Introducing Issue 10: HOLDOUTS.

A letter from the editor.

Aug 06, 2026

Hi there, housemates,

About a week ago, a piece of New York City history revealed itself. For decades, a towering sign in Herald Square has concealed a five-story building that, around 1900, was snapped up by a department store rival hoping to gain leverage over Macy’s as they moved into the neighborhood. The plan failed; Macy’s built its retail monolith around the original structure, dwarfing it. The owner eventually sold. Later, in an ironic twist, Macy’s leased its facade, cloaking the thing in a lipstick-red advertisement. With an LED display now going in, the lipstick is off the pig, and the dingy little holdout is there for all to see, at least temporarily.

Herald Square at the turn of the 20th century, and how it looked until late July. // Photos, left to right: Irving Underhill; Rosanna Nicolai; both via Wikimedia Commons.

There are other stories like this: The historic tenement wedged beneath the glassy condo; the bar-turned-cupcake-shop that refused to sell to the Rockefellers. And more. What they share is their survival—often against all odds—and it’s that spirit that inspired “Holdouts” to be the theme for our 10th issue.

This edition of the magazine tells the stories of the things we hold onto, and hold out for: the kitchen renovation that’s actually a reckoning with self love, the design firm that rejects AI in favor of physical moodboarding, the artist and poet working in media that his fellow makers moved on from years ago. There’s also the story of a real-life holdout—Thirsty Beaver Saloon, a watering hole in Charlotte, North Carolina, that defied the city’s rampant development. (On a personal note: This is a saga I got to witness in real time—I may or may not have indulged in Thirsty Beaver’s 50-cent “Beavosas” as a youngin’!)

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Our cover this month was created by Mallory Anita Lawson of Earth Ship Studio, a Hudson Valley–based artist, who—if you ask me—nailed this issue’s optimistic, tenacious POV. Tomorrow, keep your eyes peeled for our first story from this issue: “You Have to Give Up What You Have to Get What You Need,” by Jesse Dorris. We’ll see you then.

Lila