<p class="p3"><span class="s1">I received the 11th edition of Mohawk Maker Quarterly a few weeks back – and since there is so much fabulousness to absorb, it&#8217;s taken me a while to write it up! The focus is on process — and any <a href="http://www.stationerytrends.com" target="_blank">Stationery Trends</a> reader will know that the mysterious set of steps that leads to the creation of something wonderful is a borderline obsession of mine. We&#8217;ve had a department, the Creative Process, devoted to just that idea since we started the magazine in 2008 — so it&#8217;s a real treat to see <span class="s2"><a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com/" target="_blank">Mohawk</a> putting its own spin on it</span>.</span></p>
<p class="p4">The entire quarterly deconstructs the entire idea of a publication. I love the inside-out rainbow of smyth-sewn bindery and smaller sketchbook-sized format, the cover itself a collage. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17480" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_02.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17455" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_31.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />Footnotes throughout the issue detail everything from its tactile, rough edge trim to the volume of coffee consumed by the design team from start to finish.<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17470" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_15.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17468" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_17.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />I subscribe to the Willie Wonka theory that invention is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple. You can try to create something good by following a set of steps, but more often, it&#8217;s by wandering into unexplored territory that you stumble on something wonderful.</p>
<p class="p4">Thomas D. O&#8217;Connor, Jr.&#8217;s letter, devoted to the topic, seems to agree: &#8220;Creativity can be messy and random; we need time and space to allow for serendipitous discovery and the possibility of finding an unexpected or superior solution.&#8221;<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17458" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_28.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17469" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_16.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />The issue&#8217;s 80 pages are divided into five chapters, each delving into an aspect of process and printed on five distinct Mohawk papers: <span class="s1">Beginnings — Printed on Mohawk Via Felt, Light Gray 80 text/118gsm;</span><span class="s1"> Participation — Printed on Mohawk Loop Antique Vellum, Husk 80 text/118gsm;</span><span class="s1"> Place — Printed on Mohawk Options Smooth, 100% PC Cream White, 80 text/118gsm;</span><span class="s1"> Practice — Printed on Mohawk Via Laid, Natural, 70 text/104gsm; and</span><span class="s1">Product — Printed on Mohawk Loop Linen, Restful Blue, 70 text/104gsm. </span></p>
<p class="p4">There are so many gems packed inside these five signatures. <span class="s1"><em>Out of Line: The Incredible Creative Impact of Sketching </em>by Patrick Sisson<em> </em>takes a closer look at the power of sketching, pen or pencil to paper. &#8220;It&#8217;s one of the most significant, and perhaps misunderstood, benefits of sketching: providing a space to work it all out.&#8221; </span></p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-26514" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-26514 block-wrap-classic columns__m--1 elements-design-3 block-ani block-skin-0 tipi-box block-wrap-thumbnail ppl-m-1 clearfix" data-id="26514" data-base="0"><div class="tipi-row-inner-style clearfix"><div class="tipi-row-inner-box contents sticky--wrap"><div class="block block-23 clearfix"><article class="tipi-xs-12 clearfix with-fi ani-base tipi-xs-typo split-1 split-design-1 loop-0 preview-thumbnail preview-23 elements-design-3 post-19759 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-favorites category-sponsored-post tag-graphic-design tag-hybrid-design tag-j-henry-fair tag-kia-utzon-frank tag-merjn-hos tag-mohawk tag-mohawk-maker-quarterly tag-sam-hains tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-the-paper-chronicles tag-zine" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/disrupting-norms-with-mohawk-maker-quarterly/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MOH_MMQ13_04.jpg?resize=96%2C96&;ssl=1 96w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" /></a></div><div class="meta"><div class="byline byline-2 byline-cats-design-4"><div class="byline-part cats"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/category/favorites/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Favorites</a><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/category/sponsored-post/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Sponsored</a></div></div><div class="title-wrap"><h3 class="title"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/disrupting-norms-with-mohawk-maker-quarterly/">Disrupting Norms with Mohawk Maker Quarterly!</a></h3></div><div class="byline byline-3"><span class="byline-part date"><i class="tipi-i-calendar" aria-hidden="true"></i> <time class="entry-date published dateCreated flipboard-date" datetime="2017-11-17T14:46:27+00:00">November 17, 2017</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="19759"><span class="likes-heart"><i class="tipi-i-heart-o" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="tipi-i-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="tipi-value">0</span></a></span></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></tipimidc>
<p class="p4"><span class="s1">There is a certain magic in the act of sketching, the piece continues. &#8220;We often assume that the brain is split into the logical left side and the creative right side &#8230; When the brain starts a creative pursuit such as sketching, neurons in different sections start snapping. Sketching is so powerful &#8230; because it gets different parts of the brain to focus on improvisation, ambiguity and making connections. Sketching flips the brain into a flow state: think of a rapper mid-freestyle, or a jazz musician gliding through a solo.&#8221;<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17477" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_06.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /></span>To that end, a sketchbook is included for your own creative process. The Tom Sachs Pocket Notebook is smyth sewn just like its Maker counterpart, printed with a Safety Yellow Via Vellum cover and a light ghost grid pattern on its Superfine Eggshell pages.<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17465" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_20.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17467" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_18.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><span class="s1">I also enjoyed <em>DIWHY?</em> by Jordan Kushins, a look at the joy still to be found in doing it yourself. By creating, we really come alive, he writes. &#8220;We make, therefore we are.&#8221; </span><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17454" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_32.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />If you have never been to a paper mill, but use it<i></i> like most of us without thinking about its origins, then you&#8217;ll enjoy <em>Inside</em><i> </i><i>the Mill,</i> a photo essay by Jeff Dey. This trip through Mohawk Mills, where four generations have built an American legacy of fine papermaking, reveals a what hides beneath this most humble everyday object.<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17459" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_27.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17476" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_08.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17475" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_09.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />As an avowed introvert, I also really enjoyed <span class="s1"><i>Creative Islands</i> by Caleb Kozlowski, which touched on what can be the creativity-killing power of social media. &#8220;So, what your friend thinks or the number of likes on a post — and the comments it draws out — narrows what comes next, whether we like it or not. This influence changes the work, so we have to ask ourselves: Whom are we choosing to give influence to and why? Are we sharing to make the work better or is it just a serotonin boost? In the beginning, resist the urge to share. Sharing is a passive aggressive soft factor filing the craving for a hard factor. Resist and discover what you do differently.&#8221;<b><i> </i></b></span><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17452" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_34.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><span class="s1">Though targeted toward designers, <em>Design Thinking is Dead. Long Live Design</em> by Dora Drimalas, delves into Design Thinking. You know, a modern example of corporate speak &#8220;where words are taken, repackaged, and served up as meaningless descriptions of corporate processes &#8230; The term design thinking has sunk to the level of corporate speak and simultaneously created the factory system of design.&#8221; </span></p>
<p class="p5">Despite this effort to homogenize it, Drimalas writes, &#8220;the real design process looks more like a plate of spaghetti. It&#8217;s a heaping pile of starts and stops. There are many entry points depending on the project. There are many people making it and eating it. There are meatballs that you either need to dodge, go over, under or God forbid, go through.&#8221;<span class="s1"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17453" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_33.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" />There&#8217;s many more surprises — or should I say meatballs? — within these carefully thought out pages. And best of all, all this food for thought is completely free! Go <a href="https://www.mohawkconnects.com/inspiration/maker-quarterly" target="_blank">here</a> to get a subscription for yourself.<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17472" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MOH_MMQ11_12.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /></span></p>