Found Magazine
Have you ever been walking down the street and stepped over someone’s lost to-do list? Or perhaps found an old envelope, stamp, magazine, card, bill, comic book or better still, a love letter? Or found an “I don’t know what this is but it looks interesting” when you have cleaned out a loved ones belongings? Isn’t it a shame so many of these things go to waste and are not shared with anyone else? No need to dwell on it any longer.
All these types of items and more are getting a second life in Found Magazine. Created by Davy Rothbart, Found Magazine highlights lost and found items and shares them with others. The first issue came out in June 2001 and is produced yearly. This is an interesting project obviously done for the love of the find (and the love of sharing with others) with an almost voyeuristic view into the lives of strangers.
I recently learned about Found Magazine in a TV interview, on Bravo’s Arts & Minds, Davy shared his basement office where all the “finds” he receives from around the globe are stored and sorted. This is also the place where he and a few of his friends determine the content of the magazine.
Found Magazine is like a collective journal into the hearts and minds of people from all over the world. The whole process and delivery of the magazine is an interesting way to connect and share our uniqueness and similarities. I think it is a good find.
Davy has received such an excellent response from people sending in material he has had enough to publish two books, Found : The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World and Found II : More of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World.
So the next time you are walking down the street and see a slip of paper do not disregard it as someone’s garbage gone astray, scoop it and send it off to Davy and his team and it may end up in a future issue. You may even have something lingering around your home or in old journals. They encourage “love letters, birthday cards, kids’ homework, to-do lists, poetry on napkins, doodles — anything that gives a glimpse into someone else’s life.”
Visit their site to share your “finds” and support their project by purchasing a copy of their magazine for five dollars plus shipping. You might even get some ideas for creating your own “found” journal.
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Topic Links
* Found Website
* Found is available from Amazon
