Hello everyone!!
It’s been a while since the last update, hasn’t it? How has your summer been?! ☀️ It’s been verrryyy busy for me, both personally and Pouch-a-ly. I’ve had to take a break from the newsletter as the absolutely-must-do’s on my to-do list grew to a point that that they pushed my want-to-do’s off the paper entirely. But as the must’s become satiated, the want’s are making a comeback — starting with an update to my dear newsletter!
First, some announcements:
🥳 Pouch Issue #3 is available for general sale! If you follow the @pouch.studio Instagram, you may know it’s been out for about a month already — sorry to be late in sharing such an important update!!1 Get your copy of Pouch 3 if you haven’t already!!
🥳 Pouch 3 Celebration is happening at Orion Bar on Wed August 26th!! OKAY but I am NOT too late in telling you about the launch party we’re having!! 🎂 If you’re in the NYC area, come through to Orion Bar on August 26th, 7pm - 9pm for the Pouch Issue 3 Celebration. Entry is free! Check out the Partiful for more information. Huge thanks to Irene Yoo and Carolyn Yoo for generously providing us Orion Bar for our launch party a second year in a row!! 💖💖
With the big news out of the way, let’s move on to today’s topic: Pouch 3!!
Sooooo… after ~3 months away, my first draft of today’s newsletter was SO ABSURDLY LONG that even I, someone with a reputation for rather verbose newsletters, decided it was too much for one post. I shall exercise some restraint! Today I will simply give you a belated introduction to Pouch 3. I’ll give you a peek of the feature articles in Pouch Issue 3, each written by the talented members of the Pouch team, and I’ll also shed light on the work of our phenomenal editor JM.
Coming next week: I want to share some behind-the-scenes stories about working with a team of friends on a zine! I’ve got plenty of learnings, tips and tricks that I want to share for the logistics lovers in the audience 😎 but I decided to hold off for today, as I didn’t want to risk burying my team’s excellent work by tacking on TWO THOUSAND EXTRA WORDS recounting the production process in meticulous detail 😆
Please enjoy today’s newsletter, and make time to do some summery things in the next few weeks! Make them your absolute-musts before the leaves change 🍃
♡ vrk
🗺️ A tour through the articles of Pouch 3!
With Pouch 3, I worked with a small writing team for the first time. You can read about why I wanted to work in a team and meet my 3 writers Carolyn Yoo, nikki c, and Tami Forrester and my editor JM Boots in this post from late last year:
Now that Pouch 3 is out, I thought it’d be fun to give a tour of what this incredible team created for the issue!! They TRULY knocked it out of the park 🥹 Beyond the insights they provide, each writer’s personality really shines through in each piece, and that personal connection is something I feel is a vital part of Pouch. The issue turned out so strong and I could not be more proud of each and every one of the Pouch Team!! Enjoy the tour! 💖💖💖
✈️ Tami’s article: My First Time Using TRAVELER’S notebook
I would previously consider myself the world’s worst journaler. I’m secretly a very chaotic person, and I’ve never been able to keep a consistent journaling practice.
What a strong opening line!! From that first sentence, Tami’s voice immediately grabs you. Tami writes about finally finding a journaling system that works for her using the TRAVELER’S notebook, and in addition to the pragmatic details, Tami takes us on the emotional journey of finding one’s footing in the land of analog: The endless optimism of a brand new notebook! The blunt reality check when you realize that now you have to use the thing — as Tami put it, “ok now what :)” The epiphany when a notebook clicks with you. We’re with her every step of the way, and we enjoy a collective sense of satisfaction when we see Tami’s final TN system at the end!
Design notes: Design-wise, I went with an illustrated style because there were so many great one-liners in Tami’s story that evoked a vivid image in my head. It was so much fun to try to bring those visuals to life via illustration!
📖 Carolyn’s article #1: My First Time Using HOBONICHI TECHO
One of my goals this year is to journal every day and combine memory keeping with reflection and documentation. This is different from the many journals I have filled with stream-of-consciousness morning pages that I never look back on. I want to create a memory-filled journal that I actually want to page through and reread.
