A post-event postcard
Meeting new faces in familiar spaces
I’m refraining from using exclamation marks and a pool of emojis. But rest assured I’m still buzzing from last Sunday’s micro launch event at Rimbun Dahan.
If you’re new here, welcome. You’re just in time. Every Tuesday, I send out a postcard containing soundbites (sometimes literal; often metaphorical) from the makeshift desk as I run Plates magazine solo. Contents will vary. From a new edible plant I’m trying to keep alive to off-cuts from storygathering trips; a postcard from the editing cave to the craft table.
It was such a delight to put faces to familiar postal names on Sunday. Thank you for making the time (and the trip!) to show up at the living seed bank. I wanted the micro event to be a space for serendipitous and ephemeral encounters in nature (I certainly felt that and hope you did too).
Thank you for the engaging conversations, words of encouragement, shared enthusiasm and curiosity. If you gained something from the experience, I hope you bring those observations and questions to your own tables. Share them with your friends and consider telling them about Plates, which thrives solely on word of mouth.
P/S If any of you happened to take any photos/videos, be it of the studio or the talk, please feel free to share them with me by replying to this email (a WeTransfer or DropBox link would be superb). One of the pitfalls of attempting to #DIYeverything with the assumption there would be downtime during the day meant I didn’t get the chance to e̶a̶t̶ take photos/videos, which, in a way, is a good indicator of the day’s flow.
P/P/S If you missed out on any of the issues (Rice, Durian, Water or Seeds) on Sunday, they are available on the Plates webstore (ships internationally!), where I manage and process all orders. If you’re based in Malaysia and pop a note in the gift message section (just remember to mention Rimbun Dahan, so I look out for you), I’ll be sure to handwrite a personal note to you.
A final aside, to the earliest ones at the table (abroad and outside of the district), you were certainly missed. Know that without your curiosity for alternative narratives and generosity to create space for Plates, Vol.1: Rice, there wouldn’t have been a Vol.4: Seeds to launch on Sunday. Thank you for daring to go against the grain.
This week, I’m
working on: compiling a document for an upcoming (closed) event
reading: The New Yorker, Sep 6, 2021 (food and drink archive issue)
Plates is an independent print magazine that uses food as a conversation starter and offers alternatives to mainstream food culture narratives. If you enjoyed reading this postcard, feel free to forward it to a friend; leave a comment; or, if you’ve been meaning to, but haven’t quite gotten around to it, grab a plate and introduce yourself here. Sporadic, but intentional, updates on IG@platesmagazine. Thanks for being here. See you next week.