Introducing the 60 Experiments in Looking!

Dear Good Lookers,

Sitting with the dark news of the US elections yesterday, I have many feelings. I have no hot takes. But I have found one question really helpful in navigating myself so far: "What is it like to be you?". Despair and fear shuffle up and make some space when curiosity is around. It's not always easy to relate to others in this way, but our buddy Rumi does make it sound simple.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. 
I'll meet you there.

In this spirit of slowness and curiosity, today I am announcing a product that I'm really proud of. And also a little nervous about, as a private project turns into a public one. We've done many rounds of design, testing and iterating and the initial reviews are great. So I have every reason to be confident and yet "hello belly butterflies". Here we go...

First: Introducing Just Looking Press

Some people say print is dead.

For me there's something about the touch of paper or the weight of a lifting a box that reminds me that I am human. A scratched surface or a water mark speaks to the passage of time. A piece of paper untethered to the internet doesn't know how to pop-up or notify us of anything. It just waits patiently for us to place our attention on it, when we're ready.

So I say physical, printed products are incredibly valuable in this digital age. Which is what inspired me, exactly one year ago to this day, (and to the lament of my accountant, sorry Jeremy) to set up Just Looking Press. My criteria was that anything we make must be beautiful, sustainable and enduring to justify the carbon footprint, and the place it takes up in our homes.

Introducing the 60 Experiments in Looking!

One year later, our first product is ready. 🥳 

The pack contains a set of cards with 60 experiments on them. Each of these experiments is an invitation to see the world in a new way. A bit like trying on new sunglasses. Immerse yourself in the words on the card, and then look around with fresh eyes to see what's different, how does the world look now?

They are a combo of prompts, questions, imaginings, and reflections. Some have a touch of 'koan' to them too. But essentially they all work in the same way: they disrupt our automated ways of looking, and draw our attention to what is happening right now in our human experience.

When I guide mindfulness practices, I often find people wrongly assume that being present to the here-and-now means ignoring our thoughts, or suppressing them in some way. With these experiments we turn our attention to the many layers of our experience: what we see and feel, what we think, and who we are:

Launching in 2 weeks

The official launch date is 18th November, which is when we will begin shipping (aka walking down to the post office with lots of boxes). But it feels important to share it with all of you here in our community first.

Reasons to pre-order:

1. There are only 200 packs ready to ship at the moment (300 more are on the way but don't have an arrival date yet). Just in case we run out, we don't want to keep you waiting for the next batch to arrive.
2. If you're the organised-type and want to sort out gifts for the upcoming holiday season, we think this will make such a great present. At the risk of sounding sales-y, I'd recommend getting two so you can do the experiments together, even at a distance, and swap stories or photos as you go along.
3. This is my first time running a shop page, and if parts of the ordering process don't work, I'd rather hear it from you lot, then unimpressed strangers! 🙏 
4. If you need another reason, there's a big 20% discount code below! 💌

What exactly do you get?

We call it a pack, rather than a deck because it's much more than just the experiment cards. Here's what's included:

• 60 carefully researched and crafted experiment cards.
• Access to a Go Deeper website where I'm adding extra resources for each experiment so you don't run out of inspiration.
• Instruction booklet with guidance for how to run the experiments by yourself or in a group.
• Beautiful matte black tin with a lid that holds in place even when held upside down! You can use these experiments on-the-go.
• One sheet of stickers that are strong, but also amazingly 100% biodegradable.

Use this 20% discount code

The pack costs £25 + shipping. This reflects the decisions we've made along the way to go local, sustainable and durable with our materials and processes. We would like to cover our investment, and hopefully have some funds left over to put towards the next project! (We have a book about weeds in mind, more on that later...) But, we also want you all to get one of these packs, so here is a discount code for you and your friends! Please note that this discount is only valid for the pre-order period until the 18th Nov.

Collaborators

While the concept and words on the experiment cards and booklet are mine, all the design work is by Ana Grigorovici who is the founder of Studio Bench, a dear friend and partner in this project. We had two wonderful Freddie Cloughs on the creative team at one point (what are the chances!) - thank you, and thank you. Rob Escott and his crew at Liquorice Press have been a joy to work with. Annie, Sam, Jamie, Becca and Kaman from Creative Quests were both cheerleaders and an actually helpful focus group from the get go. We had many people join our playtesting walk via Meetup, who were kind enough to fill out our feedback forms and share ideas. Kasun Jayarathna has taken care of all things tech (when it works, if not it's probably my fault). And the talented Daniel Lane of Pacote is responsible for the beautiful yellow product photos. I feel lucky to have so many people believe in the project and want to be involved, and grateful for all the contributions.

Speaking of Freddie #2, he just messaged me and Ana this photo below, with very little explanation! Which may just be the perfect way to finish this pitch.

I hope you order and love the 60 Experiments in Looking. We can't control everything in this crazy world, but we can choose how to use our attention. Here's wishing us enough slowness and curiosity to make those choices well.

With love,
Menka
Creator of Just Looking
menka@wearejustlooking.org

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ps. Friends of Just Looking

Many of you may not know this, but we have a small group of champions that support us financially with a small annual contribution. This has given me both confidence and some resources to make more things happen! To say "thanks" we are offering all members of this group 50% discount on this first product. Come and join us, the water is warm!