December '25
Design, music, and film highlights of 2025.
Hi all and happy holidays/end of year! 2025 flew by, and it’s that time of the year to reflect on cool projects I’ve been part of, posters that annihilated my pen tool, and the usual film/music favorites roundup. I started this newsletter almost 3 years ago now, and it feels like a huge accomplishment to be able to keep up with it every month. Not only do I love sharing new artwork and current interests on here, but I hope to look back on this archive years from now as a time capsule of accomplishments and memories. So if you’ve been following along since the beginning, it’s been lovely to have you here.
Reflecting on this year, I found myself turning down more work than usual because of stress and a constant cycle of burnout. The music industry moves at an extremely rapid pace, with insane turnaround times, and I often feel like I cannot possibly keep up while still trying to take care of myself. This has led me to say no more often, feel guilty about it, but then ultimately let out a sigh of relief that I’m not pulling my hair out over a 24 hour deadline. I’m constantly fighting with myself over prioritizing rest time this year, while simultaneously feeling guilty for not doing more. That thought feels evil, because in order to make our best work we must find time for rest. Trying not to tie productivity to worth has been a huge theme this year.
All that being said, that’s just what the worm is my brain is telling me. I’m doing my best to ignore it, because I still accomplished SO many incredible things this year, while also resting more. I worked for my ultra ultra mega dream client David Byrne, designed records for the labels I work for, re-opened my online store and sold many many many posters, expanded my friend group in the industry, had artwork randomly featured in an HBO show??, created merch for Portlandia reunion shows, cooked a lot of meals, and leaned more into my special interests.
I’d love to hear about some things you accomplished this year (doesn’t have to be work related), if you want to share below <3
DESIGN
Thank you to Folk Yeah!, The Fillmore, Ashley Graham, Bravado, UMG, Nation Of Language, Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Tommy Manzi, CAKE, Michael Carney, Red Star Merchandise, Caroline Kingsbury, The Merch Collective, and many more!
There are some projects that aren’t featured here (because I couldn’t fit everything on the clothes pin line) but it’s incredible to see all this work together, all the pretty colors and shapes! Reading my EOY post from last year, one of the goals for 2025 was to amplify my print store and sell more physical copies of my work. I received physical copies of nearly every poster I did this year, and sold the most APs of any year I’ve been designing posters. My online store will remain open in 2026, and I’ll continue to add new APs with each project!
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I spent the entire last half of 2024 working on the artwork development for Scowl’s album Are We All Angels, which was released this past April (although it feels like a lifetime ago at this point)…. the artwork was so fun to create, and seeing the visuals come to life in various marketing material for record stores, performances on late night television, and on tour, was so rewarding.
I won’t share everything from the campaign again, but you can view (almost) all of it here!
Scowl ✰ Are We All Angels ✰ Dead Oceans ✰ LP, CD, Admat, OOH
Art Direction: Nick Scott ✰ Design: Julia Fletcher
Two other records I was involved in, with either the early stages of creative development of the packaging or assisting in final touches.
Brandon ✰ Before You Go ✰ Secretly Canadian ✰ LP, CD
Creative Direction: Brandon Joseph & Caroline Ridings ✰ Design: Julia Fletcher & Miles Johnson
Shame ✰ Cutthroat ✰ Dead Oceans ✰ LP, CD, OOH
Art Direction: Nick Scott ✰ Design: Ingrid Enache & Julia Fletcher
MOVIES
Record breaking number of movies watched this year. It doubled from last year, which was about 180-ish. This year….drumroll…. 291. This maybe explains why I became a shut in and didn’t go to as many shows this year. My favorite third space that isn’t work or home is the movie theater, and nearly all of these (vaguely ranked) movies I got to see in the theater:
1. Bugonia / 2. Marty Supreme / 3. The Ugly Stepsister / 4. 28 Years Later / 5. Weapons / 6. Final Destination Bloodlines / 7. Bring Her Back / 8. It Ends / 9. VHS Halloween / 10. Companion / 11. Dangerous Animals / 12. Caught Stealing / 13. The Shrouds / 14. Mickey 17 / 15. The Phoenician Scheme / 16. Sinners / 17. Frankenstein / 18. The Long Walk / 19. Cloud / 20. The Smashing Machine / 21. One Battle After Another / 22. Presence / 23. Materialists / 24. Die My Love / 25. Clown in a Cornfield / 26. Freakier Friday / 27. Shelby Oaks
It was kind of a rough year for new releases for me. I didn’t really LOVE any new movies except my top 5 listed above. Even movies that made the top 10 I thought were enjoyable but not memorable enough for me to think about more than a few times. I think I was just knee deep in first watches this year, a majority being horror. I am 95% watching exclusively horror now because it’s a deep interest of mine. Here are some of my favorite first watches, not all horror but mostly!
