Hey, it’s been awhile. We’ve been taking a breather on IG for a bit, but we’re still active in your inbox (almost) every Sunday evening.
This week with we’re talking with @nixs96 , founder of the brand new @library.180 , which might be the best magazine library in the country.
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This week in V–Mail: Message In A Bottle 🍾
Unconventional communication recommendations for when you want to leave an element of expression to chance. A brief history of the MIB, an unexpected love story, and the internet’s most fun and focused links. All in your inbox.
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We’ll admit it. We’ve got love on the brain.
Valentine’s is right around the corner, and we’re blushing with anticipation of all things romance. So we dug through the archives to present to you a collection of gestures, gifts, and guides to serve as a lifeboat when you’ve got it bad.
This week in V–Mail: Crushes
Link in bio to tell your inbox I ❤️ U
This week in V–Mail: Hexagons 🐝
Believe it or not, we’re headed into the sixth week of 2025, a fitting moment to marvel at nature’s deep symmetries and miraculous geometries. Over 1,600 years ago, the Greek philosopher Pappus of Alexandria observed that bees possess “a certain geometrical forethought,” while entomologist William Kirby went so far as to call them “heaven-instructed mathematicians.” The bee’s preference for precise, interlocking structures isn’t just a marvel of efficiency—it’s a testament to the unseen logic shaping the world around us.
Link in bio to dive into our six-sided reflections, links, diy crafts, and cereal suggestions 🥣
Every passing car is a moving billboard. Bumper stickers are a vernacular source of safety and entertainment on the road. Long road trips and pedestrian peeks at parked cars are artifacts of tiny puzzles and declarations. Fleeting glimpses of personality, squeezed into seven or eight characters, invite us to decode, chuckle, and muse on the humans behind the wheel. Reminders that even amidst the blur of commutes and errands, there’s always space for creativity, wit, and audacity to make the mundane feel personal.
This week in V–Mail :: Vanity Plates
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This week in V–Mail?
Neon
We had the pleasure of chatting up the legendary @neonmikechicago . A real rock ‘n roller if you ask us. He learned the craft of neon from his uncle Ray, who went to the Cohen electrical school in Chicago in 1946. He learned the science of neon signs and how to bend glass. After watching him work, before he realized what he was getting himself into, Mike decided to join the business—and never turned back. He’s gone on to make signs for Wrigley Field, Harold’s Fried Chicken, Co-Prosperity Sphere, and more.
Link in bio to dig the full conversation ⚡️💡🔌🪫
When you close your eyes, there’s one item of clothing in which you can feel the most comfort. It’s a heat regulator, a sweat collector, a utility in its own right. If there’s anything worth making a uniform from, this is it ~ subtle elegance is the only move. They could ruin anything you wear and you won’t even realize it, and they somehow find a way to be pointed out as the most important thing.
This week in V–Mail: Socks 🧦
Link in bio to dabble in sockrilege
Easing our way back into our routines and rituals, we here at Varyer have been reflecting on the nature of the many ways we wrap ourselves in comfort, creativity, and disguise. The gentle embrace of what keeps us warm, the alluring fronts that set a tone, the familiar melodies given new voices—each one a way to reimagine or envelop.
Originality is a fool’s caper. Collages, remixes, reconstructions—we live in an age where everything touches everything else. We spent some time thinking about the verb to cover. What it means to cover ~both to obstruct and also to recreate~ through a number of mediums and disciplines.
Ft. @austinkleon , @makeitdairyfree , @publicdomainrev and more
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Oxford says beyond an organized belief system, a cult has to have something sinister or strange at play. But according to whom?
This week in V–Mail, we examined the spectrum of institutions which technically aren’t cults, especially when they feel the need to remind you they definitely aren’t. Featuring a testimony from @jeanmcate , owner of @orderandexperimentation , analysis from cult expert @butterzonre , and an “are you sure they’re not” game for free thinkers and truth seekers of all ages.
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Taking a break from our usual V–Mail format, it’s that time of year when we audit the last twelve months and share ten things that made each of our years.
This one has had its share of blows and challenges for us, as we’re sure it has for everyone. But sometimes taking a moment to focus on all that kicked-butt in a year helps to keep things in perspective and take the edge off.
If you’ve never made a top ten list for your year, it might make you feel grateful, and we recommend it.
Link in bio to relive the highlights with us 🎁
Here at Varyer HQ, we've always had a soft spot for the wabi sabi, for the outtakes, for the lost and forgotten studio session bonus tracks that were added in the deluxe box set for the 40th anniversary edition.
Finding compensation in every disappointment. Yesterday’s V-Mail was an ode to learning from heartbreak and celebrating that which has been abandoned on the cutting room floors of ad agencies, grocery chains, and patent offices around the world.
Link in bio to catch up and/or sign up (no worries if not!) 🔗
This week: Jelly 🪼
We kind of think about V—Mail as a landing pad to reset a healthy experience online, if you have but no choice to spend it there. Like a loud *snap* of the fingers in your face after being hypnotized by the algorithm. Once you find a clue inside that might bring you back to earth, go off, and we’ll see you next time. In two weeks! We’re talking the next one off.
And by the way—we’re thankful for YOU.
Link in bio for @butterzone ’s verdict on the best Jelly, an @aredotna board of jams, and a gateway to luxury 📫
