behind the scenes· ·3 min read

Bright Mists About the Mountains Hoar

Bright Mists About the Mountains Hoar

^ passage from "Lamia" by John Keats

Hiya. September happy mail is on the way, then I'm working on an October fast-follow... which may be optimistic... #brand?

In addition to my own creations and lucky vintage finds, the past few months of happy mail featured the following artists:

Nobody got everything, but everybody got something! I hope you enjoyed the novelty — I'd like to do more curating in the near future, though ideally via commission or collaboration versus deal-savvy purchasing. As you know, this summer was intense enough that I needed a pressure valve. Nonetheless I've completely failed to stop handcrafting for each missive. I have gotten faster at doing so in batches, and I think the end results are still improving.

If you've stockpiled a stressful excess of bookmarks and ATCs, please release yourself! Give a handful to friends, leave them in a public place, or just toss 'em if that's easiest. (Obviously I prefer that you eternally treasure every scrap I send, but like. Gotta be realistic.)

Btw, where I got the term "happy mail": journaling YouTube.

I ought to refresh my plans now that I've reacquired a day job...

Hedgehog is the crypto startup that I mentioned back in May when it was more of a side gig than an item in my Twitter bio. The product: convenient all-in-one portfolio manager. Track and trade nearly any cybercoin on the wallets and exchanges of your choice, without needing a million tabs or spreadsheets 😎 Can you tell that I'm part of the promo arm? The newsletter / blog is fun if you're interested in crypto. (I stuck it out longer than many, but I've given up on crypto = cryptography, sorry.)

The gist is: I worked a lot. I'm lucky to have fulfilling and flexible jobs, nonetheless balance remains a challenge. Not that I expect that to ever change tbh? Swaying according to circumstance is the very nature of balance, no?

I'm excited to have free cash flow again! That opens up possibilities, especially on the collaboration front. I vastly prefer to pay the people whose work I'm using, even when they're stoked regardless. It's an especially big plus when I want to fulfill a specific vision.

Here are my ongoing commitments, in addition to compiling Ideograph on a regular basis:

  • monthly snail mail [...] such as zines (but not exclusively zines)
  • Wanderverse commissions and contributions
  • 🌼 exclusive 🌼 behind-the-scenes notes

    • This year my approach has been to trial Wanderverse creations in happy mail, then edit and remix the best bits into Official™ updates. Might sound stupid, but it's true: the hardest part of writing a story is deciding what happens! I've been slowly working on the next for-public-consumption Wanderverse installment, which will comprise much of the plot that I shared in the previous behind-the-scenes note.

    In the monthly missives, I often include song lyrics that feel synchronistically appropriate — cringe, sure, but when have I not been cringe? In the same vein, I add aesthetically and thematically resonant excerpts from my recent reading. I hope you like these ingredients? It's hard for me to tell, which is a tad absurd but there you go. Always shadowboxing with my insecurities.

    What I haven't done in far too long is print an actual zine!

    I spent August dithering over inadequate zine manuscripts and happy mail ideas, plus inventing songs for an eventual EP (crossed fingers, knock on wood).

    EP is pretty speculative / who knows maybe eventually.

    Those inadequate manuscripts, however, have been kicking around for a few months... since spring. I should be ashamed of myself, going around saying "fuck it, when in doubt hit publish" while I sit on drafts that I was supposed to consider complete. That's the thing about "supposed to" — easier said than done.

    So, what will I make in October and beyond? Still figuring it out, stay tuned.