One thing I’ve noticed from writing is that when I travel, I seem to be drawn toward people who make things. I sort of knew this already at home, but writing it out here, especially in the context of travel, made it more obvious.

There’s something about being around people who are crafting and tending to things by hand that makes a place feel more real and available to me. Maybe it’s a way of landing somewhere. Or maybe even simpler: I like making stuff, and it’s a way to meet likeminded people.

Lately, I’ve been getting more into the art scene in Chicago, where I’m basically still a traveler. I’ve managed to make some friends through that—for whom the average age happens to be, like, 56. It’s been cool hanging out with people who have lived multiple lives. (Maybe a different post about that sometime.)

Meanwhile, I went to Miami again recently and decided to be more deliberate about seeking out craft-oriented things to do and people to meet. Usually when I go there, it’s for an embodied experience, not a cerebral one—running, swimming, drinking smoothies. I’d been operating under the assumption that authentic craft and art were lacking in Miami, it being a superficial place, so I kept the experience surface-level. This time I challenged that assumption, and it turned out to be a fun project.

When I got into the city, I started putting together an itinerary of art- and craft-based activities for the week. I found the first few through the internet, and then others by word of mouth. Crazy how you can just search for things to do, and there they are.

I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. Mostly I just wanted to see if Miami had more texture than I gave it credit for. This is a loose map of the small, handmade worlds I found that week.

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April 13, 2025 — Tom Virgin at Books & Books, Coral Gables

At this really cute bookstore, Books & Books, I sat in on a talk by Tom Virgin, who operates a printing press studio called Virgin Press. By all accounts, he’s South Florida’s most veteran printmaker. I’ve never done printmaking, but I think it’s cool. Tom’s vibe was equal parts 1970s punk skater and salty machine shop guy. The crowd was small, mostly locals, and there was a real atmosphere of pride in the room.

The guy talked for an hour and was a good storyteller. About halfway through, as he went deep into his obsession with the process and the machines, I found myself slipping into a fantasy of him approaching me to be his apprentice. After the talk, à la Neo meeting Morpheus, he looks at me with intense recognition and says, “I’ve been looking for someone to work with me. You’re that person.” Without speaking, just through eye contact, I signal to him that I’m ready. The screen fades to me driving a U-Haul to Miami.

After the talk, the organizers pointed me to various other craft-based events happening that week.

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April 16, 2025 — Kim’s Video at O Cinema

On their list of recommendations was a historic movie theater in South Beach called O Cinema. Randomly, they were showing Kim’s Video—a documentary about the iconic movie store on St. Mark’s Place, near where I used to live—with an audience Q&A with the director afterward. Tickets were $10. The screening was a nice convergence of New York City and Miami.

I took a break and said what's up to the woman handling tickets and refreshments at the theater, who was cool. She pointed me to various low-key bars and downtown architecture to check out. Afterward I wandered South Beach at night, which strikingly feels like being in Grand Theft Auto but in real life.

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April 17, 2025 — Dante’s HiFi

This is a new hi-fi bar that people have been talking about. I thought it would be inauthentic and weird. It wound up being thoughtful and chill. The acoustics were great—the music was loud enough for dancing but still allowed for conversation. The whole vibe was strong. I would go back here.

A few years ago, I had a memorable experience in a home movie theater. I was working for a large audio company at the time, and one of the Pro Audio guys gave me a demo in one of his test setups. He played a scene from Saving Private Ryan, then turned the volume up, and asked if I noticed anything. The thing I noticed was that even as the volume increased, the sound stayed pleasant. He said this was intended, and that the room and the equipment were tuned together to maintain the same feel at low and high volumes, with only the offending frequencies getting attenuated as it got louder. I’ve noticed this effect in room environments since then (it’s easy to spot once you’ve experienced it). Dante’s felt like one of those places. That was probably the main cool thing about it.

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April 18, 2025 — Rare Plant Festival, Miami

Apparently one of the largest rare plant festivals in the world? There were something like 200 cultivators and collectors, especially with a lot of rare orchids. It was a good event. One of my old hobbies was macro plant photography, so I brought my camera and took photos of the orchids.

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April 19, 2025 — Miami Zine Fair

The people at Books & Books had mentioned the 10th Annual Miami Zine Fair happening later that week, so I marked it on my calendar. It turned out to be fun. Probably 500 to 1,000 people were there, and maybe a hundred different vendors were selling handmade zines.

Zines are cool objects with cassette tape energy. There was one veteran Miami zine guy who had been publishing and collecting printed Miami ephemera for some decades. His main zine is called Tropical Depression, which I thought was a great title. One day, I’d like to make a zine.

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April 20, 2025 — Tunnel Projects Open Studio

I heard about an Open Studio event at a place called Tunnel Projects, which is a collective art space. This was probably the most authentic, grassroots-energy thing I went to during the week—and in a while, actually.

Some young artists had taken over vacant office space in an underground parking garage in Little Havana and converted it into small studios. You walk down a ramp into the basement level of the garage and find a hive of creativity under fluorescent lights. It’s like the concrete space had been inoculated with a new, young energy.

The artists were cool and infectiously enthusiastic about their work. I’m not an expert at consuming art, so I mostly just went to vibe. I’ve been experimenting with introducing myself as “an artist”—“I’m working on a project called Secret Buttholes”—and the results have been mixed so far, honestly.

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The End

Overall, the presence and depth of craft in Miami were three or four times more impressive than I’d assumed.

It also struck me that the specific crafts and arts I saw weren’t the exact endpoint for me, personally—I don’t collect rare plants, and am amateur at consuming visual art. I’m more drawn to the authenticity I saw—people who unapologetically center their lives around an esoteric interest and pursue it. I think that is cool.

I told myself I could go get a turkey sandwich at Lula Café if I finished writing this today, so I’m going to go do that now.