Who WOULDN’T want to pick up a Hobonichi after looking at Carolyn’s spreads?! Like Tami, Carolyn is reflecting on her first impressions using a wildly popular and beloved notebook system, in her case the Hobonichi Techo. This is not her first working system, though — in fact, you may recall that we interviewed Carolyn in Pouch Issue 2 and learned all about her style of visual journaling! It’s fun to compare the issues and see Carolyn’s unique flavor of storytelling translated to the structure of the Hobonichi. I loved reading through her insights, struggles, and successes with the system!
Design notes: I loveeeee Hobonichi’s brand colors, so I had to use them here — the orange, yellow, and green in particular — and I tried to include design elements that nod back to Hobonichi’s butterfly-stopper tabs. I wanted the design of Tami’s TN article to immediately read TRAVELERS and for this article’s design to immediately read Hobonichi. On this point, I think I succeeded more here with Hobonichi than I did with TN! I think it’s because I’m a lot more familiar with Hobonichi, plus TN’s branding is a bit more subdued than Hobonichi’s, which is not how one would describe my natural design style lol. (Like, compare the two websites — which one feels more Pouch-like? 😆)
👶 Nikki’s article: One Ring (Binder) To Rule Them All
In the world of stationery, ring binders are not what I’d call revolutionary. You could even argue that they’re one of the most utilitarian journaling systems out there. While bound-book systems like Hobonichi and Midori exist only in indie specialty shops, you can find a ring binder just about anywhere office supplies are sold.
When Nikki described what she wanted to write — a piece on ring binders, covering its history starting from the Roman codex, then tying this to a story about navigating life as a new mother — I KNEW it was going to be a banger! Nikki’s article blends personal storytelling with practical insights on how one’s analog system can function as both a tool to organize one’s life and an outlet for creative expression in the act of organizing itself. It’s thoughtful, thought-provoking, and it leaves me viewing my journaling system as its own kind of self-portrait!
Design notes: For this design, I wanted to play with the “timeline” and subtly nod to the visual similarity to between a timeline and the hole-punched pages of a ring binder. (In earlier design iterations, I attempted a more literal metaphor, trying to make a timeline out of ring binder pages, but it was a confusing mess lol.) I also loved how Nikki paired the historical milestones of the ring binder with own her personal milestones with the ring binder, and I wanted to reflect that through-line in the design as well.
You might also notice that I used LittleLu stamps to decorate the page!! Confession: I originally intended to draw custom illustrations for this article, similar to how I approached Tami’s, but I was nearing the completion of Pouch 3 and feeling pretty exhausted 😆 so I used stamps instead. And isn’t that how we often use stamps in real life, too? A handy piece of art that I can reach for when I don’t feel like drawing something myself!
✂️ Carolyn’s article #2: The What? Why? And How? of Junk Journals
Growing up in an immigrant hoarder-adjacent family, junk was abundant in my home — visual clutter that overwhelmed me in its disarray. But here was a way to reframe that chaos into a pleasurable state, one that could capture my environment and experiences while also sharing it with others.
Junk journaling had a surge of popularity in the last year or so, so it felt natural to include a story about it in Pouch 3! I love the approach that Carolyn took to the subject: She observed that the label “junk journaling” seems to be applied to a few similar but distinct activities, and she decided to experiment with the different forms she encountered. Carolyn shares insights on what she got out of each of them, and then offers several fresh ideas for how one might try junk journaling on their own.
Design notes: For the visuals, I wanted to tap into the cut & paste feel of junk journaling, but I found this tricky to pull off! Junk journals use collaged images to tell the story, leaving little room for writing. That wasn’t going to work for an article with close to 1000 words! I decided to just try to make the design feel tactile, vs striving to mimic the classic “junk journal” aesthetic too closely. I chose fonts that emulated an analog feel — a typewriter font for the body, and a label maker font2 for the subheadings. I also scanned in some of my own stationery, washi tapes, and memo pads to use for textures.
