Hyperlocal Durham

One of my patrons is getting married today! A few weeks ago, @kaceylace messaged me on Patreon that she wanted to provide her wedding guests with a Hyperlocal zine and was wondering if I had a generalized guide. Ironically, despite creating dozens of hyperspecific zines about Durham, drawing over 100 of Durham’s historic structures, countless hours of research on the city’s local ecology, history, contemporary culture, etc. - no, I didn’t! Compiling these works into an orientation zine has been a backburner project of mine for ages, so this gave me the push to finally do it! We even put some personal touches on it highlighting some of Kacey and her (as of today!) husband Evan’s favorite spots in Durham and recs for their guests. Congrats to them again and I’m honored to have been a small part of their special day. A general version of this zine will be released in the @hyperlocaldurham vending machine next month. But I would love to do more personalized and customizable works like this, so stay tuned and, as always, reach out! (Background image in first carousel slide is one of my many still unfinished paintings 😵‍💫)

Friendly reminder that all of Hyperlocal’s passports are FREE, fun, co-created with local community partners, and open-source - you can download copies of all the passport zines we’ve created over the years on the website and print them at home. Thank you to the all the organizations in Durham that have partnered with Hyperlocal over the years to develop self-guided tours and passport-style zines: @downtowndurham - our champions ❤️ We’ve done both a @thirdfridaydurham AND a Shop Small Holiday passport with them - they often have copies of the passports at their events! @preservationdurham - a collaborative zine that acts as companion guide to their Durham Queer History Tour - copies on their website and at events - sponsored by @dukehumanrightscenter @durhamnc - sponsored the Adventure Guide zine as part of the Love Durham campaign this year The Original Durham Coffee Passport - fully made in-house and launched in partnership with our friends in the coffee scene back in 2023! REMEMBER: We do not have to choose between depth and delight! We deserve things that are engaging, beautiful, rigorously researched, and accessible to all.

Every creator’s least favorite chore is making content ABOUT your content, so I figured I could make it at least useful for myself by doing some kind of post-mortem style commentary on my best and worst-sellers. Experimentation is an important part of the formula and thankfully one I enjoy! It is both humbling and rewarding to see what resonates with folks and what doesn’t. So other updates for the real ones who read my infodumps: We have two new creators in the @hyperlocaldurham vending machine - @pintamar_ and @leitner_studios , whose works about Durham are already stocked and features will be coming shortly! (Later in the summer, we’ll have some other collaborations with @researchcartoonist and @meredithbshell 👀 which I am ridiculously excited about it, so stay tuned!) There’s also now a page on the website dedicated to creator bios for contributors to the vending machine - hard to believe there are over a dozen now! I’ve been having conversations with folks across the country - as close as Asheville and Charlottesville to as far as Seattle and Denver (where I’m from!) about Hyperlocal, which has been simultaneously overwhelming and invigorating. I am trying to take it all in stride, with intention always and slowness when possible. One thing I will soft launch is that Hyperlocal will be HIRING so keep an eye on @hyperlocaldispatch for news in that regard.

Y’all make sure you get yourselves out to @bikedurham ’s annual bike stampede tomorrow! Last year there were over 170 riders and this year there are even more already registered. Link in bio if you want to sign up! There’s no better way to live that hyperlocal lifestyle than by getting around on your own two feet or two wheels. (And, in fact, Hyperlocal started as a zine subscription that was hand-delivered by bike by @hyper_isms back in 2023!) So this month we’ve got an updated and revamped version of the classic Hyperlocal zine on riding bikes in Durham, which now features spiciness meters for different local bike rides, resources, shops, tips on places to ride (and where NOT to ride), and more. along with the zines, there will be some free registration stickers provided by @bikeindex to help prevent bike theft! We’ll be rolling out so more special stuff for Bike Month this year so stayed tuned! 🚲

Went to see my coloring pages IN the machine after yoga today :,) There’s 3 coloring page designs all featuring free and relatively affordable things to explore/enjoy Durham ✨ 📍 @durhamfoodhall , look for the Hyperlocal Vending Machine (in front of Liturgy) And speaking of free things to do, @youcallthisyoga hosts free sessions Tuesdays at the park! Check them out for info! #thingstododurham #durhamnc

Presenting certifiable nerds @henlo_jessica and @jackie.games - the creators behind @girlypopmagic who are making Magic: the Gathering more inclusive, with a Durham twist! Go get yr bundle from the machine and tap your new Durham land card for some mana at the next local girly pop magic session!!

Sharing a little more about the collab with @durham.urban.garden this month - they have a workday coming up so go check out the page if you want to do some gardening downtown! You can learn more about urban gardening in Durham and neighborhood community gardens with the zines in the vending machine. (There’s also now an in-depth interview with the creator of DUG on the Patreon if you really want to go down the rabbit hole. 🍅🐇)

You may have noticed this addition to the vending machine: the community zine box! 📮 We now have Zinemaking Starter Kits in the machine you can use to make zines on the fly and submit them back into the machine for circulation in a new community zine slot - stay tuned!

Mail club slayed this month. Patrons check your mailboxes or pick up your copies from @thedailydurham ! You can also find copies of these bad boys and some other Hyperlocal Durham exclusives, including @durham.urban.garden seed packets, in the vending machine at the @durhamfoodhall 🌻

Fun fact, I did some of my own guerrilla gardening with some friends in a neglected alley in Durham once. It didn’t go well - the City removed it lol. That’s what inspired the zines this month - both Hyperfixations and the @hyperlocaldurham dispatch - which are out now. Head over to the Hyperisms Patreon to get the full scoop or snag a copy from the vending machine in the Food Hall!

Just restocked a seasonal favorite! The Durham in Bloom zine is packed with info on Durham’s greenspaces and native flora you’ll see around town, featuring this bonus map of the @sarahpdukegardens 🌸🌷🌻

So excited for April’s rollout! Stay tuned ✌️ Working on some fun stuff with @durham.urban.garden and @hyper_isms