May was a lot. In the best way.

Hey all,

May has been a lot — a month full of fairs, people, and the kind of energy that reminds you the world of indie publishing is very much alive. It kicked off with the Independent Label Market at Coal Drops Yard. My first visit but from what i’ve been told - it’s always good and always the right crowd. There’s something about that particular mix of music lovers, collectors and independent makers that just works.

Music and print have more in common than people think: both are physical things in an increasingly non-physical world, both carry culture in a way that streaming and scrolling simply can’t. Coal Drops Yard suits it perfectly. The architecture, the atmosphere, the sense that you’re somewhere that was built for exactly this kind of thing.

From there, Photo London — which moved this year from its long-time home at Somerset House to Olympia. We’ve done plenty of London book fairs at Olympia over the years, so the space felt familiar, but Photo London wore it well. Surprisingly chilled, good energy, some genuinely great work on the walls. The kind of fair where you slow down without meaning to, where you find yourself standing in front of something for longer than you expected and not minding at all.

Then Offprint at 180 Studios — which, for those who don’t know, sits right next to Somerset House, our home turf. There was something nicely full-circle about that. Offprint always draws a different crowd: younger, more restless, deep into print and independent publishing in a way that feels genuinely alive. Less white walls, more conversation. The kind of fair where you go to browse and end up staying for hours because you keep getting pulled into a chat with someone interesting. Our kind of people.

Then a Sunday in Peckham. Books out on the table, no agenda, just conversations with whoever stopped long enough to pick something up. Peckham 24 has a different energy from the bigger fairs — more neighbourhood, more unpretentious, a genuinely mixed crowd who aren’t necessarily there for books but find themselves drawn in anyway. That’s one of our favourite ways to spend a day. No pressure, just people and print.

And while all of that was happening in London, Steve — our man on the ground in Indonesia — was out at Art Jakarta, doing the same thing on the other side of the world. Different time zones, same mission. There’s something we love about that: Stickerbomb showing up in multiple cities, multiple cultures, all in the same month.

Dozens of conversations. A lot of ground covered. Six fairs between us across May, which is a lot even by our standards — but every single one felt worth it. You come away from a month like this with a full head and a full heart, genuinely energised by how much appetite there is out there for the kind of work we do.

Because there’s something that happens at a book fair that no Instagram post or online shop can touch. Someone picks up a book, flicks through it, puts it down, picks it up again. You watch them clock it — that little shift when something lands. That moment — that’s the whole thing right there. We had Stickerbomb titles out at every stop, and every time, it felt like exactly the right room.

Next up: the Football Book Fair on the 30th May which is, yes, in two days. If you’re a football person AND a book person and if you’re here, there’s a good chance you’re both come and find us.

We’ll have books, we’ll have chat, and we’ll be very glad to see you.

But the big news this month — Sneakers is here

We’ve been sitting on this one for a while, and we’re so glad it’s finally out in the world. Sneakers is the kind of book we love making. It’s visual, obsessive, genuinely beautiful. A proper object for anyone who’s ever cared too much about what’s on their feet. (You know who you are.)

It’s available to order right now — we’re shipping from the 6th of June, so if you get in early, it’ll be with you before you know it.

→ Order your copy here

Huge thanks to every one of the 38 artists who submitted work for this one. Meet the full lineup over on SOI Books →

That’s May almost done. Thank you all for being part of it.

You can read more about our publishing adventures over on Soi Books stories, browse the full Stickerbomb World shop, and if you’re coming to the Football Book Fair on the 30th — we’ll see you there!

Until next time,

Team Stickerbomb