Strange Market: Medieval March (came for the dragons, stayed for the jousting)​
​https://www.facebook.com/events/25846013094995211​

🇹🇼 Formosa Festival 2026 (Celebrate Taiwanese culture through markets, film, music, and interactive experiences)
​https://www.artscentre.org.nz/whats-on/formosa-festival-2026/​

OTHER STUFF COMING UP SOON THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA BOOK ASAP:

🐰 New Zealand’s Best Hot Cross Bun Competition 2026 (drop off)
Where: Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust, 279 Ilam Road, Christchurch​
When: Drop off Wednesday (4th March) before 6pm
​Judging: Thursday 5th March
​Entry + info: https://bakingnz.co.nz/hot-cross-bun-competition-2026/​

​
​Fire through your upcoming events here!

As I said, I have so much I want to say (and also not- it’s loud in my brain)- some of the recurring themes I’m exploring (and will expand on sooon/in time);

• Listening to self and rest without guilt/explanation
• Following the excitement, even when it doesn’t entirely make “sense” (and what even does that mean)
• How we’ve been convinced to “niche down” and specialise (one career/title), and how abrasive that is to our humanness
• How societal norms, education system etc squash imagination, play and joy
• How we can get paid to play and experiment

Do let me know if any of these, or something similar/different has been rattling around in your brain, around prioritising play and joy, I’d loooove to noodle on it!

​
​Here are your quick links:​
🤘 Share your current hobby-obsession​
👋 Share your community event, business or opportunity
​🫶 If someone rad sent this to you and you wanna sign up for yourself​
​

Now go do something or nothing (both are valid) 💛

Cassie.x ✨​
​Publisher, The Dabbling​
​Your Unofficial Fave Hobby-Hypegirl

Fun answers:

PANOCHRON
PIEROGI JOINT
FORMOSA