Glamorous tape photo shoot
/
I took way more photos of tape than I needed for "A Field Guide to Tape" but I was having too much fun!
Washi tape sources: Pretty Tape, Cute Tape, Omigaye
12: A Field Guide to Tape
/
Issue 12 has a fun article called "A Field Guide to Tape". Written by our youngest contributor so far, I met Beebee at last summer's Renegade fair in LA. I had been planning this article for a while, but after seeing Beebee's blog and zines, I thought she would do a nice job on the topic of tapes. She's quite an expert!
As editor, one of the exciting and fulfilling things about UPPERCASE is inviting people who have never been published before to contribute in one way or another. (It doesn't matter that you're not a "real" writer or "professional" artist—if you show passion and talent, that's all I need.)
The Genius of Pigeons
/National Geographic’s Brilliant Beasts series has an excellent episode on Pigeon Genius. Watch it and you’ll be guaranteed to develop a new appreciation for these creatures, from slow motion footage of their impressive wing patterns (their wingtips actually touch at the top and bottom of their beats), to the still hotly-contested theories about how they maintain such remarkable homing navigation.
One of the more fascinating elements is how their strong monogamous bonds play into their homing instincts. A racing pigeon will be removed from its nest and partner for a few days prior to the race, then reintroduced to its beloved just before being taken away to race. This, in theory, gives it the maximum motivation to get home in a hurry.
Here's the first of four parts of the program; you can find all of them on Youtube.
Pigeon and Peregrines
/Pigeons have the misfortune of being prominent on more than one foodchain. They are plentiful, predictable, and relatively meaty, a fact that made them one of the earliest animals that humans bred for food, going back at least to the Roman Empire.
But a more interesting relationship that the pigeon has is with the Peregrine Falcon, a predator-prey relationship that has played out in some interesting ways. Pigeon communications reached their pinnacle during both world wars, with one heroic bird delivering crucial correspondence despite an injury, and becoming the only bird to be awarded a military honour. Less famous was the peregrine falcon’s role during the war: they were the perfect weapon for intercepting pigeon-posted correspondence. The predator/prey relationship was played out once again, but this time with a keen human interest in the outcome.
The relationship between these two birds has taken another interesting turn in recent years. Peregrine falcons were especially hard-hit by DDT pesticides in the middle of the 20th century, and in some parts of Europe and North America, the wild population completely vanished. But through an extensive captive breeding and reintroduction program, the falcon is making a comeback, and finding a new home in many urban environments. Skyscraper ledges approximate the cliffs where the falcons like to nest, and urban environments provide an endless supply of the falcon’s favorite meal, the pigeon.
Unfortunately, this means that not even domesticated pigeons are safe, and when several falcons were shot in LA in the late 1980s, pigeon fanciers were among the chief suspects. Like I said: even pigeon-fancying has a dark side.
Pigeon Fancying
/Pigeon keeping has become an increasingly gentrified pursuit, and recently the most expensive pigeon ever was recently sold at auction for nearly $275,000 to a Chinese shipping magnate. The sale represents the rapidly-growing popularity of pigeon-racing in China; a fact that is underscored by accusations from Belgian pigeon breeders that the Chinese mafia is kidnapping pigeons, killing them, removing their identification bands, putting them on less-distinguished pigeons, and reselling them. Yes, even pigeon-fancying has a dark side!
Recent pigeon fanciers include celebrities from Queen Elizabeth II to Pablo Picasso to Mike Tyson, but one of the more curious men to befriend the creatures was enigmatic inventor Nikolai Tesla. Though not a fancier in the conventional sense, in his later years in New York, he spent a great deal of time feeding pigeons in central park with special birdseed, and occasionally brought an injured bird back to his room in the New Yorker hotel to nurse it back to health.
Tesla had one particular favorite, a white female pigeon with light-grey wingtips. Its death in 1922 greatly affected Tesla, and he said later that this was the moment he knew his life’s work was finished.
A pigeon by any other name
/The pigeon, overall, gets a bit of a bad rap in terms of its symbolism. For a long time, it’s been linked to disease and referred to as a rat with wings, an undeserved reputation. It also has a reputation of not-so-great intelligence.
Yet when one thinks of a dove, the connotations are completely different: purity, peace, and hope are the traditional values associated with the dove. In truth, pigeon and dove are almost interchangeable labels; all are members of the same Columbidae family, and while smaller species are often called doves and larger ones pigeons, there are no hard rules. The rock pigeon can be just as correctly called a rock dove, and would probably have a far better reputation were this its common label.
One can imagine a Mad Men-esque 1950s meeting where a new soap brand - Dove - is presented: some junior employee raises his hand and says "isn't that just another name for a pigeon?" The client frowns. The meeting is over. The junior employee is given the afternoon to clean out his desk. The scene ends on a shot of the young man exiting the building, few possessions in his hands, as pigeons -- both white and grey -- peck at crumbs in the foreground.
One of our favorite uses of pigeons as symbols comes from the Calgary Cultural District and UPPERCASE favorite Byron Eggenschwiler.
Pigeon Posts
/Starting today, Thursdays here on the UPPERCASE blog will be about providing some context - often scientific or historical - about different topics covered in the magazine. Today, the subject is Issue 12's cover star, the pigeon. No doubt you've already seen Anne Smith's lovely cover with its pigeon-toting camera. But that's not all the pigeon content in the issue: Karen Horton also shares some lovely pigeon-themed stamps.
issue 12: Sevenspoons
/
Tara O'Brady has been a long-term contributor to UPPERCASE, sharing her gorgeous photography with her excellent prose for our Kitchen and Recipe column. In the current issue #12, Tara writes about a tasty culinary adventure to Louisville, Kentucky. Tara emailed this week to share this fun news: "Zagat named Louisville as the 3rd best food travel destination in the world. I thought it was nice that we scooped them," she emailed. "Michael Paley, the chef from Proof on Main was also just featured in the last Bon Appetit. Scooped them too!"
