M31 - February 2026 - Issue 006
M31 - February 2026 - Issue 006 Following last month's edition, where I started by talking about creative rhythm, "Edges & Beginnings" (the quarterly theme I'm using to help guide some of my activities), and promising other potential new projects, I can say that I'm off to a great start, but at the same I'm needing to hold off a bit on some of the new initiatives/ideas I have, as I've become a bit busier than expected. But yes, it was a great start to the year with two amazing milestones to celebrate: PauseTalk Vol. 100 and PechaKucha Night Shanghai Vol. 50 (more on those events below). For FOTO5, I'm really enjoying the more considered themes (instead of the random ones I would come up with last year), and it's making me think a bit more about what I should shoot. As for the "Shanghai Field Notes" project that I slightly teased last month, let's just keep that one under wrapes until later this year -- but I promise, it will happen. -- What's M31? It's a name I used close to two decades ago as my sort of publishing imprint/company label for the activities I was doing while I lived in Tokyo, and I've decided to revive it. It's simply inspired by my birthday of May 31 (although I just recently realized that it's usually used to refer to the Andromeda galaxy, which also seems appropriate, considering how it covers my "galaxy" of activities). The logo you see above was designed by Ian Lynam, and is part of a set of 31 logos he created for me back in the late 2000s, which I've decided to start re-using for this newsletter. All the activities I organize in Shanghai have dedicated groups in WeChat, where you'll get the latest updates, and so please contact me to be added to any of them. PauseTalk
Wow. Not only did it feel good to reach a milestone like 100 with the series (on Thursday, January 15), but it also felt that much more special because it was also the biggest group so far in Shanghai (easily 20+ -- you'll find them listed on the recap post), and even with that big a group and the fact that there was a celebratory atmosphere, it still felt like a proper PauseTalk, with a discussion that I quite enjoyed and that went, as always, in lots of directions. We started on the general topic of “design” (as it was mentioned a lot during the intro), on how it is perceived, and this led to various explorations of how we see ourselves as creatives, how culture affects how we approach things, the idea (and positive aspect) of failure, and many other things. It was also fun to do it at Cotton’s for the first time (on the second floor), which felt quite cozy (there was even a lit fireplace in the room) and yet could easily fit everyone. Vol. 101 should normally take place sometime in March, and I'll share more details (on the PauseTalk website as well as in the PauseTalk WeChat group) once everything is finalized. You'll find archives of past events on the PauseTalk website, which includes recaps for each session. PechaKucha Night
So following that PauseTalk Vol. 100, I had another big milestone to celebrate this past month. It wasn't George (my fellow PechaKucha Night Shanghai organizer) and I’s Vol. 50, but rather the city’s Vol. 50. 20 years ago, the very first PechaKucha Night in Shanghai was held on May 14, 2006. Since then, it’s crisscrossed throughout the city, hosted at different venues, and hosted by different people. George and I have been honoured to be part of that history over the last 21 PechaKucha Nights we’ve produced since 2023, and we were honoured to be able to celebrate the city’s golden milestone, which not a lot of cities reach.
I think we celebrated things the right way, with another super fun night of presentations, inspiration for everyone, a great crowd, and some fun discussions after. Huge thanks as always to George, my partner in all things PechaKucha here, to all our presenters, and to our amazing volunteers who help out during the evening (and of course, to Astrid and Mark for creating the whole thing). I already can't wait for our Vol. 51, which will happen sometime in March. You can always check our Shanghai page on the official PechaKucha website to see the listings for the latest events, and contact me if you'd like to be added to our group on WeChat. FOTO5
In January, as I mentioned in the last newsletter, I started sharing weekly themes that were more deliberate, and in line with the idea of "Edges & Beginnings." The four themes explored were "Edges of Light," "Tresholds" (pictured above), "Lines in the City," and "Firsts" (all likes are my contributions, as shared on Bluesky). In the FOTO5 photography club, each week I share a theme/prompt and everyone is invited to take five photos that are inspired by that theme. If you're interested in partcipating, contact me so I can add you to the group on WeChat. Shanghai Design Pins 📍
Here are some of the latest Shanghai Design Pins📍 that were shared in the group since last month.
Shanghai Design Pins 📍 is a group on WeChat where we share design-related spots (and events) in Shanghai -- contact me to be added. One More Thing
I've mentioned in the past some of the fun Friday evenings I've spent with colleagues, and last month I'll note another great Friday outing that started out with a team building activity (for the studio's PMs) that involved cooking, that was then followed (for a few of us) by drinks in a couple of spots: Lagom Cafe & Bar (pictured left) and Barbarian (pictured right). And there goes another edition. Hope you found something that peaked your interest throughout all these updates, and do feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or feedback about anything I covered here -- or to be added to all of the WeChat groups I run gfor these activities. For more on me, you can alway have a look at my personal website (where I share the newsletters in case you missed previous editions) -- I've been blogging since 1998 -- or for lighter stuff (and lots of movie reviews) you can follow me on Bluesky.
M31 - February 2026 - Issue 006 |