What the heck does “Freelance Kansas” mean?

First off, it needs to be said that Freelance Kansas and Haines Eason — me — are synonymous. It’s a largely one-man show, though I do sometimes lean on the talents of a creative friend or two to keep the lights on.

Oil painting of abolitionist John Brown (with 8-bit glasses added) by John Steuart Curry. This painting was a study for Curry's mural at the Kansas State Capitol.

That said, most everything about the business grows out of my personality, interests, beliefs, etc. So, that business name: While I won’t claim to be an avid student of history, I do have a sense of it, especially when it comes to our country’s.

To be direct: Freelance Kansas is a play on Free Kansas and the Bleeding Kansas period of history. 

While my wife and I chose to live in Lawrence, Kansas, because of its charm and proximity to family (we were pregnant and starting our own, and family’s an essential support!), we’ve fallen in love with the curmudgeonly progressiveness of the town. And, I’ve learned that that progressiveness roots all the way back in the town’s founding. 

The origins of progressive marketing (at least when it comes to Freelance Kansas)

In the years leading up to the Civil War, Kansas was a battleground state. 

Pro-slavery factions and abolitionists fought — both at the ballot box and with bare fists — over whether Kansas would be a slave state or free (spoiler alert: abolitionist forces won out and a Free Kansas was admitted to the Union in 1861). But seven years of controversy and guerilla warfare ensued in an event that would come to be known as “Bleeding Kansas.” 

At the peak of this period of crisis, William Quantrill and raiders descended on Lawrence on August 21, 1863, attacking the town, killing nearly 200 males and causing an estimated $2 million in damages (over $50 million in 2024 dollars).

Wanderings, awakenings and settlings

I grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, a state and town where the scars of slavery still run deep

I’ll be blunt: I loathed and still loathe the ingrained, systemic racism that to this day pervades Southern American culture.

After struggling at my first college (should have taken at least one gap year), and after a handful of semesters at my local community college, I moved from Virginia to Montana to attend the University of Montana in Missoula. 

Montana, Missoula and the West in general opened my eyes, heart and mind to a much larger world of possibility and history. And, a move far from home provided me with enough distance: I was better able to see the great-though-troubling arc of American history with regards to our industrialization and our dealings with non-white and non-Western peoples. 

I could see my artistic and sensitive self more clearly. I realized I am an artist and a writer and that I also care greatly about the preservation of nature and the elevation and protection of peoples who have been excluded from accessing the riches of our wider culture.

After my time in Montana, my journey continued: California, Chicago, St. Louis, overseas, back home to the states where my wife and I landed in Denver. Now, Lawrence, where a combination of culture, history and progressivism help me to feel more at home than I ever have before.

This is not to say that Lawrence is Eden. It most certainly has its troubles and can be as myopic, bigoted and regressive as anywhere else. But the dominant spirit is progressive and hard working. I believe the average Lawrencian wants to make the world just a little better every day. 

That spirit is an inspiration for my own venture: Freelance Kansas. 

A corporate kick in the ass

I was laid off from my corporate job in 2023. In some ways, it was a blessing in disguise.  

The reason I thrive in Lawrence is the reason I don’t thrive in a lot of corporate environments: I value people first. Honest, human-centric business practices may not be the norm, but that doesn’t mean they can’t become the norm. 

That layoff was a catalyst to founding Freelance Kansas, to sobriety, to making a stand and taking myself seriously. The result, I sincerely hope, is a marketing agency with a mission to be an honest, human-centric business that supports dreamers and doers who want to save this world. 

That’s where my tagline “Progressive Marketing Support” comes in.

What’s in a name???

So, again: The name Freelance Kansas pays homage to that original idea of a Free Kansas, of a free country and a free world. I want my work to support the principles of open-mindedness, equality, justice and community.

“Progressive Marketing Support” isn’t just a tagline about the cutting-edge marketing techniques I strive to provide (although I can and do hew to the better of the latest trends). It’s a reference to who Freelance Kansas primarily serves: progressively-minded businesses trying to make a difference in their communities and the world.

Businesses like:

• HAPPYtown: A client spreading joy through art and supporting people as they navigate life’s challenges. 

• Flatland PBS: Our local iteration of the well-known national media outlet that has leaned into story-driven reporting.

• Green Dot Bioplastics: An organization fueled by a mission to create more sustainable materials and in turn enable other companies to become more sustainable.  

The Freelance Kansas future 

So what’s next for Freelance Kansas?

Of course I dream that this endeavor will someday be a “we” — that it will be home to a team of dreamers doing great work alongside our great customers. But really, all I want is to continue hewing to the vision that inspired this business in the first place. Something has caught fire here and this little project is growing. I have to believe it’s because of the good behind the ideas that inspired me to begin it.  

Freelance Kansas will always be rooted in progressing social good and will always be ready to help other people-focused businesses find their footing, their customers and their dreamed-of futures. 

Thank you, sincerely 🙏

Haines

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Boutique content marketing agency Freelance Kansas is owned and operated by Haines Eason and serves clients in the Kansas City region and beyond.