artefatica

I’ve been toying with this idea for a while so better blog it. Wanting to make beautiful but simple newspapers from local blogs. (Well, from the ones who are kind enough to contribute to the commons by publishing open.) They’d be well-designed and printed on cheap newsprint. There would be a nice contradiction between the simple, elegant layout and the flimsy, disposable paper. Each month, we’d choose the best French and English blogs and microblogs. We’d develop an automated process to transfer then into a template, arrange the texts around a bit to account for posts of different lengths, and maybe pop in a few visuals and a list of upcoming events (again, from a web form or a template). Bingo! Done. We could all pitch in to drop them off around the community. Station C could be the pickup location.

I told Bruno about this idea today and he sent me this and this. Exactly what I’m thinking.

Ben Terrett: Things Our Friends Have Written On The Internet 2008

I want this to be Artefatica Project Two. An ongoing project. We have such amazing thinkers here. It’s a vibrant, exciting community. We are creating and I want it in print. And face it: Nothing beats sitting across from your lover in the morning drinking coffee, each quietly reading your own thing, no need to talk. The whole breakfast-lover thing just doesn’t work with a laptop. Oh yeah — and there’s also getting great writing to all of our non-techy neighbors and the serendipity offered by a newspaper’s physicality. What’s that written there? Under your puppy and wet with pee? Wrapped around a wineglass from your last move? But enough: I’m sticking with the lover image ;)

The only thing stopping me? Cash money. Yep. So… if you are an innovative Montreal business and want your brand associated with leading thinkers and good design get in touch and we can work out the numbers. (Think BMW supporting TED.) It would be a labour of love: Aretefatica will contribute the time to manage production, a talented designer will get an awesome gig, a local printer will get new business, coffeshop owners will experience an increase in sales, bloggers will get published, you’ll hear people in the streets talking about real stuff happening in our community. Everyone wins. What say you?

UPDATE, FEBRUARY 6, 2009
Holy shit, look at this: Pie Paper
From New Zealand. Beautiful.

UPDATE, MARCH 6, 2009
Getting organized. Starting to collect blogs. Thinking now will combine local, national, international.