This week marks Bit & Grain’s second anniversary, and as we enter into our third year of storytelling, we are reflecting on the road we’ve traveled to get here and what the future looks like. Most of all, we want to thank you for believing in this idea and for helping make this journey possible and worthwhile.

In March of 2015, you could find our team in one of three places: flying down a stretch of I-40 between Raleigh and Winston-Salem, standing outside a college-basketball arena, or huddled behind our computers in a makeshift home-office space fretting over the roll-out of Bit & Grain’s first North Carolina story: The People of Tobacco Road. We may not have known much about publishing back then, but we were hungry for a different kind of storytelling in and about North Carolina. Time has proven over one hundred thousand of you are, too. Though our morale has been tested by the uphill battle of independent journalism, our commitment to and passion for new storytelling has never wavered. What began as an experiment has blossomed into a nationwide, reader-supported family, and we are so grateful.

We’ve traversed this great state corner to corner. We’ve eaten our weight, several times over, in barbeque and tasted mullet liver for the first time. We’ve met North Carolinians whose roots run generations deep and our new neighbors who are seeking refuge. We’ve explored the division in North Carolina that compelled us to start Bit & Grain two years ago, and learned that it is possible for us to have a dialogue about the issues that divide us. We’ve worked from passenger seats going 70 mph and with some of our state’s most fiercely talented creatives. And we’ve only scratched the surface.

Our team has been in a dynamic state of growth throughout this journey — as partners, as North Carolinians and as human beings — perhaps more than we dreamed possible in a mere 24 months. As we have honed our multimedia storytelling skills, brands, organizations, and businesses have sought our communication expertise. Over the last year, we’ve helped a number of commercial and non-profit partners communicate who they are, what they do and why through photography, video, podcasting, written word, brand design, and social and digital strategy. It’s an arena we’ve been privileged to work in and look forward to building.

As for the Bit & Grain Storytelling Project, you’ll notice some changes in future. As we focus more on using our storytelling skills for meaningful commercial projects, the consistency with which your B&G email lands in your inbox will change; however we will continue to deliver meaningful content to our B&G family. We are refocusing our social media presence to not only share our work but to also act as a clearinghouse for other meaningful and powerful stories about North Carolina. We remain committed to being a home for writers, photographers, and other creatives documenting our great state and encourage you to continue sharing your stories with us.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for joining us on this journey. Now, back to work.

With love and gratitude,
Bit & Grain
Sandra, Ryan and Baxter