🐈 My article: Interviewing Riley of Riley’s Desk
Thanks so much for talking with Pouch! How would you introduce yourself to a Pouch reader meeting you for the first time?
Well, howdy, Pouch readers, I’m Riley. I’m a stationery and children’s book illustrator. I like drawing underdogs and nostalgia, and whimsy!
I love “underdogs!” Tell me more about underdogs.
Underdog stories are the kinds of stories that I love to illustrate. It bleeds over into my stationery work too, because I’m always drawing things that are not so popular in the zeitgeist. Well, besides cats—the cats are popular! But I draw a lot of capybaras and rats, and BUGS! The underdogs of the natural world, I suppose.
This was the third time I’ve ever interviewed anyone, and the very first interview that I conducted with someone who wasn’t my IRL friend lol. (Though Riley is NOW my IRL friend, so maybe this doesn’t count! 😆) I couldn’t ask for an easier interview than with Riley: WHAT A FUN CONVERSATION!! He is overflowing with energy and creativity, and his answers to my questions were always delightful and surprising!!
We start out talking about Riley’s career as a picture book illustrator and stationery maker, then we get into his Hobonichi A6, a journal through which he felt like he graduated from stationery newbie to veteran. We get to see pages from Riley’s Hobonichi — a stunning work of art in the hands of an immensely talented illustrator — and yet he was also able to impart a wide variety of smart, practical tips that anyone can use to improve their visual storytelling, even if drawing is not your profession.
Design notes: Riley went above and beyond for us on the interview, giving detailed feedback on transcript and design iterations, providing plenty of high-quality photos and even doing a few custom illustrations for the piece. I tried to make the design of the interview really feel like Riley, using his favorite colors and featuring his art wherever I could. I am so so proud of what we were able to produce together!! THANK YOU RILEY!!
🙂↕️ The godsend that is working with an editor, particularly when your editor is JM Boots!!
As our editor, JM doesn’t have one particular “article” in Pouch, but I wanted to make sure I spent time celebrating JM’s vast contributions to the issue behind the scenes!!
First I’ll share some backstory: Before making Pouch, I was a career software engineer with absolutely zero publishing experience. I’d been published a few times as a freelance writer, so I had worked with an editor in that capacity, but I had certainly never worked with an editor while being their editor-in-chief.
I knew my friend JM had been the managing editor for Antiques magazine, and originally I thought I’d ask her to be something like my “magazine mentor,” someone from whom I could ask for feedback when creating, say, submission criteria.
But when I approached JM about working on Pouch 3, I started by asking what she was creatively seeking at the moment. JM said she missed a lot of aspects of being an editor at Antiques, like working with authors directly and helping them shape their stories, and working with the editor-in-chief and helping their vision come to life. I was like, OMG, wait, that’s way more helpful and amazing than what I had in mind! I told JM I’d love for her to help with Pouch in that way, and I asked her what title made sense for that type of work. She said “editor” lol. So that’s how and why I got an editor!
And OH MY GOD:
Having an amazing editor IS A GODSEND
JM is an amazing editor
JM IS A GODSEND
Pouch is a small indie operation, so I won’t say that every magazine editor role looks like exactly what JM did on Pouch 3, but I can tell you how JM and I worked together on Pouch 3:
📝 Working with authors on drafts: Before working with JM, this is what I imagined an “editor” would do: Help authors with their drafts, both at a high-level (structure, flow, etc) and in the details (wording, grammar, etc). Certainly this is a big part of the role, and it’s super important and very helpful! JM and I met with authors together in the ideation and outlining phase, then authors would write their drafts. I would do a first pass of editing as I sketched how I would design the pages of the story. After that pass, JM would do the more detailed edit on the draft, focusing on flow, sentences, wording, and grammar. I would then take a final look as I refined the designs and updated them with the revised copy.
