Interview: Brande Wix of Found Magazine
November 11, 2009
Amy Goldman: Explain Found magazine for those who aren’t familiar with it.
Brande Wix: My friend Davy was living in Chicago and found a note that read, “Mario, why is your car here?” It was from an angry woman who thought the car was her boyfriend’s. It ended with, “P.S. call me later.” Davy loved it. He’s collected notes his whole life. This magazine started as just a collection of notes and things we all had. We made 3000 copies at Kinko’s and people bought them. Before we knew it, we started getting mail from fans. We were really surprised that there were so many people out there who were into sharing found notes. It shows we’re not alone in the world and how people are curious about other people’s lives. Now we get five pieces of mail a day. We get so many love letters and sometimes you get desensitized to it; it starts to get common, but then it shows we all go through those feelings.
AG:What’s your job at Found?
BW:I do a lot of organizing, go through a lot of mail and finds. And I help put together the magazine and tours. I also work for a media company called Quak.
AG:What does the concept of forgotten mean to you in terms of Found?
BW:A lot of people misplace things — sometimes inadvertently putting notes in the hands of our contributors. There was a found note that was probably intended for the garbage can. It was from a school: “AJ, we have your binder, you will never see it again unless you leave a sum of $3.50 by the bathroom.” Things like that. You’re pretty sure they weren’t meant to be found, but people find them and send it to us.Things like “please tear after reading.” There are countless spots where people find personal things.
AG:What are some of the strangest finds you’ve reviewed?
BW: There was a find in California from a Iraq War protest march in 2003. It was a note from a police officer and it said something like, “We have the crowd, and I hit the guy with my baton.” Sometimes we wonder if people are making it up just so they can get it into the magazine. Another thing that was interesting: right on the day of 9/11, there was a kid in class and someone found this piece of notebook paper he was writing on. It went from class notes about a love poem to “We are under attack! The world trade center is gone! I’m scared” and then “Practice is canceled.” He changed his homework into a diary. Some of them are funny, some are sad, and some are whacked out and crazy. A friend of ours was in Chicago on the L train and there was this homeless guy who had artwork with him. Police came on the train and removed him without letting him get his artwork. His art was on the backs of transit cards and Dunkin’ Donut napkins. It was pretty decent stuff. Little does he know that his stuff has been printed in our magazine. Oh yeah, somebody sent in a dead mouse once. That was pretty strange.
AG:What has the public’s reaction been to Found?
BW: We’ve been really happy with the public reaction. We’ve done a tour every year to keep it fresh in people’s minds — since the magazine only comes out once a year. We have a Web site, and a find of the day. When we come out with a new magazine, people flock to stores to get it. We’re doing pretty well, and we don’t have real advertising and that’s the backbone to most magazines. If it wasn’t for the advertising, they wouldn’t exist. And we don’t have them, so we gotta sell magazines.
AG:What do you like about for working for Found?
BW:I like that it’s new and exciting. We get so many people around the world sending finds in. Sometimes we have to get it translated from German, French, or Japanese. Maybe someone’s in a computer lab and finds Chinese characters written on paper. They’ll tell their Chinese-speaking friend to translate it and they’ll start laughing, making a whole discussion over it. Then we get it and publish it in English. We have little projects we do, too. We’re working on video projects. Davy has a video about love. Basically, it’s his own personal experience and how he’s not very good at it. It’s called “My Heart is an Idiot.” It’s kind of fucked up, actually.
AG:What’s the criteria for including finds on the Web site or in the magazine?
BW:It’s kind of random. I have drawers here with photos, paperwork, bizarre finds, funny ones, serious ones, love ones, sad ones, angry ones, family oriented ones, poetry, rap, lists, postcards and greeting cards. We get four or five people together and go through the mail. We’ll each read a letter or look at a photo and grade them A, B, C. Some of the stuff is like, why do people send this in? It’s just a candy wrapper. We’ll throw away stuff that’s just crap. Sometimes we’ll actually decorate covers. With issue #3 there isn’t much on the front, so we’ll physically tape finds on the cover.
AG:Why do you think it made sense to tour with Post Secret?
BW: Post Secret is kind of similar, in the same vein. Post Secret contributors are revealing secrets they don’t want t tell anyone else, yet, ironally, they want it published. But with Found, we don’t have people sending directly. Our submissions are from people stumbling upon secrets of sorts. But they’re not usually writing them.
AG:What has been your favorite find?
BW: Justin, this Portland kid, wasn’t doing very well in his geometry class. So when he had a test, he made fun of the test. He wrote, “I sit in class all day and I don’t know what he has to say. I will never pass this class.” This was hilarious, you know. He drew a picture of an old man saying, “Get off my property!” for the question “Describe a property.” If I were a teacher, I’d give him a chance to do it over. The teacher gave him a 0 out of 100. There was another find: a letter to an airline complaining about a bad seat next to the bathroom. It was a long-winded and funny account. Some guy groaning and smelling feces. There are a lot of good ones. Now, after working here for a while, I tear up and destroy everything I write–I don’t want my stuff to get out there.
AG: What do you think inspires people to submit finds?
BW: They just want to be a part of it. Found by Amy Goldman in a D.C. park, things like that. And they also probably feel the same way we do, kind of voyeuristic. People are intrigued with other people. Do you look into open windows? Do you listen in to people arguing? It’s like paying attention to detail, to know you’re not alone in the world. There are so many people out there with so many problems that can be very similar to yours. If not, they make for great entertainment.
AG: How do you think college students can relate to Found?
BW:I don’t think it’s just college students. But I think a lot of college students get into Found magazine because it’s a fun distraction. Davy’s actually gone to a lot of high schools and elementary schools, and everybody really enjoys it. I remember we did an event at Politics and Prose in D.C. There was an old man who came up to us with a briefcase full of items he had been collecting over the years. He extracted a note he found in a cup of ice by boiling the water. He pieced the parts together. He was able to make sense of it. This is what our contributors are like.
AG:What are the staffers of Found like? What makes you want to work for Found?
BW:We’re just people. I graduated from college and moved around the country. My friend Davy moved around quite a bit. We really enjoy life and what makes people tick.
AG:Where can people get Found magazine?
BW:If you go to the Web site and click on “bookstores” there will be a list of bookstores all over the country, some even in England. Generally small independent bookstores carry it. Politics and Prose would have it!
AG: How can people contribute to Found?
BW: By sending their finds and by coming to our events when we go on tour. We’re booked with people on staff right now, but there are occasional internships that we have where kids come and help out for the summer. It’s a small magazine, but students can see what goes into putting together a magazine. On our next tour we’ll be at the Warehouse Theater in D.C. Come check us out!
Brande Wix is editor and co-founder of Found. Check them out online at www.foundmagazine.com.