Letter From The Editor (January, 2019)

Warm regards to,

You.

This letter is to you: the readers.

Peach was born nearly a year ago for the purpose of creating an art project in cyberspace, and it’s existed in the cyber universe for roughly six months. In the past six months, it’s gotten support from you, which I am entirely grateful for - which is why I thought I should finally say hi.

Hi.

I wanted to stop in and wish you a safe voyage into the new year. I know that things aren’t going to be easy. For one, we still live in a world where Donald Trump is president, and for another thing, life often takes us in directions we don’t want or appreciate. For this reason, I am expanding Peach with my faithful friends and sidekicks - and of course, our lovely contributors, whom without, Peach would be mostly without content.

We want to make Peach somewhere you can rest at the end of your day. Somewhere that makes things make a little more sense to you. Like all the good, beautiful things in the world do, all the things I could come home to at the end of a very bad day when I was a young teenager: the Cranberries, the Signal by Laurie Brown, Rookie by Tavi Gevinson,  Hannah Metz and Yyellow bird and all the cool bloggers on Flickr, and the early-days thrifting videos on Youtube. The things you input that make you feel a little less alone in the world. 

That’s what I want Peach to be for you.

We started out just taking submissions, slowly navigating into the world of articles and interviews. Starting out small, because it was just me and my friends who didn’t really call themselves artists nor understand what my plan was, but wanted to support me anyways because “Maddy finally had the right outlet.” Like plugging a VCR or DVD player into your TV, and trying to avoid getting static. I finally was getting something other than the black and white noise.

And so, Peach expanded. I sought out artists I met online who fit the Peach values: love, community, and embracing this sort of “otherness” that lead us to become creators in the first place (because, through and through, Peach is a place for “others.” It was created by one, for God’s sake.) There were small hiccups, because choosing the perfect “team” for anything doesn’t come without trying some clothes on and realizing that: they don’t fit. Because that’s the best and only way to find what DOES fit.

And so, our little but mighty Peach army is diving into topics we think would make Peach more of a resting place for you. Lifestyle articles, an advice column, horoscopes, interviews with some pretty cool people, music, films, podcasts, love stories, mental health discussions: we’re putting all our stories, our words, into this.

But of course, Peach isn’t Peach without our contributors, our readers, our support systems, and the friends and family who rally behind us and follow us on instagram (even though they don’t want to.) Peach isn’t Peach without the support. Which is why I’m stopping in now to say hi, and wish you a safe voyage into twenty nineteen: I am grateful.

But more than that, what is Peach?

Peach isn’t just me, it is also you, made up of every person who sends in artwork. The Peach army is all of the “other” artists. Tall, short, gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, woman, transgender, man, nonbinary, black, white, young, old; anyone who contributes their voices is part of Peach. We’re small, and weird, and so very “other” but we are here.

So I’m finally coming to say hi, finally saying something to you who clicks on this page, rather than a blurb of poetry, or a selfie in a vinyl store, which is my usual presence on this website. I’m saying hi, and I’m sending you my wishes.

Because, I hope that wherever you journey in the new year, Peach will be there with you. I hope that Peach can become your resting place.

So, I’m sending you this, a letter without a postmark, because we’re living in a cyber world and we can do that, and A Letter From the Editor doesn’t get mailed anyways, so that silly metaphor doesn’t work in context, but, ah - screw context.

Best wishes and Happy New Year,

Maddy Hart, editor in chief/creative director/one of the ”others" in the world, (and the rest of the Peach team.)