Snacking Universal with Snacks Quarterly

Alexander Barrett and Brad Simon don’t even seem to know each other that well. Both work for the advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy, which is how they initially crossed paths, but Barrett works out of the Shanghai office (where he reports snacks are “fascinating,” and either taste like “the best thing you’ve ever eaten, or taste like dust”), and Simon out of the company’s Portland headquarters. Yet together they’ve launched Snacks Quarterly (snacksquarterly.com), an art and literary online magazine devoted to the in between mini-meals—an area of interest in which any given pair of strangers can find common ground.

So when Simon ran across a poster on which Barrett was riffing on phrases involving the word “snack” (these things happen in a creative workspace) he initiated an email volley through which Snacks Quarterly, now just one issue strong, was given form. Designed by Simon and framed in Barrett’s language, the meat of Snacks’ content comes solely from outside contributors (well, mostly… more on that later). Drawing on their respective pools of talented friends, a host of designers were invited to submit original works of graphic art based on a loose “snacks” theme—from pink and yellow ribbons of harmoniously entwined taffy strips (Llew Mejia) to a cheerful sea-foam medley of cake slices, waffles, and ice cream cones (Jing Wei).

A set of six questions came as standard Q&A with each artist (“Which snack would you like to have on your deathbed?” “Which snack brings you fond memories?” Etc.), and reading through the responses conjures a rotation of nostalgia (Necco Wafers and Baskin Robbins Bubblegum flavor, anyone?), desire, and disdain (um… banana chips?). Other submissions take the form of short stories and other riffing ditties, including one that’s actually authored by Barrett under a pseudonym (I’ll let you guess which), though general Snacks Quarterly policy dictates the magazine be a place for the work of guests. And so we find Saehee Cho’s abbreviated meditation on genetically modified fruit, a mocking defense against the notion that Bugles are a tribute to the Ku Klux Klan by Justin Becker, and an Analisa Raya-Flores tale in which the crying-while-snacking phenomenon is brought to melancholic head on a Southern California roadway, to name just a few.

In its premiere incarnation, Simon and Barrett admit a generalized approach, with opportunities for greater specificity—a summer issue, a holiday edition—lying in wait. At the same time they’re brainstorming content diversification, such as snack-inspired mix tapes. And while they’ve leaned on friends—people Simon says he knew he “wouldn’t have to art direct”—they are open to pitches from outside their own circles. What they’re not interested in is pursuing the project as a source of revenue, letting it become “too big too soon,” or using it as anything other than a way to have fun and getting some creative ya-yas out. Guidelines are loose and non-discriminating—junk food, health food, vegan food, and meat food are all welcome; “there is no snack agenda,” affirms Barrett.

Given their modesty in remaining facilitators rather than spotlighting their own voices within the magazine itself, this piece seemed an appropriate space to turn the tables on them, with same set of snack-queries they’ve laid on so many others:

Which snack would you bring to the housewarming party of a good friend?
BRAD SIMON: Homemade guacamole and chips. Anything made, nothing store-bought. Making it yourself shows more goodwill.
ALEX BARRETT: Apple crisp. In my family, we eat apple crisp as dessert, a snack, or a meal.

Which snack would you like to have on your deathbed?
BS: Sour Patch Kids.
AB: Peanut M&Ms, because they have protein.

If you had to name your newborn daughter after a snack, what would you name her?
BS: Snickers.
AB: Dorita.

Which snack brings you fond memories?
BS: English muffin pizzas with Ragu sauce.
AB: Tastykake.

Which snack reminds you of heartbreak?
BS: Blue popsicles.
AB: Sour cream and onion chips.

Which snack would you bring to the housewarming party of a mortal enemy?
BS: Sweetbreads on toast.
AB: Circus peanuts.

Find Snacks Quarterly at snacksquarterly.com and on Instagram as @snacksquarterly.