A few years ago Manual launched The Snail Mail Club as an experimental alternative to social media. Part art project, part direct-mail marketing; I wanted to explore what a post-social media world might look like for a small brand. I only ever shipped 3 mailings—it was not a resounding success—but I learned a lot from the experiment, so I’m relaunching in 2026.

For a few dollars per mailing, you’ll receive an envelope of printed ephemera that explores ideas around slowness. (The first mailing will include a new broadsheet poster we’ll be launching as a product at the end of the month!) New subscribers this month get in at $2 per quarterly mailing.

Some of the main things I learned from the pilot run that I’ll be doing differently this time:  

Don’t try to do it all. Trying to print and produce everything myself was just too much work to keep up with—I’ll be outsourcing the production work.
Charge a little money. Making it free meant a whole bunch of randos signed up, which made my list balloon to a size that was too large for me to handle sustainably. The whole reason it was free was to keep the relationship with the folks who regularly purchase my goods—but the new folks didn’t necessarily have that relationship with my work. Also a little bit of money helps keep me from procrastinating—I owe it to people to ship interesting work, not just advertisements.
Make it a subscription. I know we have too many subscriptions these days, but I had an incredible amount of returned mail from folks who moved—a massive waste of time and money on my end. With a proper subscription service, this time you’ll get an email to confirm your address a few weeks before each mailing, plus the option to cancel (but I hope you won’t because you like it so much). And for me: less time managing the list, more time making the art.
Keep it creative and loose. I was too concerned with fitting the exact “theme” and representing Manual’s brand. This time I’m going to make the things I’m personally compelled to make and share them. Simple.
Make it personal. Manual is just me, why act like it’s not a part of my creative practice? This means things like humor, absurdism, prototypes, hand-drawn ideas and even activism are fair game. Yes, I’ll be promoting the new stuff I’m making for Manual, but I can’t ignore the world around me—so it’s going to find its way into the Snail Mail Club.

If you’re still here reading—please go sign up! New subscribers this month get it at $2 per quarterly mailing for the life of the project.

See you on the other side of the screen.

Snail Mail Club

$2.00 every 3 months

The Snail Mail Club

For a few dollars per mailing, you’ll receive an envelope of printed ephemera that explores ideas around slowness. (The first mailing will include a new broadsheet poster we’ll be launching as a product at the end of the month!) New subscribers this month get in at $2 per quarterly mailing.

Some of the main things I learned from the pilot run that I’ll be doing differently this time:

Don’t try to do it all. Trying to print and produce everything myself was just too much work to keep up with—I’ll be outsourcing the production work.

Keep it creative and loose. I was too concerned with fitting the exact “theme” and representing Manual’s brand. This time I’m going to make the things I’m personally compelled to make and share them. Simple.

If you’re still here reading—please go sign up! New subscribers this month get it at $2 per quarterly mailing for the life of the project.

See you on the other side of the screen.