Hello everyone,

We’re almost at the end of the year and I feel like it’s a good time to send some reflections out. I want to spread this over two emails because I have one more major event - Tokyo Art Book Fair - and that will be a good place from which to maybe break down how well I met my goals, and share new ones for 2026.

When this year started, I thought of it as a ‘make or break’ year - in other words will I make enough money to keep going. Looking back, I think that framing was a bit naive and, actually, I think this year was in many ways paving the way for next year - which is the real make-or-break year.

I think I’ve shared this before, so apologies if it’s a tad repetitive, but in building up a business one either needs more money or more time. I’m not someone with a lot of money (nor did I want to get a business loan or anything like that) so time has always been the thing that will lead to growth. When I was working full time I couldn’t go to events or fairs to sell more books, but now that I can I need time to make more things and expand. I cannot just instantly double my sales, or bring fifteen new products to market (because I don’t have the money to do so) - therefore time is what I’ve needed to grow and what I’ve had lots of this year. Time to refine, time to improve, time to experiment.

With the 12 months of the year, here is what I see as the major milestones:

1. Vastly improved marketing, product presentation and web presence. This year I spent money on marketing - a lot of money - and it was necessary and paid off. The money I spent on marketing could have been 1-2 more books, or extra savings - but I’m glad I spent it because I finally have an online presence that matches the quality of the products I make. I have had numerous comments from peers, customers and friends noting how much better things look. A one-off investment that will suit us for 5+ years.

2. Acceptance at the most prestigious markets in the world. This year I’ve been able to go to Arles, New York Art Book Fair, LA Art Book Fair - was invited to TOKIO, was invited to Photo London (but will not go), and apart from my grudge with Melbourne Art Book Fair, I can say that the business has seen significantly more presence and acceptance in the commercial community.

3. Massive uptick in workshops. Perhaps the largest success, in terms of cash, was workshops. This year I really saw the workshops I teach fly. I think I taught something like 30-40 workshops, many of which were sold out, and I was also able to teach in Perth, Sydney and two Universities in Melbourne. The choice to pay for a studio paid off and workshops were perfect. In 2026, workshops will be one of the main things I spend a bit of business cash upgrading further, but not much.

4. Continued happiness. There’s always a question of ‘does taking on more responsibility in running your own business make you happier?’ - for me the answer is 100% yes. I have rarely been this consistently happy with work. I’m lucky that my life outside of work has almost always been really lovely, and I don’t take that for granted. However, work caused me a lot of stress between 2017-2024. Those seven years were really marked by numerous problems coming specifically from my work - from a time I was so stressed I had to wear a mouthguard at night to stop grinding my teeth, another year I was prescribed sleeping medication to sleep better, over those seven years I also had consistent patterns of depression - all of it came from the day job. None of it happens now. I do sometimes get a bit anxious about ‘ah shit some big printing bills are coming’ - nothing is perfect after all. But in general I can honestly say I’m happier, night-and-day.

5. Higher quality products. I think this is most obvious in the merch I put out this year. Compared to the first t-shirt I made, this new merch is 500000% better. To a much smaller extent that’s also true of books, though perhaps in ways people don’t notice - cleaner design, easier production - things that affect me. I can see each book, each piece of merch, each thing is getting better and better. I love that.

6. Sales uptick. I want to really reflect on sales in the last newsletter of the year, as I’ll have final figures for sales, etc. But just a quick note that orders, especially from stores, have gotten larger. What I mean is stores used to order say 5-7 books, and now those stores are ordering 10-15 books. I can see a slow-and-persistent expansion of these orders where, on average, the size of a sale to stores gets a few books larger each time. It’s a nice trend, though I’ve not quantified it yet.

I think those are the main big wins for the year - clear things that have been markedly better. But in a lot of ways you can see, as I can now, that this is still laying ground work for growth.

I thought that this year would be this big explosive year where I’d be seeing things fly off the shelves and would attain some really meaningful level of sales. And at times that has been true - we have one book with 80 pre-orders (HUGE), and our most recent book has sold quite well, yet at the same time putting out only three books this year just wasn’t enough for big income.

So why is 2026 a make-or-break year?

This is a choice. I could do 2026 like 2025 - working as a casual teacher, attending fairs, teaching workshops, putting out a few books. And that would be a good year. But it’s not the year I want. I want a year where, by the end, I feel like I can afford a few bigger things - a used car, a new couch - where I can more meaningfully contribute financially to my little family. Plodding along won’t get me there. I either need to see big growth, or go back to work.

Therefore, 2026 represents a bit of a milestone in that Tall Poppy Press is 5 years old in September and there’s a lot of big things coming up. If, at the end of the year, I’m still spinning my wheels income wise - sort of oscillating between being broke and being ok - then I think it’s time to go back to work.

You can see that money is the aim in 2026. I’ve done the upgrades, I’ve worked with new printers, I’ve optimised the shipping process, I’ve built the relationships with stores, festivals, friends and cities. The ground work is laid - how well will it pay off?

It’s a year of a LOT - here’s what’s in the works.

1. There will be SEVEN books published in 2026. If each of these sells between 25-50% of their print runs I’ll sell 1250 books. Of those seven three I am not paying 100% of the printing money for, so financial risks are a bit lower.

2. One of those books, one is my next book, Ten Eighty. I have two or three exhibitions lined up and am hoping to see a lot of the print run sold. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve released my own work.

3. I am running a book fair, hosting an award, am offering more workshops - so there are more ways for cash to come in, and more people to discover the business.

4. In August I am a paid featured artist at Photobook NZ, with flights and accommodation paid for. In 2024, Photobook NZ was our single biggest day of sales ever. In 2026 I’m hoping the same thing happens again.

5. Every single month, after January, there is something big happening. From new books, to fairs, to announcements, to events. The marketing will be pinging every month and we’re doing book fairs, pop ups, new books, talks, workshops, etc, etc, etc.

6. I am hoping that, with the baby coming, I can get paid parental leave from the Government to provide a bit of a cushion. I believe I qualify but we will see - Centrelink are notoriously kind of obnoxious.

With all those things on my side, if I get to the end of 2026 and the bank account is still looking a bit sparse then it’s time to admit ‘hey, I can’t do this full time’, and I’m so ok if that’s the case.

Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed mentioning money. It’s such a nebulous and tangible part of the business. It’s nebulous because it’s quite hard for me to keep track of how much I’m earning, and it’s tangible because, well, there’s a number in an account. But, you know what, despite all the slippery-ness of trying to plan and earn this is the challenge: earn enough to feel somewhat financially secure.

I was sort of able to do that in 2025.

I want to definitely clearly do that in 2026.

I think I have the ground work laid, so let’s see how we go :)

Matt