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If we always let fear stop us, we might not find out what is on the other side.
Nicola Hamilton
Dear Headless Friends,
Six months ago, I spent a few days at Birmingham Design Festival. While watching a talk by multi-disciplinary designer and magazine enthusiast Nicola Hamilton, the seed of an idea was planted in my head (yes, despite being headless by name, I do have one).
Nicola delivered an incredibly insightful talk which centred around the importance of personal projects. I was riveted; frantically scribbling down notes to capture as many of the wise words being shared as possible. When the talk ended, I raved about how inspired I felt and realised I desperately needed a personal project to reinvigorate my creativity.
Over the following weeks, the seed began to grow. I pondered what I wanted to achieve with this new project. At the time, I was preparing to relaunch Headless Greg, the creative studio that houses all of the work I do as an illustrator, designer, and journalist. While I was excited to take on new client work, I was also itching for a space where I could create freely without the restraints of a brief written by someone else. I wanted a project which encouraged me to delve deeper into queer culture and mental health, the two topics I am most passionate about, and experiment with new design styles.
I wanted a project which encouraged me to delve deeper into quer culture and mental health, the two topics I am most passionate about, and experiment with new design styles.
Before long, I had a proper idea that I could explain to other people: I am starting an online journal which will explore the intersections of creativity, queer culture and mental health. I am going to call it Headless Friends because I am Headless Greg and the whole thing is inspired by the conversations I have with my friends.
I had an easily explainable idea and even a name. All that was left to do was to turn this concept into a fully realised project. It was time to start writing.
I’m pleased to say that both the content plan and the articles themselves for this debut issue all came together quite easily. This isn’t because I am a magical writer; many of the ideas had been at the back of my brain for quite some time waiting to be unleashed so they started sprinting as soon as pen hit paper. Here is what’s inside:
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It felt only right that this first issue include a chat with a good friend - after all this online journal is inspired by the conversations I have with pals - and I knew instantly who I wanted my first interviewee to be.
Artist, activist, writer and friend Rosa Simonet sat down with me to chat about looking after your mental health while travelling, the importance of queer friendship and the power of storytelling.
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The fun of launching my own online journal is I get to write about whatever I want - including things I love but have never written about before such as film. In Queer Film Club, I’ll be looking at movies - as I do everything - from a queer perspective.
Conclave took me by surprise. It turned out to be far more soapy and scandalous, camp and catty, tender and twisty than I expected a religious romp to be.
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A lot of the contents of this issue was inspired, at least in part, by my move to Birmingham just over a year ago. Since before I moved, I’ve been explaining to people that the UK’s second biggest city is a super friendly and creative place to live.
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Whether I moved to Birmingham or the moon, I would take the same brain - and ‘bad wolf’ - with me wherever I go. And that’s not an entirely bad thing. Let’s unpack the impact relocating has had on my mental health.
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For one reason or another, many of the articles I have written over the years are no longer available to read online. This Revisited series is a way for me to offer some of the lost words a new home while taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
For the first issue, we’re travelling back to 2017 to revisit another momentous debut: my first day at art school. I was so full of wonder, nerves and optimism as I arrived for my first day studying illustration.
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Finally, we all know that Christmas is the most wonderful time of year to support small businesses. To help you shop small, I’ve put together a list of 40 brilliant businesses which all sell a range of gorgeously giftable goods.
The idea has grown. The name has been chosen. The articles have been written. The visuals have been created. Phase one of my brand new project, the first issue of Headless Friends, is complete.
Now it’s time for the scary bit - sharing it online.
I’ve had lots of fun dreaming up this new journal and am pleased with how the first edition has turned out but the idea of other people seeing it makes me seize up a little. Headless Friends is the most personal of all of the personal projects I have embarked on. It includes stories from my real life, glimpses inside my mind, conversations with my dear friends and celebrations of queerness. These are vulnerable things and sharing them feels scary.
However, as Nicola Hamiton said in the talk which put this project in motion: if we always let fear stop us, we might not find out what is on the other side.
With this in mind, I’m pushing past the fear and releasing Headless Friends into the world. Let’s go on an adventure and see what’s on the other side.
Stay queer and be kind to your mind,
Greg :)