The World Wants to Touch Your Things
In an era of instant gratification, dopamine addiction, and instantaneous AI results, humans everywhere are eager for goods they can hold in their hands.
I recently found this old sticker design I made nearly fourteen years ago. It’s my tribute to print design, and it was fortuitous that it came while I was embarking on my first print project in years. I feel like I’m moving into my next print era, and this sticker is a pleasant reminder of my dedication to the craft.
My last zine was more of a high-quality self-published art book and barely qualifies as a zine, but I leaned into the title. The new project I’m working on is my first handmade zine in a long time, and in typical Dave fashion, I’m overthinking it too much. I’ve gone back and forth on the amount of content to include in the zine (Ref: Rule #3 of the article below), and it has me stymied for direction.
It was an uncomfortable feeling, and on impulse, I decided to make something else to warm up my publishing muscles. I’d never made a one-page zine before, but no time like right f**king now! I pushed aside everything I was working on, grabbed my collage materials, and, within a couple of hours, cobbled together this rough-and-tumble mini-zine/self-fulfilling prophecy.
Holding the final mockup in my hand felt amazing. As simple as this project was, there’s just something satisfying about making a thing by hand and being able to give it to someone else to hold in theirs.
I shared my thoughts with a friend, and they were also stoked about the zine projects. We’re both 80s kids who grew up on punk rock and skating fanzines you’d find at record stores and skate shops. Often, zine makers would trade their books with others, sometimes in bulk, gaining new fans in different locations.
Back then, virality was judged based on how far your zine might travel, and the only way you knew was when someone sent you a snail mail letter (speaking of nostalgic things). I miss that, and I believe other people do, too. When my friend and I talked about it, I could see the sparkle in their eyes. Though they didn’t say they were considering making a zine of their own, I could see the wheels turning in their brain.
This isn’t just about zines though. I believe people are growing weary of digital exposure and a craving more personal contact with both people and things. People will begin to seek out more art, posters, sculpture, clothing and other handmade goods.
Etsy has become a cesspool of mass-produced, made-in-China, AI crap, but there are still plenty of makers on the platform making cool stuff if you’re willing to sift through it, and when you find the cool things, you’ll share it with friends.
Handmade zines are the anti-AI and I’m quickly falling in love with them again. Not only that, but my world view has shifted and I’m looking around at my environment more, finding the abstraction in everyday life to turn into images that I can use for my future print projects.
TEASER: I’ll be sharing these things with others soon.
If you’d like to get your hands on a copy of my mini-zine, I’m giving copies away free with the purchase of Mag Bash, my 76 page art zine.
Bring Back the Links!
I’m a rabid consumer of creative work on many different channels. Social media, blogs, newsletters, and YouTube: I find so many cool things I want to share, which I’ve done mainly on Substack Notes, but like other platforms, external links often get squashed by the algorithm. Why bother if nobody will see it?
After a morning of finding multiple share-worthy links today, I decided to bring a link list back to the newsletter. I’d done this in the past, but the links usually revolved around more business-y topics. This time, I’m leaning into creative ideas, stories, and people. So here you go…
- is a graphically inclined artist who uses a mix of gothic imagery, stark contrasts, and an abstract sense of space and texture to create beautifully dark portraits.
- is an artist, writer, and zinester. Her quirky wit makes me chuckle every time I read her posts.
Speaking of zines,
is an artist/illustrator and an OG in the zine space, so it makes sense that she would share a fantastic post on the subject.In the main image of Kate’s post, there’s a copy of Craphound Magazine #6. I have a few other editions of this fair-use stock image zine, but I don’t have that one… which I will remedy soon. If you want to see more about Craphound, check out BuyOlympia.com
If you’re trying to break into illustration in 2025, veteran Chris Piacik has a quirky and informative video on how he found success as an illustrator. I don’t have any interest in becoming an illustrator, but Chris is awkwardly funny and enjoyable to watch.
This looks so cool. And I agree, something about holding something in your hand! And thanks for the links!
AHHHH! Your mini zine looks like so much fun the first thing I'm gonna do when I stop typing this comment is grab your other zine so I can get my hands on the mini zine! I'm glad my shenanigans make you chuckle. I sometimes feel like Tony Soprano in his first visit with Dr. Melfi: laughing on the outside, crying on the inside...but mostly laughing because life is absurd. Big HELL YES to diving into making a zine without overanalyzing! I forget who said it, but we need more people coming alive right now without self-censoring. You're a bright light and sharing a good example, thank you for this! :)