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TMC’s Ethos

In a world where everything is becoming faster, sleeker, and more digital, there’s a growing appetite for the opposite, slow, tactile, imperfect, and tangible things. 

The rise of movements like “slow craft” and “analog revival” (seen through zines, ceramics, and DIY printmaking) is proof that many seek grounding experiences. According to recent reports from The Art Newspaper and Hyperallergic, younger generations, especially millennials and Gen Z, are showing renewed interest in hand-based practices as a form of resistance to screen fatigue and burnout.

And that’s where the tactile art of making and creation comes in - paper, with all its crinkles, textures, and imperfections, is suddenly more than just a material, it’s a medium for reflection, storytelling, and community.

Increasingly, and often without warning, ownership models are quickly fading, shifting to subscriptions and cloud-based models. All that we see, preserve, and keep, are carefully curated and controlled by algorithms and agendas outside of ourselves. It’s disorienting. But that relationship to things, tactile, personal, held, is what we’re trying to reclaim with the memo club. 

And paper? It’s a way back in. A way to ground ourselves in something real and handmade, something that resists constant updates. Something that remembers us, just as we remember it, in that one unique moment of time. 

By offering a communal environment that prioritises shared experiences, learning, and creativity, the memo club sees participants reclaim time and memory in a tangible form, countering the transient nature of digital interactions through   workshops, collaborative projects, and the simple act of making paper together. And if that’s enough, they’ll always be able to buy paper that’s been purposefully made for their letters, gifts, notes, thoughts, life.

You may ask, why paper? Is this not counterintuitive to the progress that we have made?  We are not going BACK to paper because we need it. Instead, we move forward with paper because we choose to. 

We are interested in what paper can become. In places like Sri Lanka, Nepal, and parts of India, handmade paper is a thriving industry rooted in sustainability and innovation. Paper is made from everything from banana fiber to earth, straw, and even elephant dung. It’s practical, eco-conscious, and deeply tied to local knowledge systems and community values. So, if paper can be made from the land, why not from our memories? Why not from the scraps of our daily lives, old journals, worn-out receipts, dried flowers, leftover textile threads, food wrappers, love letters?

With movements like Sharjah Architecture Triennial’s "The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability," curated by Tosin Oshinowo, the exhibition highlights how communities, especially in the Global South, have long embraced adaptability and resourcefulness in the face of scarcity. Projects showcased at the Triennial demonstrate how traditional practices and local materials can be reimagined to create sustainable and meaningful spaces, not just for utility but for living and growth.

Drawing inspiration from these ideas, the memo club seeks to reclaim the tangible and the personal. By engaging in practices like paper-making, we aim to create objects that carry stories, memories, and a sense of permanence. In a world where digital content is fleeting, these handcrafted items become anchors, reminders of our experiences, our communities, and our identities.

Paper, in this sense, isn’t a return, it’s a re-imagination of our memories. A medium not of necessity, but of resistance, creativity, and care. To pull away from the infinite scroll and ask: what do we want to keep? What deserves weight?

Images courtesy of various contributors, including the Frei photography, 421 Arts Campus, the memo club co-founders, friends, and collaborators