the analog lifestyle kit (chapter 1) – DELUXE EDITION

Exploration kits consist of prompt cards, a fountain pen, an explorer’s notepad, a ribbon to tie away your phone, symbol stamps, a log book, some extra cards for your geographic region, a shiny seal, an introduction letter and an official certificate. Young W created the concept of an exploration kit, and the analog lifestyle kit – chapter 1 is our very first edition!

This is how it works

You complete the prompts on the prompt cards and fill in details about what you did into the log book. Your notepad and fountain pen can be used along the way on your journey of exploration, wherever those prompts may take you. For each completed prompt you get a symbol stamp. These can be placed into the log book by moistening them like a regular postage stamp. You need to collect five stamps in each of the five suits to get your prize: the shiny seal and official certificate.

A journey into the analog lifestyle

An exploration kit is a type of “paper companion”, like a travel guide book or a deconstructed paper map you assemble yourself. It may lead you to old and new places, unexpected places, and maybe to places you have always been meaning to go. The cards contain ideas for things to discover around you, ideas for things to do, to learn and to use: in this case, since this kit is called “the analog lifestyle kit”, they are filled with ideas and inspiration for how to live the analog lifestyle.

The kit comes packaged in one curious-looking bundle (picture above to the right). The paper envelope that is used as the kit’s packaging contains all the instructions: how to use the kit on one side and an introduction letter on the other side. Be careful when you open the package though: don’t cut the ribbon or discard the paper envelope, these will come in handy later!

There are 32 prompt cards in this exploration kit. They contain 46 prompts to add a touch of analog to your life, be it in your leisure time or your daily routine (everything from going to a theatre play and listening to music on cassette tapes to keeping a physical address book).

The cards cover many of Young W’s themes, particularly PAPER, PERFORMANCE, ART, POETRY, SOCIETY and READING. While you may be already doing many of the things suggested in the cards, like for example reading books or listening to music, the cards will ask you to switch to an analog version: e.g. go to the bookshop in person instead of shopping for books online, finding out if there is a video store in your town, picking up a hardcopy newspaper, visiting an archive in person… things that were considered commonplace just a few years ago.

The cards also include a few specific sample places to go to or to check out, such businesses, organizations or events. For example, we recommend specific archives for the card with the title The archive, but since this kit can be used anywhere in the world, the particular archives printed on the card are only meant as illustrative examples for the kind of places we want you to experience. The kit comes with a few specific recommendations for your city or region on the personalized Extra cards which are prepared specifically for each order. If you plan on using the exploration kit in a town other than the one in your shipping address, you have the option to fill in the location the kit will be used in into a special field above on this page. We will then make sure that the Extra cards cover that location, instead of your shipping address.

Give yourself some offline time

While you are reading the cards and making plans for completing the prompts, you can use the satin ribbon and paper envelope from the kit’s original packaging to tie away your phone. Simply wrap up the phone in the instruction sheet and tie the ribbon around it, maybe with a bow tie. That way you have uninterrupted offline time that you can spend doing the prompts, browsing through your kit cards or using your fountain pen and notepad.

You can record details of your journey in the log book. For each prompt you complete you get one of the symbol stamps. The symbol corresponds to the symbol printed in the lower left hand corner of the prompt cards. There are five suits – all inspired by nature symbols found in The Sorrows of Young Werther: the cabbage, the tulip, the linden leaf, the maybug and the geese. The symbol stamps use actual stamp paper from The Portland Stamp Company and can be pasted into the log book the way you would a affix a real postage stamp.

The exploration kit also includes a small fountain pen, namely either the Pilot Petit1 in blue-black or the Platinum Preppy in blue-black. This is a compact and practical fountain pen that easily fits into pockets and is convenient for when you are out and about.

It perfectly accompanies the explorer’s notepad, which can be used to jot down notes wherever inspiration may strike you. The notepad measures 7.6 cm x 12.7 cm (3 in x 5 in), is letterpress-printed in Canada and made with Forest Stewardship Council®-certified, acid-free paper from the USA.

The fountain and notepad are meant to be useful tools on your journey of exploration. Record your thoughts, ideas, lists, the names of people you meet, things you encounter, lines of poems you may hear, places you went to and still want to go to, and anything and everything in between.

And once you have collected five stamps in each of the five suits, you get your prize: a shiny embossed seal, specially made by hand for Young W by Any Key Press in Toronto. You can now fill in your name, date and place onto the official certificate. The letterpress certificate was also made by hand in Toronto, by Flycatcher Press.

To make it official, cut two small pieces of ribbon – one in each colour – and affix them together with the seal onto the official certificate. And voilà! You now hold in your hands a commemorative, personalized token of having completed the analog lifestyle kit – chapter 1 and of having discovered new ways to make your offline life flourish.

Supplies to use right away alongside this kit

The Deluxe Edition of the analog lifestyle kit – chapter 1 includes supplies for several of the topics featured on the kit’s prompt cards. Use them and cherish them during your journey of exploration. Here is what’s included:

• A letter writing stationery set from Original Crown Mill, for the card The letter. The colour of the model included may vary.
• A sheet of hand-marbled paper by Studio Robert Wu, for the card The marbled paper. The sheet dimensions are 9 in x 12 in. The exact pattern and colour of the paper may vary.

• A linocut print made by Penrose Press, for the card The linocut print. The dimensions of the print are 8.5 in x 11 in. The motif of the print may vary from the one shown here.
• A set of postcards from Young W, for the card The postcard. This set consisted of four postcards featuring an abstract paper collage in shades of green, purple, lilac, pink and blue. The postcard dimensions are 4 x 6″.

• A sketchbook from Ferris Wheel Press, for the card The notebook. The dimensions of the sketchbook are paper size A5 (14.8 cm x 21 cm / 5.83 x 8.3″). Please note that the colour of the sketchbook included may vary.
• A greeting card by Objects of Little Importance, for the card The greeting card. This greeting card features a random set of six objects owned by creative people in Vancouver, painted by artist D. Briker. The dimensions of the greeting card are 4.25 x 5.5″. Please note that the six objects featured on the greeting card may vary.

• A fiction book, for the card The book. The current book included is The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in a translation by Burton Pike, published by Modern Library (Random House Publishing Group), 2005 [1774].
• A fountain pen by Pilot Pens, for the card The fountain pen and a bottle of ink by iroshizuku (produced by PILOT), for the card The ink colour. The exact model of fountain pen and colour of the ink may vary.

• A chapbook published by above/ground press, for the card The chapbook. The chapbook may include poetry or prose and the exact title may vary.
• And a broadside published by Whisky Jack Letterpress, for the card The poetry broadside. The exact title of the broadside included may vary.

 

Want to get a free sample kit card (in .pdf format)?

Complete the quiz (all the way at the end of our “What is an exploration kit” blog entry) to find out which card (& which symbol stamp) suits you best!

 

(Photo number 5, 6, 8-15, 17 and 18 by Dahlia Katz.)