Pocket Mail: March Issue!🖌

Hi everyone, 

Happy March! :-) Welcome back to the second edition of our little monthly newsletter, sharing some LPP updates and stories from our lives! In recent days we’ve been spotting lots of hawks migrating back and robins looking for worms in the dirt… it feels like spring is on its way and things are waking up a little 🌼

There were a lot of snowy days in February, so we were very happy to get our fill of winter until it’s gone for the year. After some pretty frigid temps this month we’re ready for some spring ephemerals and longer days ahead. We hope everyone has had a sweet month so far! We’ve been working hard behind the scenes as we tend to do over here (we are not the best at social media… but rest assured we have a lot of fun things coming), and we have a few updates this month to share!

Our first show of the year MoCCAfest is coming up on March 15 - 16 in NYC, see you there! Our table number is 120. Here’s the map so you can find us (please come and say hi!): 

We’ll have reprinted copies of Junk Drawer and Death Bloom,  plus Knapsack Mag Volume 1 (new to this year’s MoCCA!). We have some test prints of Basket pages we will bring too, so while we won’t have the book just yet, just ask us to see the pages if you stop by the table!

Some really big news! We’re excited to announce the second volume of Knapsack Magazine!!! This volume’s theme word is “Butter,” and is inspired by cooking, baking, and food- a personal favorite of ours (because we love to cook and eat good food). We’ve been so excited to show everyone what our artists have been working on, so stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks <3 We’re planning to launch our Kickstarter campaign within the next month, and we’ll be sending out a separate newsletter with more info when that’s set to launch!

This volume is gonna be printed in tomato red-orange and lettuce green. We thought these colors were pretty funky and unique (we especially love the browns that the two inks create).

Here’s a sneak preview for you guys of some cool illustrations from the volume. Do you recognize the artists? 👁️

As Knapsack is inspired by the manga we read growing up, we’re fondly remembering Kitchen Princess and we’re using Sara’s old volumes as inspiration for book design for this volume, lol. Did anyone else read this…. Do you remember the Madagascar vanilla beans…..?

Our printer has been working on Basket, and we’re pumped to get them in the mail! We’re still hoping to get them to backers by June but will keep you posted. New tariffs have been a bit of an issue for us and we’re unexpectedly paying a lot more on taxes on these books, which sucks a bunch, but we’re making do. Thank you everyone who backed our campaign and filled out the surveys. We’re working on riso printing the rewards for backers and are hoping to get these in your hands soon!!

February started with a lot of snow, Valentine’s day, and the Superbowl (which we forgot was happening) so we hosted a little hotpot gathering at Steph’s place with our friends! Before we had dinner we went sledding at a nearby park with a perfect little hill; we were finally able to break out a pair of sleds we’ve had since we lived together in Baltimore. Playing around in the snow is so timeless, even though it was just us and a bunch of little kids. Later in the month we took a little trip further north! We went to a ski resort in New Hampshire and watched Johnny Tsunami afterwards (and made MORE hotpot).

We also went up to Portland, Maine to check it out since we’ve never been. The star of the trip was Onggi, a Korean-American owned café and market that specializes in fermented foods and has reallyyy good warm beverages. Everything was SOOOOO delicious, please do check it out if you’re in the area! Our orders: a maple miso latte for Sara and a shiso shrub apple cider for Steph. Next door is Washington baths, a really nice gender inclusive sauna we loved (their tangelos were amazing after a bath), and a little further than that on Washington Ave is Portland Pottery (Steph was dreaming about accessible ceramics spaces, lol). All amazing places to visit if you’re in the area! Pickwick press is also a really cool community print shop we stopped by in downtown Portland.  Community spaces are so vital and we’re glad Portland has them. We’re dreaming of going back soon! 

Thank you so much for being a part of our community and keeping up with what we do, we hope you enjoyed our little newsletter! We’re spending the rest of the week looking for snowdrops, one of our favorite winter flowers. Take care everyone, and enjoy the spring warmth. 

Love, 

Sara, Steph, & Pocket

Eating / Drinking:

Sara: All I do is roast vegetables lately. Been baking with buckwheat. I’m drawn towards more simple foods right now… Drinking some deep & sweet rock teas.

Steph: Filipino corn & cheese flavored ice cream on top of a warm sweet potato… we’ve been quite obsessed with sweet potato sundaes since last month.  Drank a delicious Bai cha gifted by our wonderful friend T! 

Watching / Reading / Playing / Listening to:

Sara: I’m on the last book of War & Peace and I still don’t want it to end!!! I’ve been sewing and doing embroidery for enjoyment too. Me and Steph went to a screening of Obayashi’s His Motorcycle Her Island and I fell in love with his dreamy style & treatment of color. Also recommend The Girl Who Conquered Time by him. Really inspirational works in style & execution (plus the soundtracks are too good)

Steph: I’m rewatching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood because I don’t remember much and it really is one of the best of the best…! I’m halfway through the Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin.