Stephen Coles
@stewf.com
(he/him) Editorial Director & Associate Curator at @letterformarchive.org in San Francisco. Cofounder of @fontsinuse.com & @typographica.org.
Primarily on Mastodon: https://mstdn.party/@stewf
https://stephencoles.org
End the genocide. Cease fire now!
Primarily on Mastodon: https://mstdn.party/@stewf
https://stephencoles.org
End the genocide. Cease fire now!
Pinned
Stephen Coles
@stewf.com
· Nov 17
#introduction
Hello, my name is Stephen Coles.
I am a writer, typographer, archivist, and amateur curator who was extremely lucky to get into type at a time that enables and embraces two of my favorite things: building resources and communities.
This penchant began at an early age…
Hello, my name is Stephen Coles.
I am a writer, typographer, archivist, and amateur curator who was extremely lucky to get into type at a time that enables and embraces two of my favorite things: building resources and communities.
This penchant began at an early age…
Bookshop.org is one of the rare great things to happen to the internet in the last decade.
January 6, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Bookshop.org is one of the rare great things to happen to the internet in the last decade.
Reposted by Stephen Coles
The Flickr album of my favorite signs just passed 100: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Best of Signs
Explore this photo album by Stephen Coles on Flickr!
www.flickr.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:44 PM
The Flickr album of my favorite signs just passed 100: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
So far, the best corporate statement on AI is @buttondown.com’s: buttondown.com/blog/generat...
How Buttondown uses your content to power generative AI
Nope nope nope.
buttondown.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
So far, the best corporate statement on AI is @buttondown.com’s: buttondown.com/blog/generat...
Reposted by Stephen Coles
this is a good reminder of how things that are shitty but have been accepted as normal and inevitable can actually turn out to be abnormal and evitable with some science, time, education and political will
December 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
this is a good reminder of how things that are shitty but have been accepted as normal and inevitable can actually turn out to be abnormal and evitable with some science, time, education and political will
Seen on the back of a tanker truck on the road yesterday. I am still puzzled.
December 17, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Seen on the back of a tanker truck on the road yesterday. I am still puzzled.
One of the many pitfalls of locking core functionality in a software screen.
December 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
One of the many pitfalls of locking core functionality in a software screen.
Reposted by Stephen Coles
While Amazon is investing billions of dollars to expand AI, independent bookstores are hosting community events, personally recommending books to readers, and providing a space that is safe and welcoming during a time when we need them most.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
December 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
While Amazon is investing billions of dollars to expand AI, independent bookstores are hosting community events, personally recommending books to readers, and providing a space that is safe and welcoming during a time when we need them most.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
Another: www.eventbrite.com/e/dogpatch-h...
My team from @letterformarchive.org will be there. And a rare book sale at the Archive upstairs. letterformarchive.org/shop/rare-bo...
My team from @letterformarchive.org will be there. And a rare book sale at the Archive upstairs. letterformarchive.org/shop/rare-bo...
Dogpatch Holiday Market 2025
Get ready for the ultimate winter shopping experience at the Dogpatch Holiday Market 2025 - a seasonal must-visit event for all.
www.eventbrite.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Another: www.eventbrite.com/e/dogpatch-h...
My team from @letterformarchive.org will be there. And a rare book sale at the Archive upstairs. letterformarchive.org/shop/rare-bo...
My team from @letterformarchive.org will be there. And a rare book sale at the Archive upstairs. letterformarchive.org/shop/rare-bo...
Reposted by Stephen Coles
Big housing news in San Francisco today: the Board of Supervisors (their equivalent of City Council) votes to upzone the entire western half of the city. Currently much of the westside is houses. Commercial streets get a height boost.
Diagrams & maps below from sfplanning.org/sites/defaul...
Diagrams & maps below from sfplanning.org/sites/defaul...
December 3, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Big housing news in San Francisco today: the Board of Supervisors (their equivalent of City Council) votes to upzone the entire western half of the city. Currently much of the westside is houses. Commercial streets get a height boost.
Diagrams & maps below from sfplanning.org/sites/defaul...
Diagrams & maps below from sfplanning.org/sites/defaul...
The words here are hand rendered copies of 1970s and ’80s typefaces. Next time I’m in Hayes Valley I’ll stop by and ask who did them so I can make a credited entry on @fontsinuse.com.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The 50 Best Clothing Stores in America
Transporting, surprising and specialized, these stores keep alive the thrill of in-person shopping and are worth the trip — even if nothing is bought.
