The Thing

In the ongoing war between the print and digital worlds, it is often said that the former will endure because people want "the thing." That's excellent news for Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan. The San Francisco-based artists are the editors of The Thing, a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, they invite four artists, writers, musicians, or filmmakers to create "a useful object that somehow incorporates text." The object (whether a shoelace-cum-bookmark, handmade ceramic wine cups, or a silkscreened window blind) is then reproduced, boxed, and mailed to subscribers throughout the country. Past contributors have included writer and filmmaker Miranda July, novelist Jonathan Lethem, and artist Trisha Donnelly. With upcoming issues coming from the minds of fashion designer Doo-Ri Chung and actor/artist James Franco, investing in a subscription ($200 per year) is the smart thing to do.