New Year's Resolution 2026: Make 100 Mini-Zines

2025 has been a tough year for me creatively. While I feel like I have a million things I want to say, for most of the year I've lacked the motivation, the discipline, and I've been indecisive about what to write about and where to start.

As I was thinking about resolutions for the new year, I got really excited by an idea that came to mind. This fall, I started experimenting again with mini-zines, a 6-page booklet with front & back cover that you can make from a single sheet of paper. They're relatively quick to produce, yet the small format still gives a lot of space to explore a topic.

So, over the course of 2026 I'm setting a goal to make 100 mini-zines!

It's a goal that excites me for several reasons:

• I love any challenge that is tangible and visually interesting.

• I've found that setting higher targets to create + creating more regularly helps me start and finish more work.

• Whenever I challenge myself to create more, I get less hung up on whether or not what I'm creating will be interesting, original or good. I've also found this to be a helpful method for getting rough ideas out on paper that I can refine by continuing to engage with them.

I happened take this photo of Beans & Barley while on a walk appreciating the beauty of snow and sky on November 30, just before the closure was announced.

After settling on this as a resolution, I had an idea to add one more element: to use a single source of inspiration for all 100 zines. About two weeks ago, it was announced that one of my favorite places in Milwaukee, Beans & Barley, will be closing. This cool neighborhood spot has been serving the Eastside 52 years and it was such an institution here, I never imagined it could be gone one day. Since the announcement, the loss has stirred up lots of memories and feelings for me. Beans & Barley was often my go-to spot for meetup with friends, family or to meet someone for the first time. I can recall details from numerous meaningful conversations over coffees, lunches, dinners and desserts. It was my favorite place to buy fun cards and a spot I frequently went to before or between movies at another one of my favorite Milwaukee places, the Oriental Theater. Grieving this loss for myself and our neighborhood, I appreciate that there's no other place like it and how much it has been quietly in the background of so many important moments in my life as I became an adult and a Milwaukeean.

So, my process for creating each of these 100 zines will start with Beans & Barley. For anyone reading the final results, I imagine many of the connections to the original inspiration might not be obvious. And maybe that's now what excites me the most: this is an exercise that will help me recognize and appreciate how this special place has been woven in with so many other experiences, thoughts and feelings in my memory. Being able to explore this feels uniquely, deeply personal and human. And it reminds me that the best reason to practice art and creativity isn't about the product, but how the process can transform you.

A friend and mentor advised me years ago that creativity thrives with limits, and so I'm hopeful this goal combined with a single inspiration will provide a lot of fuel and I'll do my best to share the journey.

If you're thinking about a resolution for the new year around creativity for the new year, please reach out! Would love to hear what is inspiring you. I'm also thinking about a way to also facilitate some way to enable more sharing/exchange... more to come!