Long-awaited, Whetstone Volume 12

Under construction and now into the world, say hello to Whetstone Magazine, Volume 12!

One of the myriad implications in the era of the self-published newsletter has been its diminishing utility as a vessel for news and increasingly, a core tool for brand strategists. The only thing that could be more 2024 would be if AI authored this dissent. But then again, that could never be me! 

Our inclination has been to err on the side of intention. If we’re quiet, it’s because we’ve been busy building and have not felt the need to fill space arbitrarily or monetarily. Part of our survival has been a combination of hibernation followed by bouts of productivity, culminating with presentation, assessment and resetting the process. 

We’ve had just as many hits as misses but more than anything and more than ever, we’re just happy to still be in the game doing what we love. 

As the magazine has evolved over the years into a company in its middle age (just like its founder!) we’ve found that mixing tried and true with unafraid to try something new has long been the right recipe for our shop. 

For Whetstone Volume 12, we’re bringing back the same editorial team that has earned Whetstone all of its acclaim — Layla Schlack, Alex Bowman and Lyric Lewin, editor, art director and photo directors. 

“This issue spans the globe, from Polish cheesemakers, to the Chinese workers who brought tea to Iran, to the complicated symbolism of plátanos in the Dominican Republic. It also looks at how food and crops travel, from wheat to sourdough,” says Schlack.

Growing from emergent to established is a gift, and one that requires movement and new experiments. Our next few newsletters and subsequent announcements will live up to the billing of the name; i.e., READ: big announcements on the way. 

We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been building. It will connect the dots all done and doing.

Housekeeping: for the time being, we are not selling subscriptions. (Thank you for wanting to support us, though!) Instead, we do have vintage editions and our current offering, Vol. 12. If you are a current subscriber you will be first in line for this additional shipping next month. 

We may one day again resume subscriptions, but no promises… so don’t wait for them to sell out! 

Our existence and survival has always been contingent on your support. It is a pleasure to still be making magazines and it could not happen with you. Thank you. History has many mothers and is being remade everyday. We are here to bear witness.

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Streaming

On the latest episode of Whetstone Audio Dispatch, Nasser Abufarha, olive oil producer and owner of Canaan Palestine in the West Bank, and Nader Muaddi, owner of Muaddi distillery producing grape-based Arak, share what life has been like since the attacks of Oct. 7. Nasser tells us that cultural warfare and denial of space for Palestinians to express themselves and to tell their stories to the world have been systematically and brutally implemented.

Essentials and staples like olive oil and bread are becoming a luxury in the West Bank, and in Gaza, a scarcity. Nevertheless, Nasser and his community of farmers strive to continue the proud and crucial work of farming olives, and as critically, to keep telling their stories. Voices of Palestinian Farmers, now live wherever you listen to podcasts.

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