The new issue of DESK is out, and we’ll have a miniparty in Phnom Penh for you to pick up your copy. Be a part of the converstaions to make, make together, and make things that showcase what we care about. No ads in DESK, it’s all supported by donations and subscriptions.
Our next party is Sunday, 25 October in Phnom Penh. We’ll meet at 11am and 7pm, you can choose your time, and location will be shared based on your selection. To ask us about that, here is the event info.
Why make a magazine?
You can listen to the fun, light interview, ‘Making a Magazine’, we did for a series called Publishing through the Decades, for S P A C E when I was making that and trying out my hand at podcasting. soundcloud.com/designkompany
Being someone who worked in newspapers for four years and also was a contributor to tons of small, community-oriented non-mainstream publictions ever since the 90s, I really care about making a space for others to write what they wish and share their personal viewpoints. That’s why I edit Art & Copy for our Cojournal – Art & Copy Zine Club. Thanks to quality conversations there, and subscription-based participation, I feel very proud and lucky to be able to make this series with the guests who are there. Their work is here: kismuth.com/zineclub2026
PAPER IS NICE. This all informs, in some way, how DESK got started, this past March. Publishers around the world, including our humble outfit here at DESK, love to see things get finished, and delivered into the big, wide world. It’s one of the coolest parts about making things, seeing them received by people. Held, responded to. Picked up. That’s why we will host the next miniparties in a set of real life, multiple events to be co-hosted with teammates in their cities. Want to host something? Join DESK through the info links below to get to know us by participating, and we can take it from there.
Or show up for something in person. This way, you get to see what DESK is, when you come to those miniparties.
Miniparties around the world
Starting in September, we’ll host these in person and virtually–miniparties–on the fourth Sunday of the month.
The way it works is: get to know us by reading our website or following our socials, see if you find resonance, see if you want to be part of things. Either by participating in a meetup, or reading our magazine, or even co-creating it with us.
If any of those things would be of interest to you, what we’ll do is invite you to be part of something–a virtual or real life ‘miniparty’, and you can ask questions and we can see if DESK is a fit for you.
How it began
DESK started this spring, after several titles that we used to make including S P A C E the Zine (2017-2024) and Art & Copy (2025-present). It’s a way for us to connect you and others in meaningful ways, but in very small circles that start virtually but may pop out into real life. The three-D world is where rich exchanges can take place, we feel.
But it’s a time in human history, too, that such openness and readiness to try new things might be… alien. This is a world that is digital-first, and digital isn’t trustworthy. So we have to get to know each other, and build that rapport, and see what’s what, so it’s not only safe for our guests but enjoyable, meaningful, and connective in the exact ways that are right for our community and for you, too.
How to be part of our international zine clubs
Be a part of DESK conversations if you value quality, conversation, depth, significance, and getting together over time with the same people. Stammtisch is a similar idea, and so is ‘the third place.’ Only, we meet through these virtual and real life occasions with a small side goal, to co-create a ‘zine.’ And share it with the people who come to the next ones, so there’s a continued dialogue that extends past the moment of being there, in person, or virtually now, whichever works.
Start a conversation…
Telegram @makezines
Signal ‘Make Zines’ info group
Email through our contact form
Join our next miniparty for DESK…
Here is the event info.