After several months of planning and assembly I’m pleased to announce the release of Capsule 01, a collection of art from some of my favourite international image makers and the first in a series of Multilink related print projects…
Let me begin by making it clear that the Capsule series is in no way intended as a replacement for the online magazine (which is still due to return in the near future), serving instead as a physical extension with it’s own functionality and agenda in line with the nature of the format. To explain a little further…
Since publishing the first digital issue of Multilink Magazine people have often enquired about a print version and expressed an interest in getting their hands on the featured artwork in a more tangible format. There’s a number of reasons why the magazine has always made more sense to me in a digital format both in terms of production and distribution as well as the flexibility needed to accommodate the diversity of what’s been featured in each issue. That’s not to say I don’t fully appreciate the desire to interact with content away from the computer sometimes. There’s so much to soak up online that it’s often hard to really give things the level of attention they deserve and regardless of what quality monitor you use it never really feels the same as leafing through well printed pages on a nice weighty paper stock.
Multilink Magazine has always been a purposely chaotic mixture of people and ideas across as wide a variety of disciplines as possible. The idea is to celebrate the diversity of creativity while at the same time trying to highlight the common fundamentals involved. This has meant issues of various sizes are released at irregular intervals, one of many logistical considerations that alongside the fluid nature of the content in each issue really doesn’t sit too well with the kind of unavoidable financial model required to produce and distribute a project in print.
Capsule has been conceived as a high quality and collectible series of art books and prints that span the same diversity of visual culture found in the free online magazine without the editorial. Many of the same principles remain in place such as the variety of content and desire to elevate some incredible talents, generally operating beneath the popular radar. But where the online magazine is a platform for all kinds of creative endeavours, these books and prints provide a more focussed catalog of art and illustration. High production standards have been a key consideration and considering what we’ve achieved with the magazine in it’s ‘virtual’ environment I’ve been keen to ensure that the physical quality of the end product justifies the move to a manufactured format. On a similar note, I’m happy to say that we’ve kept tightly in line with all FSC standards, using environmentally sound inks and paper from well managed forests and other sources. It was essential from the start to try and make the books as affordable as possible and collectible over time forming a much larger resource and archive. With that in mind they all feature an extra durable PUR binding to ensure you won’t find pages starting to drop out over the coming years. You can also open them up nice and wide too without worrying about any disturbing cracking sounds from the spine.
So enough introduction from me, follow the link below (or in the left hand menu) to see more details of who’s in the first volume. It’s currently available direct via our new online shop and will soon be joined by some initial limited prints from this volume and a handful of other non-Capsule related items that will also appear here on the blog in the coming weeks.
If you’re having any problems with the order process or have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to drop me an email via the address on the info page or via the contact page on the shop.
A new online issue of Multilink Magazine is incoming too I promise so please do keep checking back.
For more details and to order a copy at £7.99 click here.