Tara also contributes to Kinfolk magazine.
Fiona Richards of Cartolina
/
I would also like to thank Erin for her excellent columns in UPPERCASE. She has a new addition on the way and has wisely decided to cut back on her workload, so she'll be on hiatus from contributing to UPPERCASE for a little while. (I regret not taking real time off from work when I had my baby. Instead I worked harder than ever. So I commend Erin for her decision.) Erin recommended the excellent Adrienne Breaux to continue the "Beginnings" column and I'm looking forward to Adrienne's contribution to issue #13.
Weekend Reading
/
Big news: UPPERCASE available at Anthropologie!
/
Anthropologie + UPPERCASE is a dream combination. As a long-time enthusiast of Anthropologie's curated products and beautifully styled stores, I've always imagined my magazine and books as part of their selection of reading material. And now, you can visit an Anthropologie in North America and purchase UPPERCASE (and other indie publications like Kinfolk and Anthology, too!)
Since I do all the distribution and subscriptions myself, it has been difficult to get the magazine out to a greater population. (And from the beginning we have not been part of traditional newsstand distribution since it is very wasteful.) Very happily, UPPERCASE has been available through independent retailers around the world—shops with small staff who take the time to order individual things. A large company like Anthropologie's willingness to work with small makers like myself is what makes Anthropologie such a desirable place. Each shop has its own feel, its own unique displays and local sensibilities... but all very much within the overall brand quality.
So now with UPPERCASE on its shelves, there's one more reason to do something that we already love to do: shop at Anthropologie! And for those of you in areas that don't have stockists, the geographic availability of the magazine has increased substantially! Check the store locator to find a location near you. (The magazine might still be in transit to some destinations; if they don't have it yet, please inquire to make sure that the magazine is ordered to that particular store location.) You can also purchase the magazine through their online store!
Send me a twitter or instagram pic of the magazine in your local store! @uppercasemag
Featured Stockist: Paperchase, London!
/
The reason that Paperchase is exciting is the huge potential if they decide to expand magazines to other locations. Their list of stores in the UK alone is astounding. It is a small foot in one door, which will hopefully lead to many more. UPPERCASE does not have a distributor—I do it all myself, so having a few larger chains willing to take a chance is fantastic since I would ship to one central location and they would take care of sending it on to their shops. (I have an exciting announcement about a new stockist, stay tuned over the next couple weeks!!!)
I love my loyal and long-term UK stockists, too:
Pedlars
Here Gallery
Much Ado Books
These are all excellent independent stores and these shops and I appreciate your patronage there as well.
issue 12: Tonja Torgerson
/
Issue 12's major theme is "creative adventure". Obviously a broad theme and open to interpretation, a creative adventure can be as extensive as a trip to a foreign land, embarking on a new area of study or simply looking at your immediate surroundings in a new way.
Artist Tonja Torgerson's creative adventure was an artist's residency on the Fogo Islands. I receive her email newsletters and this is how I found out about her creative adventure. I asked her to write a recap about the experience. You can read the full article in the current issue and browse her blog to read her posts from the residency.
Doin' the Pigeon
/Bert should really be a guest curator for UPPERCASE. First we featured his bottlecap collection, and now pigeons!
Issue 12!
/
Yes, it's true! UPPERCASE #12 is out and about. Thanks to quick couriers, it is very likely at all of our North American stockists by now. Subscriber copies are in the mail — you'll have to wait a bit longer for the mail to arrive, but for those of you who were active subscribers as of January 4, you will receive a special bonus insert:
This letterpressed piece is on paper handmade by Porridge Papers in Lincoln, Nebraska.
In addition to being specially made for UPPERCASE, this paper is embedded with wildflower seeds so you can plant it and watch it grow! Thank you to Christopher James and the crew at Porridge Papers for making this possible. Thank you to the fine photographers Josh and Aubrey Leeker, for suggesting Porridge Papers as a topic and for doing a great job documenting the process. I'll be posting a photography gallery of the article soon.
*please note that the insert was placed in those subscriptions still valid or renewed as of January 4.
Issue #12 cover reveal
/
Here's the cover for Issue #12 (out in January) illustrated by Anne Smith!
Sign up for the e-newsletter for specials...
/I send out an email newsletter every so often... (like right now!) it contains specials and discounts not shown here on the website or on twitter. I invite you to sign up and see what is happening behind the scenes...
I usually preview the next cover to the e-newsletter list first! I should have a new cover, illustrated by Anne Smith, ready to show you soon!
Cartolina Postale
/
Fiona Richards at Cartolina has done it again! Another beautiful iPhone app... but this time it combines print: you download the free app and the include your photography on Cartolina-designed postcard templates... a few days later and, voila! your postcard arrives by mail to its destination (you just pay per use). Check out Cartolina Postale and send your friends and family a photo postcard.
Look for an article about Fiona and her creative business, written by Erin Loechner, in the next issue of UPPERCASE! (#12, January)
Participate: share your story of creative adventure
/Hearing from our readers and subscribers is always inspiring. For issue #12, I'm collecting stories of creative adventure... Did you quit your day job to start a creative business? Did you go on a sketching or photography odyssey? Did you travel to far off lands to pursue an artistic dream? Did you uproot your family for a year on the road? Please share your unique story by filling in the form here.
Trend: Maps (Call for submissions)
/
Do you use maps in a creative way? Are they an integral and graphic part of your products or artwork? Whether vintage or modern, factual or whimsical, we welcome your submission for a feature about map trends. Files should be at least 4 inches wide at 300dpi. Please follow the upload instructions here. Submission deadline November 15.