📖 Resource for authors: JM offered additional support for authors as they got into writing their articles. JM is also a librarian (!!) so she helped with things like fact-checking and research, as well as helping unstick people if they had trouble with anything as they worked on their drafts.
💭 Behind-the-scenes thought partner and problem-solver: Omg… this was the biggest thing I didn’t know I needed until I worked with JM!!! It is a little tricky to describe, but I’ll try my best to to get there —
There are so many moving parts in a magazine. There’s a massive checklist of things that need to come together to make Pouch happen at all. Working with others, you need to figure out a sensible process and communicate it clearly. You have to keep on top of everyone’s deadlines in addition to your own. In addition to the nuts-and-bolts logistics, you also want to be keeping a pulse on how the issue feels as you read it. And then there are the random little problems that come up, the dozens of tiny decisions to puzzle through. It’s the type of work that is often invisible because the deliverable isn’t always tangible, as opposed to, say, a draft of an article, the design of a layout, or a cover illustration.
Again, when I first imagined what it would mean to have an “editor” on Pouch, I mostly thought about having support on articles, the editing work I had exposure to as a freelance writer. But as editor-in-chief of an indie magazine, having another editor can mean having another person to help you manage the whole magazine! It’s a person you can collaborate with to figure out process and problem-solve when weird snafus come up. It’s someone who can go deep in the weeds with you, hand-wringing over a certain word or a color, AND zoom out way big picture, thinking about the issue holistically.
You can also ask your authors for help with this, and I frequently posted questions like this in our Discord for everyone’s feedback! BUT having someone else focused on the “meta” of magazine-making was a real gift. I didn’t know how much of this I was carrying in my own head until I had JM who could help me carry it!
I feel sooooooooooooo incredibly lucky that I got to work with JM as my editor!!! I did not realize what an important role it was lol, or how much trust is required between EIC and your-one-and-only-other-editor of your publication. You NEED to be able to communicate well together and you NEED to be working with someone who really gets what you’re trying to do with your magazine. I did not know any of this going in lol, so to have JM as my very first editor, who is EXCEPTIONAL at all of the above, was truly such a blessing!!! THANK YOU JM!!!
(Highly relevant side note: JM is currently available for part-time editor and/or magazine helper opportunities! Reach out to JM if you want to explore working together. Obviously I COULD NOT MORE HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER!! 💖)
Alright folks, I hope you enjoyed the tour through the team’s articles in Pouch Issue 3!! There is a lot more in Pouch 3 than what I covered today, and you can check out the table of contents for the issue + my letter from the editor on the Pouch Magazine website or on the Pouch 3 shop page.
Reminder again:
🎊 Come to the Pouch 3 Celebration next week Wednesday August 26th, if you’re in the area!
🎊 You can also order a copy of Pouch Issue 3 through the online store.
Thanks so much for reading and TALK AGAIN SOON!! 💞
I have some excuses!!! Analog Renaissance then Stationery Fest happened in quick succession after Pouch 3 release, both of which were WONDERFUL experiences, but the festival rollercoaster left me without the space I like to have to write my newsletters. In hindsight, I should have posted a quick announcement here right after launch, but I kept deluding myself into thinking, “but TOMORROW I’ll time to write a proper post!!” … and that tomorrow came roughly a month later lol. Sorry!!
The label font used (Impact Label) actually came from an idea by a contributor in Pouch Issue 2! Tammy used this font for her making labels in her journal spreads on page 18 of Pouch 2.
YAY ISSUE 3!!! It was such a fun collaborative experience working on Pouch as a team! So many kudos to you as EIC for your transparency, thoughtfulness, and inviting our input each step of the way. And JM is truly a miracle worker! I felt deeper trust and confidence in all of our pieces under her editorial stewardship 🫡 We shall party party next week!
I read through pouch #3 in one sitting and it was SO DELICIOUS!!! I've already implemented some of the ideas in my journal (yay for adding colour to monthly drawings!!) and it was so interesting to see how other journallers journal. I had so much fun reading Riley's journal tour!!!