“I have always needed an artistic practice to feel fulfilled, and at the moment it’s wigs!” exclaims Jack Baxter (@wigchapel). 🧑‍🦰✂️👩⁣ ⁣ What started as a fascination with creating “strange and wacky wig styles” for his drag performances transformed into a full-time business. “I had no formal training in hair or wigs, just a lifelong love of experimenting and playing with hair. I’ve had a few different creative outlets in my life and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to turn this one into a job that I love.”⁣ ⁣ "My wigs are bright and garish and the furthest thing from ‘natural,’” says Jack. “I usually have around nine going at once — the more intricate styles, like the Elizabethan braid wigs or tassel wigs, can take about a week to make.”⁣ ⁣ With Halloween close, business is picking up. “It is a busy time of year in the wig business. Halloween is that one time of year that most people feel comfortable to basically get into drag without feeling like they’re doing something taboo.”⁣ ⁣ #ThisWeekOnInstagram⁣ ⁣ Photos by @wigchapel

Artist Lorien Stern (@lorienstern) wants you to find inspiration and happiness wherever you can.⁣⁣ 🍂👻🍂 ⁣⁣ The California-based ceramicist, painter and designer finds lots of joy in the natural world, especially the animal kingdom. “Animals always held a special place in my heart. When I was 8 years old, my father passed away. I adopted seven cats and my connection with them helped me cope with the loss more than anything else.”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Lorien’s work often celebrates the afterlife and loved ones lost. For example, she makes ghosts as a way to honor her late father and disarm her fears by adding positive associations to potentially scary subjects.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Did we mention today is Lorien’s 30th birthday?!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ “My birthday lands close to Halloween, so sometimes I combine the two — usually with costumes, drinks and scary movies.”⁣⁣ 🎂🎃 ⁣⁣ #ThisWeekOnInstagram⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Art by @lorienstern; Video by @byjenniferruiz⁣⁣

Give 👏 it 👏 up 👏 for 👏 your 👏 higher 👏 self 👏⁣ ⁣ Voting in the US election is happening now. Get the info you need at our link in bio. ✉️🗳⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Reel by @bunnymichael

Small but mighty 😊⁣ ⁣ Voting in the US election is happening now. Get the info you need at our link in bio. ✉️🗳⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Video by @pablo.rochat

A message from 1968 💫🎶🙌⁣ ⁣ Voting in the US election is happening now. Get the info you need at our link in bio. ✉️🗳⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Video by @yungbbq

Alright, you know what time it is 🌮🍕🎶⁣ ⁣ It’s Vote Early Day in the US. Get the info you need at our link in bio. ✉️🗳⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Video by @coolman_coffeedan

Wait for it... 😍⁣ ⁣ It’s Vote Early Day in the US. Get the info you need at our link in bio. ✉️🗳⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Reel by @iamromnyaakia

It’s a sister thing. ✨ ⁣ ⁣ It’s also Vote Early Day in the US. Get the info you need at our link in bio. ✉️🗳⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Reel by @munera.aaa, @anisa_aa4 and @fatiima.aaa

Hello, cat pyramid.⁣ ⁣ On today’s #WeeklyFluff, meet Simba, Milo and Amy (@amy_simba), three British shorthairs who together make one pile of happiness.⁣ ⁣ Video by @amy_simba

“I didn’t have the opportunity to choose to be an activist, activism chose me.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Luis Jonathan Hernandez (@jona.nyc), who #Advocates and organizes at the intersection of racial justice and violence prevention.⁣ ⁣ “I was forced into doing this work out of survival,” says 18-year-old Luis. “Growing up with loved ones in and out of the system, and gun violence being a normal occurrence, I had very limited options on how to respond to my circumstances. I chose to speak out, and demand safety and justice at every level possible.⁣ ⁣ My vision and hope for the future is a world in which young people can grow up in safe and just environments. There’s a constant need for true safety in our communities; safety that looks like an abundance of resources, attacking the root causes of issues like gun violence, and dismantling systems of oppression that have existed in our society for too long.⁣ ⁣ Through the lens of liberation, my vision for the future is a world in which Black and brown young folks aren’t incarcerated, under-resourced or over-policed. Rather, my hope is that young folks have the opportunity and the resources to thrive in their schools, homes, communities and in the world as a whole.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel by @jona.nyc

“I see my neighbors as relatives, and good relatives help each other.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Kinsale Hueston (@kinsalehues). She #Advocates for indigenous rights and mutual aid, where individuals belonging to a community take action to address the needs within that community.⁣ ⁣ “After spending a summer helping fundraise for mutual aid-powered COVID-19 relief on the Navajo Nation, I took time off from school to work to help tenants stay housed during the pandemic.⁣ ⁣ My job included a project installing a new community fridge at a people’s kitchen downtown in partnership with LA Community Fridges. When I learned more about the community network that was running these fridges, I started doing runs myself and taking in random donations so I could keep these fridges stocked. @friendsandfridges was born from that, and we do regular drops to connect with the people running these fridges and to talk to the neighbors who use them.⁣ ⁣ These networks have existed for a long time, especially in indigenous communities. The amazing Diné women from @orendatribe and ADABI Healing Shelter are practicing a form of communal care that has existed since basically time immemorial — it takes kinship and connection and a holistic care for each other.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel by @kinsalehues

“Hold truth to power. Hold those in power accountable by fighting for what is just, for all.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Padmini Gopal (@climatekarma). She currently lives in Accra, Ghana, where she #Advocates for climate justice.⁣ ⁣ “Growing up, I was almost always drawn towards understanding human interactions better,” explains Padmini, who is originally from India. “But it was some courses that I took during undergrad that really opened my eyes to and got me interested in the way we humans interact with, or rather exploit, our Earth, our only home.⁣ ⁣ My hope for the future is that those who are the most responsible for current and historical global emissions are soon held accountable and quickly transition to carbon neutrality. Their actions inevitably affect the communities here in Ghana, like many others in the Global South.⁣ ⁣ Seeing and recognizing how many communities here in Ghana and my home country India have for times immemorial lived in harmony with nature and its cycles and have maintained deep connections to their land — that inspires me. It reminds me of what many of us have lost or never had, a connection with Mother Earth, and the vital need to help re-create that for others through the work I do.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel by @climatekarma