Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
Hello & Welcome Misfits,
The most ambitious do it yourself project I have ever taken on is not a single item, project, or idea.
It is my decision to build an entire creative ecosystem from the ground up.
Poeaxtry_ is not just a store. The Prism is not just a press. Together they are a system that moves from raw minerals in The Great Lakes to a polished ritual tool, from private poem drafts to interactive & gamified digital anthologies, from hiking confessional journals to printable & digital resources for minority voices.
I did not buy a ready-made brand. I built infrastructure, life experience, and skill from the ground up.
From Dirt to Designed Object
This part of creating always starts outside for me.
Rockhounding is not only aesthetic. It is labor. One minute we are kneeling in gravel pits, scanning riverbeds, carrying a backpack triple the weight it was when I left, back home. The stones are cleaned, sometimes sliced into slabs, or shaped. I then tumble polish or Dremel polished by hand using grit, time, and polish. Some become jewelry, keychains, or carved keepsakes. Some stones will become a part of a wand, wreath, or wind chime. Some fossils and minerals will be sold in specimen jars, providing you with an easy way to show off our awesome finds.
Creative-Cycle
This is basically my full-cycle creation. I source the material. I prepare it. I design it. I set it. I post it online or drop it off at a local store. Then I wait for it to sell. Nothing is outsourced. That control is intentional. It keeps the work honest and meaningful.
Spiritual Supplies
My spiritual items and supplies include: ritual kits and tools, oil rollers, natural sprays, tinctures, wands, windchimes, wreaths, custom spells, tarot and pendulum readings, digital collections that cover one topic historically to present, personal favorites BOS coming soon, digital / printable freebie book of spells inserts, and way more. All grown from that same foundation. Research meets lived practice. History meets respectful and ethical uses.
This is spiritual craftsmanship rooted in community care and respect.
Writing as a Release, Not An Escape:
The writing and poetry side of my creative company is not just promotional filler. It was planted in life experience and watered by emotions.
Hiking
Hiking blogs documenting accessibility, dog & child friendliness, terrain near trails, vibe of the day, and my reflection.
Emotions & Life Journals
Emotional journal essays explore confessions, emotions, and thoughts without spectacles and chaos ensuing.
Witchcraft
Spiritual posts examine practice without performance. I share information without gatekeeping on an array of witchcraft related topics. These are all beginner and advanced practitioner friendly and you can save the webpage, print it out, or bookmark it as a cheat sheet if you wish.
Advocacy
Minority positivity resources confront erasure directly by sharing things like strands for trans info, community events, seminars, politically positive things, calls to submit things to be published that have zero or very small fees.
Critic
Media criticism calls out bigotry when it shows up in entertainment, politics, literature, art and more.
BOS More from the author
Behind-the-scenes poetry posts may reveal drafting poetry or writing processes from creation through final edit, additional info about how it’s made, Why, where, & with. BOS time lapse for crafting digital and physical items.
Shorts
Short stories are being written and mapped out into a ten-story collection. I am currently posting them here and always one at a time. The writing is on the walls and the writing style is psychological thriller, horror-gore, and splatter punk. Not just emotional poetry.
Voice
Axton Mitchell strives to make sure his voice remains consistent because it is always his.
No ghostwriting.
No content farm rhythm.
Just sustained narrative built over time.
Poetry as Interactive Architecture
The digital poetry collections I curate are not single uploads tossed into the void. The larger books hold fifty plus original poems shaped across seasons. The smaller twenty to twenty-five poem zines are layered with hidden downloads, QR paths, hidden words to complete links to content all of this turns reading into exploration.
There are free collections because access matters. There are smaller printable editions with drafting notes because process matters. There are minority-friendly positivity zines because representation matters.
The design work inside Canva Pro becomes part of the art itself. Structure, navigation, hidden layers, and more.
Poetry is not just expression here. It is experience design.
Indie Press; Community Infrastructure:
Poeaxtry & the Prism exists so minority voices are not waiting for permission any longer.
It is a publishing house, but it is also a submission hub, a spotlight platform for indie creators, a space for collaboration, open mic nights online and in person, creative contests, and long-term plans for physical presence through stores, booths, and partnerships.
This is infrastructure thinking. It is building a structure that can hold more than one voice.
Why This Is the Most Ambitious Thing I’ve Built?
Most DIY projects focus on one discipline or one core thing.
Mine connects rockhounding, lapidary art, ritual design, tarot practice, hiking documentation, journaling systems, poetry publishing, short fiction, digital content and collections mapping, interactive ebook layering, minority advocacy, media critique, and community architecture into one ecosystem.
From dirt to draft to download.
It is ambitious because it refuses to separate craft from voice, spirituality from structure, or business from representation.
It is ongoing. It is expanding. It is built slowly and deliberately.
That is my biggest project.
Poeaxtry’s Links
Poeaxtry’s Link in bio. portfolio.
STORES
Tips and Commitments
Ko-fi. Buy me a coffee. PayPal. Cashapp.
Say it. Don’t spray it.