Spark<\/em>, are part of a larger movement revitalizing print as more than just a medium \u2014 it\u2019s becoming an immersive experience. In a world constantly overwhelmed by digital noise, the tactile nature of print offers something refreshing: a more intentional, thoughtful way to engage with media. It\u2019s a slower, richer alternative to the fleeting posts and quick scrolls that dominate our screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUktan believes this to be true. He shared a memory about how his grandfather kept all his books in glass. \u201cHe believed dust was a form of respect, that when something lasts long enough to gather it, it\u2019s earned its place.\u201d His recollection lingered. In an era where we\u2019re told that \u201cprint is dead,\u201d he said, it\u2019s hard not to see the parallels \u2014 how, just like those books encased in glass, print media has gathered its own dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet perhaps the dust isn’t a sign of obsolescence, but endurance. What\u2019s old can, in some ways, feel new again, and as the pages of print media turn back into our hands, we\u2019re reminded that some things last because they\u2019ve truly earned their place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014—-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few weeks after their interview with the DAMDAM founders, Wiengrad and Uktan sat in their shared office, a 500-square-foot space above a flower shop in SoHo that they rent by the hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, the duo merge two distinct but complementary skill sets: business and creativity. Weingrad is a 29-year-old Tulane University graduate who works in Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the advertising agency, DMA United. He brings a sharp eye for branding and deal-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, Uktan, age 27, is a Brooklyn-based graphic designer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has spent the past decade shaping visual narratives for cultural institutions and fashion brands alike. His portfolio includes clients like A24, Air Jordan, Dior and Nike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their friendship began when Weingrad and Uktan got connected for a design project. From there, they bonded over a shared love for storytelling and an entrepreneurial spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spark<\/em> is their after-hours passion project, a publication conceived at the intersection of their disciplines, where Uktan\u2019s design sensibility meets Wiengrad business instincts. Despite demanding full-time jobs, they carve out time to write, design and edit the project with obsessive care.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere\u2019s something poetic about their office-space being tucked into a quiet corner of downtown. For nearly a century, New York has been the beating heart of literary movements. Uptown gave rise to institutions like The New Yorker, while downtown sparked a different kind of revolution, from Warhol\u2019s Interview<\/em> to the punk-fueled zine culture of the \u201980s and \u201990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\nToday, a new wave is taking shape, and Wiengrad and Uktan are among its most committed architects. In their shared office space, they paced, tinkered, debated layouts and talked everything from Japanese cookbooks to brutalist-architecture posters. It\u2019s clear they aim to build something meticulously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t want it to feel like every other downtown thing,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That thought process emerges as Spark<\/em>\u2019s throughline. Not just in their design, but in their subjects: chefs, architects and founders who prioritize process over virality. Their model reflects a larger media trend \u2014 one that\u2019s smaller, slower and more deliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSpark<\/em> doesn\u2019t aim to be everywhere, except in the hands of the people that will appreciate it for its storytelling. Its first issue will be distributed in curated spaces: boutiques, galleries and caf\u00e9s across SoHo, the Village and the Lower East Side. \u201cSpark<\/em> isn’t meant to go viral,\u201d Uktan says. \u201cIt\u2019s meant to be found.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Standard Hotel bar in the East Village pulsed with an unexpected energy for 2 p.m. on a Wednesday. Sunlight slanted through floor-to-ceiling windows, catching the rims of half-drunk martinis and splintering across lacquered tables. This wasn’t just any Wednesday \u2014 it marked the final interview for the debut issue of Spark, a New York […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":395,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions\/395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorsvision.com\/frenzy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}