I can now reveal my cover for this years @Secret7s. This hand cut and hand printed piece is for @thespecials belter of a track We Sell Hope.

Manchester design people (if any of you are here anymore)… looking for a recommendation for a digital printer for a one of print I want doing. Probably around the 500x700mm size. 1 colour.

Ready for @idlesband

Yes!!! You all need to watch this…

Going early on this considering we’ve got Idles on Friday but… Fontaines in Leeds last was possibly the best big I’ve been too. Best band out there right now? I think so.

Ready for Fontaines.

Took this pair to our first gig at @TheCoopLive last night for The Streets and Kasabian. The Streets were obviously ace. Despite Kasabian not knowing what kind of group they want to be, they properly got the crowd going in a way I’ve not seen at any other gig. A great night.

As this place continues to deteriorate I’m giving Bluesky a go. See you there… bsky.app/profile/matthbooth.…

Dear God. Nothing creative, intelligent or fun will ever happen in this room. So, what's the best way to help people to do their best work? First, never, ever, ever place "motivating" quotes on your office walls. Instead, just help people take one step forward every day. The authors in this Harvard Business Review story provide a checklist that people can use on a daily basis to see how we are doing. In an analysis of knowledge people’s diaries, the authors found that nothing contributed more to a positive inner work life (the mix of emotions, motivations, and perceptions that is critical to performance) than making progress in meaningful work. If you are motivated and happy at the end of the workday, it’s a good bet that you achieved something, however small. If you drag yourself out of the office disengaged and joyless, a setback is likely to blame. Leaders have deep influence over our colleagues' well-being, motivation and creativity. The key is to learn which actions support progress—setting clear goals, providing sufficient time and resources, and offering recognition—and which have the opposite effect. Even small wins boost inner work life tremendously. On the flip side, small losses or setbacks can have an negative effect. And the work doesn’t need to involve curing cancer in order to be meaningful. It simply must matter to the person doing it. The actions that set in motion a positive feedback loop between progress and inner work life may sound like Management 101, but it takes discipline to establish new habits. What it does NOT take is bland, reductive nonsense like this. hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of…

Happy new The Cure album day everyone.

Time to start updating stuff and getting out there again… ismattavailable.com

Morning.

ismattavailable.com 🤷‍♂️

So after taking the boys to watch the Pharell Piece by Piece film last night, I can report back that it’s brilliant. Really well done. A must watch.

A little sad as I closed the BLAB Meetup down over the weekend. Unfortunately I can’t have the group open without paying for it, which we have for the last 9 years without hosting an event. Sad because there’s now no record of all the events we had over the years on Meetup.

Anyone bought mockups from akoya? £56 for the entire 200 library seems a little too good to be true.

After about 15 years of neglect, there's a pressing need to sort out my portfolio site, as I look for new opportunities for the new year. For those of you with design backgrounds, what are you using these days? Framer? Webflow? I’m considering moving away from Squarespace.

Northern lights again

Always find it difficult getting back to work the day after an amazing few days up at St Andrews for the @dunhilllinks.