Style, The Inside Scoop
Sending Blessings Behind Bars
Feb
“We never saw this coming…”
A couple of months ago, we experienced an Inmate Create “first” that blew us away. We hope this story about the power of anonymous kindness will inspire you to find ways to “pay it forward” in your life too…
Normally, when an artist submits designs to Inmate Create, rough scans of their artwork are pictured on the “Activate an Artist” page, where supporters can review them and then pay the Activation Fees to have the designs posted on products on the site. However, some artists either don’t have anyone with the tech savvy to navigate the payment, or they cannot afford the fees. They submit artwork with faith and hope.
This was the case with the BuffOUT brand. The cousins behind the brand had created an amazing concept with artwork and mailed the Launch Packet to Inmate Create. But they were struggling to get the Activation Fees paid. Little did they know that something was in the works that no one saw coming…
Out of the blue, one of our AMAZING supporters saw the pending designs on the site and was led to pay the Activation Fee anonymously. What a blessing! Can you imagine the shock and surprise when the BuffOUT artists got word that their Activation had been covered and they didn’t need to stress about it? They were blown away by the grace and generosity of this anonymous donor.
The cousins were so moved by this kind act that they created a beautiful original artwork of a horse that they mailed and asked us to forward to the supporter who sponsored their Activation. Since it didn’t contain any personal info, we sent it along to the donor, maintaining both parties’ anonymity.
We always have new artists waiting for Activation. There are also existing designers who have new artwork they are waiting to activate. Who knows, maybe YOU will be the next Anonymous Activator to bless an artist behind bars! Want to know more about what that would look like? Visit our Sponsor an Artist page on our website.
A note from the Inmate Create Team: We are so thankful that you are here reading this blog. In February, 2026 we will begin sending e-newsletters to all of our supporters. These newsletters will include some great content!
- A featured blog (this one is featured in our first issue,)
- “What had Happened Was…” a fun anecdotal story from inside.
- “Fast Fact”, a statistic having to do with inmates, art, creativity, the criminal justice system, and more.
- “Get to Know”, where you can learn more about a specific designer.
- “Design Drop”, where we share where a design came from and the why behind it.
If you havent already signed up for our newsletter, we would love for you to do so.
Otherwise, we’ll see you over at www.inmatecreate.com
