FROM ONE STRANGER TO ANOTHER

A few words about why this place exists and what I hope it can become.

There’s no way of knowing how many things are sitting unseen in notebooks, camera rolls, folders, drawers, or people’s heads.

Probably quite a lot.

Some get shared. Plenty don’t.

I wanted to create a place where those pieces could find their way into the world, gently and without pressure.

Some things are easier to share with people we know. Others, oddly enough, might feel more natural sharing with someone we don’t.

And if you’re here, chances are we don’t know each other.

That’s part of what I like about the Shelf. You can leave something without knowing who will find it, and whoever does won’t know much about you either.

There’s a little freedom in that.

I don’t know where the Shelf will go, or exactly what it should become. I just knew I’d regret having the idea and never trying to bring it to life. I do have a few hopes for it.

That it fills up with things I couldn’t have predicted.

That no particular kind of person, work, or taste comes to define it.

That it stays a little unpredictable.

And that if it grows, it doesn’t become more complicated simply because it can.

There will probably be things here that are beautiful, odd, funny, unfinished, confusing, or very much not your thing.

That sounds about right.

I’m glad you found it.

With gratitude,