DESIGN KOMPANY and friends in *Update: HANOI* will host 'The State of Publishing' on one night only, in *update February*.

SIX YEARS AGO, IN DURHAM, NC, DK and bloggers, editors, photographers, and writers gathered at Mercury Studio for a short, packed, nonlinear and very frank conversation about the state of publishing. Some of the outtakes informed how DK evolved into the zinemaking atelier that we are today. It's remarkable to note that we still have the honest, real, and relevant conversation notes: they still hold, today. I've been going through this right now, as we look at our archives and get rid of most things that are no longer part of what we are doing here at this studio, but wow. "The conversation salon, 'The State of Publishing,' was, by far, one of my favorites," says The State of Publishing's host, Dipika Kohli.

'Maybe because I worked in newspapers before DK. Or because I love community publishing. Or because it's become clearer to me that my job is to continue to do this: to make space (ie S P A C E) for a conversation that stretched across the different disciplines, and even connected some people who never had met but who had lived in Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill for decades, was great. I want to thank some of the people who were there, that night: Laura Ritchie, a curator, who was one of the most supportive of DK's projects in Raleigh-Durham NC; Michael Faber, a designer who also came out to many of our meet ups to see what we were doing and share what he was up as well; Clarion Content's editor Aaron Mandel, who gave us shout-outs sometimes when we least expected them, theIndependent Weekly's then editor Lisa Sorg for showing and and lending the voice of that paper; and Paul Deblinger for telling me to go and read R. Pirsig's ZAMM (and insisting, and that, in the end, led to the things that came from there: journeying, the road, adventures, the rest).'

S P A C E M A K I N G. Disparate voices convening in the forerunner of what's now S P A C E: that was the point of it. That was the goal. Getting together to learn from one another. Be inspired. Share. The actual learnings, in real life, where it's not packaged into things that go out as blips into social media feeds. Instead, it's a conversation. Lately, reading and learning about how to design for the aesthetic moment. More ahead, if you are part of this online conversation that we are getting going now, in small circles, in our eZine and its attendant forums, S P A C E. More here.

DK: 'Inspired by the things that are popping up now as we review our past works in salon making and the outcomes that came from those, I'm interested in convening more people gain for a conversation about publishing today. This time it's 2019. This time it's not Durham NC but Phnom Penh. I'm looking for people to co-host this with. Are you curious? Get in touch. This is the beginning. Let's converse. Let's play. I'll personally be there to host this event. Ask me anything about vector art and image trace: I'm lately getting super into these things. Design. Zines. DIY-style publishing. Is this of interest? Let's find out.'

RSVP…

RSVP to make sure you have a spot. Limited seats. Advance bookings only.

To RSVP, get a ticket here.

Or, to connect personally, contact DK through the form at this page.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DK’S SALONS…

Processed Identity | GOOD | ThisBigCity

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Photo: Design Kompany