La Haine, Do The Right Thing, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Flow, Brain Damage, Chopping Mall, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Nickel Boys, Dancer in the Dark, Society, sex, lies, and videotape, Brainscan, The Beyond, Hellraiser 3, Rapture, The Pact, Exte: Hair Extensions, RoboCop, Mad God, Dr. Caligari, Oddity, Out of the Blue, Intruder, The Ugly Stepsister, Earth Girls Are Easy, Pieces of April, Army of Darkness, Christiane F., Dark Water, Dead Ringers, Slither, Mother, Tokyo Gore Police, Totally F’ed Up, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Death Becomes Her, Slumber Party Massacre II, Thesis, Mute Witness, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Speed Racer, Ice Cream Man, In My Skin, Pin, The Exorcist III, Fright Night, Christine, It Ends, Dead End
Typing out that list felt insane so I also made a Letterboxd list of favorite first watches that’s a little more extensive
I still have some movies I’ve watched this month that I’d like to recommend because they’re super fun
Dead End (2003) dir. Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa ☆☆☆☆☆
I’ve heard whispers about this movie and decided to put it on, without even knowing it takes place on Christmas Eve so the timing was perfect. This one is about a family who take a shortcut on Christmas Eve and find themselves on a never-ending road where they’re terrorized by a lady wearing white and a mysterious black car. It’s ridiculously funny, Ray Wise plays the alcoholic dad who has some amazing lines. The score is randomly good; a mix of cool 90s breakbeat and punk lol. Features that early 2000s annoying edgy teenage son who provides comedic relief. The plot itself never feels predictable or repetitive, the story is fresh and genuinely gripping. This is a new favorite, I’m dying to rewatch it with a group of friends.
It Ends (2025) dir. Alexander Ullom ☆☆☆☆
Four recent college graduates get stuck on an otherworldly, never-ending road, forcing them to confront their anxieties and fear of the future. Another endless road movie lol! This movie is the perfect mix of Dead End and The Long Walk, which I watched back to back to back for the perfect triple feature. It Ends explores the existential Gen Z dread, which felt like a gut punch once the film ended. I found myself thinking about it for a long time. A very impressive debut that was available for rent on the Letterboxd Video Store.
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009) dir. Werner Herzog ☆☆☆☆
A mentally unstable man (played by Michael Shannon, a role he seems to enjoy) barricades himself in his flamingo covered house after he slays his mother with a sword. The film follows a hostage situation that results from the murder, and the cops piecing together clues from his past that give insight into how they arrived at such a bizarre, tragic event. Since this movie is produced by David Lynch, his DNA is all over this, it might as well be his movie alone. Haunted, disturbed LA suburbs, Lynch universe cast members, existential and otherworldly flashbacks. Willem Dafoe and Michael Peña play detectives, Chloe Sevigny is the barricaded man’s fiance, Brad Dourif is his uncle, Udo Kier is his play director??? There’s a lot to chew on here, not sure if it really all comes together but it’s very interesting.
MUSIC
Top Albums:
City of Clowns — Marie Davidson
Cutting the Stone — Safe Mind
Are We All Angels — Scowl
Phonetics On and On — Horsegirl
Radio DDR — Sharp Pins
Never Enough — Turnstile
yes, please. — Sextile
I Just Remembered Everything Always Works Out For Me — Touching Ice
Dance Called Memory — Nation of Language
Essex Honey — Blood Orange
Bastard — The Wants
Pirouette — Model/Actriz
PORTRAiTS — PARKiNG
Top Songs:
Cutthroat — Shame
6’ Pole — Safe Mind
Throw Yourself To The Sword — Die Spitz
Cinderella — Model/Actriz
Playing Classics — Water From Your Eyes
Lose It Again — Hatchie
Switch Over — Horsegirl
Demolition — Marie Davidson
Birds — Turnstile
Spike Island — Pulp
Storma Lee — Sharp Pins
Elderberry Wine — Wednesday
Afterlife — Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
The Field — Blood Orange
Love Takes Miles — Cameron Winter
Inept Apollo — Nation of Language
Girl Feels Good — FKA Twigs
Aerial Troubles — Stereolab
Lantern — PARKiNG
We Were Just Here — Just Mustard
What Is The Reason For It? — David Byrne, Hayley Williams
Second Life — Lip Critic
Live Shows:
NIN & Boys Noize @ Barclays
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart @ Trans Pecos
Scowl @ Rockefeller Center
Justice @ Barclays
MCR @ Fenway Park
Stereolab @ Brooklyn Steel
Thanks so much for following along this year and allowing me to share my art here with you all. More shapes and colors next year!
