Snoots, Berries, and White Cabbage

And looking at my face

Hello again, friends 👋

Apologies for skipping January’s edition; I was unwell. But it did allow for much scrolling of arty and designy things, personal projects, and producing a much longer Shell-Out than normal.

Here’s some cool stuff that I’ve found during the aforementioned period of blurgh 👇

---

Greyhounds as pets

The typical “IP mashup” campaign doesn’t usually hit as hard as it used to, thanks to everything having a multiverse Fortnite tie-in and Disney owning everything. But New Zealand agency Special teamed up with The Simpsons (so… er… Disney…) to create an adorable set of billboards for Greyhounds As Pets, a charity encouraging the rehoming of ex-racing snoots.

My long-nosed dog bias shows here, but it’s such a powerful use of recognisable Simpsons art — and for a worthy cause that doesn’t ask me to buy crypto or drink sugar water.

---

A Blackberry… in 2026? 👴

I’ve noticed that the ‘dumbphone’ movement continues to gain momentum, with people (including myself) getting really fed up with our attention being ripped from our psyche in the form of Reels and Tiktoks. One excellent (but hardcore) approach is to swap your phone out for one that’s less exciting. I swapped my ‘pro’ phone to an iPhone 13 mini and felt instant relief thanks to the little screen and small battery killing off any doomscrolling.

Perfect for texting. Terrible for Clash of Clans.

But Clicks, makers of popular phone keyboard cases, announced the Clicks Communicator last month — the best take on a modern Blackberry I’ve seen so far. It nails the essentials but sucks at watching four-hour YouTube documentaries about Disneyland.

Of course, it hasn’t actually launched yet, but I’m watching this closely.

---

Jomo & Habitkit 📱

January is over; the time of year when many people think about goals, habits, and achievements. Often, these end up falling flat and bring feelings of sadness, frustration, and shame. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can make my own goals and habits more meaningful in 2026.

One big ‘problem’ that I’ve been working on for a while is my screen time, which has dropped over the last six months (thanks, little iPhone!), but ultimately it’s still a form of distraction that compounds over time. JOMO is a blocking app that you can configure to lock yourself out from apps and websites, be it for a set period or banning yourself from scrolling LinkedIn on your phone for good.

Nothing puts me off watching YouTube more than having to look at my own face.

Another discovery I’ve been enjoying is HabitKit, a simple app that visualises my habits (both the ones I’m building and the ones I’m breaking), with home screen widgets that remind me to keep on track. I enjoy reading Sebastian’s insightful Substack posts about building apps as a solo developer, too.

Disclaimer: both JOMO and HabitKit have provided me with review copies of their software, but these are genuine recommendations.

---

I found someone’s list 🛒

It’s a steadfast Tom rule: always read the contents of a found piece of paper. This one had some particularly nice handwriting.

I hope they remembered all of that.

If this is your kind of thing, you’ll probably enjoy the r/FoundPaper subreddit.

---

A moodboard

There’s an art to making a good moodboard, and not just collecting similarly themed images. This one from freelance designer Harry Cresswell nails the aesthetic. Maybe every freelancer should have a moodboard on their site? I definitely understand what this designer likes now.

Thanks for reading.

Hope you have a lovely February, and I hope you enjoyed a slightly wordier edition of this email. As always, feel free to send me anything cool you’ve seen recently — just send a reply to this email.

Until then,
Tom 🐢