Making things in Philadelphia in 2022
Experimenting, being a "designer" and a list of things I made and learned this year.
2022 was my first full year living in Philadelphia. Looking back, I can see that I’ve felt more free to make things here than in other cities.
Philadelphia doesn’t lack in beautiful things, wether it’s food, art or community. But despite its’ perks, it doesn’t take itself so seriously. It embraces being amateur, gritty and lovely at the same time. This is different than other cities I’ve lived in the past ( San Francisco, London, Zurich, New York), where competition and polish are top of mind.
The spirit of the city has been contagious. I feel more open to experimenting with new mediums, regardless of the outcome. Before I might have shied away from a medium like screen printing, because it wasn’t going to be at a pro level. But now, I feel comfortable just calling it an experiment.
Even my practice as a “designer” feels more experimental. Even though I’ve been working as a designer for the past 10+ years, I never really felt like that title applied to me. It’s always felt too neat, too precise, too euro-minimal. Making things as a “Designer” used to feel more like a burden than anything else. It carried a certain aesthetic or quality bar, specially as a designer in cities like London or Zurich. In Philly, the expectations feel more fluid. Here, I can imagine being a designer who makes space for experimentation, play and a little art-making too.
Maybe I’m just getting older and Philly is where it’s all coming together. Maybe a shorter way of saying this is that Philly is less intimidating.
Whatever it is, I’ve definitely gone outside of my comfort zone this year and it’s been a joy.
Here’s a few things I’ve dabbled in:
1. Screen printing
I took two screen printing classes this year: printing on paper and printing on fabric. Both were taken at the wonderful Fleisher Arts, a community art school In South Philly. I made a lot of bad t-shirts and some fun prints (pictured above). It was really calming to do something that involved a decent amount of planning, and a very careful hands-on process. I tend to be a bit hectic in my work, so this was a helpful forcing function for me to to slow down and be cleaner. While I won’t become an expert screen printer, I think I’ll try it again next year or find another practice that forces me to slow down.
2. Hats!
I got into designing and selling hats. I design the hats and work with women artisans in Ecuador (and my mom) to make them. Traditional craft preservation is something I’ve been interested in for a while, but never thought I could pursue. It’s given me space to think about what a “shop” is and can be, and of course what a “brand” is. But as the year has gone by, I realized I’m more interested in making a shop than a brand. A shop as a place to house objects that are interesting, handmade, and made by friends. Where things come and go, and the space (digital or physical) can feel alive. I’m very much inspired by Yowie, a Philly shop, as well as Laurel Schwult’s thoughts on a “gift shop”. It’s leading me to a place where I’d like to have an “Everywwwhere” shop. Where sometimes there’s hats, sometimes zines, sometimes apps, and maybe items from friends too. Maybe look for the new Everywwwhere online shop next year? If you have thoughts on what alternative forms of “shops” might take, I’d love to hear!
3. A map tool: Pam Pam
This fall, Carlo and I started making a map tool that we’re calling Pam Pam. It’s a tool that lets you create expressive and personal maps. You can use it to recommend places, create city guides, or itineraries. We’ve been interested in pursuing a joint side project this year, and tried different ideas, but this felt the most aligned to our mutual interests. It feels like a natural fit after working on wanderprompts together, tools like Coda, and Carlo’s work on maps at Google Maps and Meta. We’re excited about making it a real thing that people can use, but we’re also not hyper-focused on turning it into a company. Most important to us at the moment is to make something we’re proud of and to have fun with the process. We’re hoping to launch it next year, and in the meantime would love to show it to you: pampam.world
4. A video game
This summer I took a video class at SFPC with Lawra Clark and Blake Andrews. I made a game called “OMW!” . It’s about a bird who’s going somewhere, but doesn’t really want to get there. It was my first time making something with a game engine, and it was pretty fun although my game itself was maybe not as fun. For next year, I might release this game? Or I hope to continue learning about games and applying game like ideas and vibes to my other work (like Pam Pam!) If you have any games you think I might like, send them my way.
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about this Corita Kent quote that was shared with me during a class by Olivia Crandall at Index:
“With the simplest project, try and think of it as a contribution to the world and approach the making as children do–with great concentration and pride of craft. Don’t worry about embellishment or meaning—love each part of the process without judging some parts more important than others, and make it the best you can.”
― Corita Kent
I’m trying to bring this spirit into more things I make next year. Reminding myself to continue experimenting and playing, with lots of care and pride.
A few ending questions for you:
What did you experiment with this year?
Was there a hobby you took up where you absolutely loved the process even if the output was less than you hoped?
What’s something you’re looking forward to experimenting with with next year?
Is there a title (like “designer”, “artist”, “chef”) that you’d like to use for yourself but have second thoughts?