From the heart of our studio — the real decisions, pressures, and moments shaping Willow Lane right now.

What I think of subscription models. (Spoiler: I hate them!)

Let’s get straight to the point:
The subscription model has gone too far.
And many of us are at breaking point.

Everywhere we turn, another service, another tool, another company has decided that the only way forward is a subscription. Not just for streaming or software — but for things that were once simple, affordable, and genuinely within reach. It’s spreading through every industry like a slow, hungry tide, and it’s taking small businesses — and households — with it.

Naomi and I have reached the point where the monthly demands outnumber the income by a landslide. Not because we’re reckless spenders — but because as a tiny creative business with no steady revenue, we can only subscribe to the absolute essentials. Website hosting. A few tools to create our work. Our project space. That’s it. That’s all our budget allows.

And yet, even those foundation stones are shifting beneath us.

Last month, our financial institution — the very service that processes payments for our shop — quietly rolled out a mandatory subscription fee. Not an improvement. Not optional. Mandatory. A fee that rockets beyond what our business can absorb. Overnight, a service that used to be workable became something that could genuinely end our ability to keep Willow Lane alive.

One company’s decision.
One paid tier.
And suddenly the future of years of our work hangs in the balance.

If you want to understand the full impact of what this subscription shift means for us, we’ve written about the situation in more detail here: Is This the End of Willow Lane?

It isn’t just us.
I know so many of you reading this feel the same sinking frustration — the feeling of being squeezed, tiered, downgraded, and priced out of tools you once relied on. Of watching familiar features disappear unless you move “up.”

And here’s the truth companies don’t want to admit:
There is only so much money in a household or small business budget. Most households and small businesses do not have the luxury of subscribing to everything companies insist we must now have. Even if you earn good money, there are limits. Your wallet cannot absorb the demands of the entire world deciding simultaneously that they “deserve” a monthly slice of it.

On a buy-it-once or pay-per-use model, we could choose wisely.
We could spread our spending.
We could support more creators, more tools, more businesses.

But when everything becomes a subscription, we are forced into an all-or-nothing world — and for most of us, the answer ends up being nothing, because the money simply isn’t there.

We don’t get choice. We get ultimatum.

“Pay every month, or lose access entirely.”
“Upgrade, or be downgraded.”
“Commit, or you’re a nobody.”

This is not flexibility.
This is financial capture dressed up as convenience.

And then come the tiers.

We have watched features disappear from the levels we’re already paying for.
We’ve watched companies slowly degrade the experience until you’re forced upward.
We’ve watched the message shift from “you are valued” to “you are not paying enough.”

There was a time when you were either a client or you weren’t.
Now you’re ranked, sorted, and slotted according to your ability to pay.

And honestly? It’s dehumanising.

This isn’t simply about inconvenience.
This is about the kind of world we’re creating.

A world where only those with resources can build, create, grow, or even participate.
A world where small businesses disappear before they begin because the cost of entry is locked behind monthly gates.
A world where households buckle under the weight of fees disguised as “flexibility.”

Where does that lead us?
If every company keeps grabbing for a slice of the same shrinking pie, there won’t be anything left — not for us, and not for them. The “bone in the reflection” problem is real: in chasing the imagined reward, they risk losing the real one.

Naomi and I are tired.
We’re disheartened.
And we know many of you are too.

This isn’t about being resistant to change or nostalgic for “the old days.”
It’s about sustainability. Fairness. And the simple truth that relentless monetisation is strangling the very people companies depend upon.

So here it is — the statement we’re making today:

Enough.
Enough tiering, enough downgrading, enough demanding monthly payments for things that never needed subscriptions in the first place.

We are speaking up because this isn’t just “annoying.”
This is shaping an economy that is actively hostile to small businesses, families, and anyone building something from nothing.

We’ll keep doing everything we can to stay here — creating, writing, painting, sharing, building.
But we won’t pretend this isn’t happening, and we won’t stay quiet about what it’s doing to all of us.

Because we see you.
We are you.
And we’re standing in this together.

Let’s make noise about this!

If this has affected you too, tell us your story below — or share this post so more voices are heard. We’re not after traffic — we’re after change.
Write to the companies forcing subscriptions you don’t want or can’t afford. Tell them it isn’t okay.
The more people speak up, the harder we are to ignore.
We’ve lit the torch. You’re welcome to carry it with us — or run with it yourself.

About the Author: Lisa Saul

Fiction writer · creative guide · lifelong storyteller … Lisa Saul writes in the quiet spaces between words and paint. For more than twenty years she has worked side by side with her sister Naomi — shaping novels, illustrations, notebooks, and the little studio world behind this blog. A lifelong maker, Lisa has moved through journalism, photography, editing, watercolour, and award-nominated fiction, always returning to the same thread: story. Whether she’s writing a novel, illustrating a notebook, or sharing a moment from her creative life, Lisa brings a thoughtful, honest voice shaped by imagination, experience, and a deep love of helping others grow creatively.