Print is Not Dead

This week, The Plum Edit team visited two venues in London that have used their documentation and conservation of print to create third spaces for design and print enthusiasts. 

Reference Point

In 2012 Mark Wadhwa spearheaded a project to revitalise the infamous 180 Strand. The redevelopment of the building reflects Wadhwa’s commitment to the creative arts, and the building now stands as a creative hub in central London, with the studios becoming home to the likes of Soho House, Dazed HQ and TikTok.

Reference Point is a sanctuary tucked away in the brutalist heart of 180 Strand. As you step inside you transcend from the busy, corporate energy of the Strand into a dimly lit, floor-to-ceiling library of rare books and radical ephemera.

It’s a library, a shop, and a bar, all in one. But the soul of the venue is its archive. Offering access to rare and out-of-print editions usually kept away in private collections of universities. 

All the materials here can be categorised into the history of the underground. The collection focuses on rare fashion monographs, radical political pamphlets, architecture books and niche subculture zines. 

Beyond the collection of printed materials, Reference Point is also a hub of the creativity community in the Strand, transforming into a social space in the evenings and hosting a variety of events throughout the week.

In a digital age, spaces like this prove that people still crave physical archives and real-world intellectual exchange.

MagCulture

Nestled in the streets of Clerkenwell, is a seemingly nonchalant news agent which is in fact, home to what Creative Review describes as ‘the spiritual home of independent publishing’.

The shop has a multifaceted presence in Clerkenwell, as an editorial consultancy that both sells magazines and houses a large archive of printed work.

Magculture opened in 2015, as the brainchild of Jeremy Leslie, and showcases a selection of over 700 global titles - we had the pleasure of seeing him in the shop when we stopped by this week.

It was lovely to spend our morning browsing through the selection of magazines, there really is something special about the tactile nature of print. You can watch the full video of our visit below.

The shop also has an online presence, MagCulture Journal  where they regularly review magazines, interview the creatives and editors behind them, and share industry news. 

Aside from housing an outstanding number of printed works, MagCulture also functions as a community space. MagCulture Live, their headline event, hosts talks from publications from independent prints to big-industry names, all in celebration of the culture of magazines. Previous line-ups have included notable speakers such as Steff Yotka (i-D), Kathy Ryan (The New York Times Magazine), Thomas Meredith (Elle) and Emmet Smith (National Geographic, US).

They also run The Flatplan, a masterclass that includes talks, Q&As with industry professionals, and group discussion sessions. This runs online, so you don’t have to be in London to attend. You can stay updated with all of their events on their website, here.

Contrary to the threat we’ve been hearing for years, Magculture stands to prove that print is not dead. 

Watch the full video of our trip below.

Image Credits: MagCulture