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:10 AM
The words here are hand rendered copies of 1970s and ’80s typefaces. Next time I’m in Hayes Valley I’ll stop by and ask who did them so I can make a credited entry on @fontsinuse.com.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Nearly 20 years ago, after I first moved to SF, I had no idea what I was looking at as I posed in front of this rad shop window. Pleased to hear that MAC (Modern Appealing Clothing) was just named among the 50 Best Clothing Companies by the New York Times. The store opened in 1980. flic.kr/p/2nTsin
mac
flic.kr
December 3, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Nearly 20 years ago, after I first moved to SF, I had no idea what I was looking at as I posed in front of this rad shop window. Pleased to hear that MAC (Modern Appealing Clothing) was just named among the 50 Best Clothing Companies by the New York Times. The store opened in 1980. flic.kr/p/2nTsin
With a proper search engine you have some sense of the recipe’s source. ChatGPT is just chewed up and regurgitated data, with no citation unless you explicitly ask. Even if you don’t care about the way it steals content from real people, it’s an unreliable delivery mechanism.
November 26, 2025 at 4:26 PM
With a proper search engine you have some sense of the recipe’s source. ChatGPT is just chewed up and regurgitated data, with no citation unless you explicitly ask. Even if you don’t care about the way it steals content from real people, it’s an unreliable delivery mechanism.
I could watch a whole season of David Byrne talking music. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MEj...
Testing David Byrne's Music Knowledge | Track Star*
YouTube video by Track Star*
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:29 AM
I could watch a whole season of David Byrne talking music. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MEj...
Reposted by Stephen Coles
Billie Eilish asked an important question: "If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?"
There are FIVE ways to accumulate a billion dollars:
1) Profiting from a monopoly
2) Insider-trading
3) Political payoffs
4) Fraud
5) Inheritance
Billionaires are the result of a failed system.
There are FIVE ways to accumulate a billion dollars:
1) Profiting from a monopoly
2) Insider-trading
3) Political payoffs
4) Fraud
5) Inheritance
Billionaires are the result of a failed system.
November 18, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Billie Eilish asked an important question: "If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?"
There are FIVE ways to accumulate a billion dollars:
1) Profiting from a monopoly
2) Insider-trading
3) Political payoffs
4) Fraud
5) Inheritance
Billionaires are the result of a failed system.
There are FIVE ways to accumulate a billion dollars:
1) Profiting from a monopoly
2) Insider-trading
3) Political payoffs
4) Fraud
5) Inheritance
Billionaires are the result of a failed system.
I guess my concern is that the longer you dedicate yourself to a particular platform, the more locked in you become. And what is portable now may not be in the future. Substack, like most corps, has shown signs they aren’t particularly dedicated to open protocols or the open web.
November 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I guess my concern is that the longer you dedicate yourself to a particular platform, the more locked in you become. And what is portable now may not be in the future. Substack, like most corps, has shown signs they aren’t particularly dedicated to open protocols or the open web.
It’s on the About page of his website: www.gelliottmorris.com/about (You gotta scroll down near the bottom.)
I understand that Elliot sees Substack as core to his success, but I worry that reliance on it risks his true independence. I just made a direct donation.
I understand that Elliot sees Substack as core to his success, but I worry that reliance on it risks his true independence. I just made a direct donation.
About - Strength In Numbers
Independent, data-driven analysis of politics, public opinion, and elections. A place for thinking smarter with data. Click to read Strength In Numbers, by G. Elliott Morris, a Substack publication wi...
www.gelliottmorris.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
It’s on the About page of his website: www.gelliottmorris.com/about (You gotta scroll down near the bottom.)
I understand that Elliot sees Substack as core to his success, but I worry that reliance on it risks his true independence. I just made a direct donation.
I understand that Elliot sees Substack as core to his success, but I worry that reliance on it risks his true independence. I just made a direct donation.
Yes, you can donate directly to @gelliottmorris.com here: donate.stripe.com/28ocOV3Kp3TG...
Stripe Checkout
donate.stripe.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Yes, you can donate directly to @gelliottmorris.com here: donate.stripe.com/28ocOV3Kp3TG...
Yowza! Did you know it was coming and plan a trip, or was this a spontaneous drive East?
November 12, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Yowza! Did you know it was coming and plan a trip, or was this a spontaneous drive East?
Here is an audio link that is not Spotify. pod.link/1558483834/e...
pod.link
November 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Here is an audio link that is not Spotify. pod.link/1558483834/e...
Who is the most influential person in your community or industry, but doesn’t post on social media?
November 11, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Who is the most influential person in your community or industry, but doesn’t post on social media?
Reposted by Stephen Coles
Friends, please stop linking to Spotify like it’s ok.
The company steadily siphoned money from indie artists, spent millions to host Joe Rogan, littered their library with AI music, and now the CEO is investing in AI weapons.
There are plenty of less damaging ways to listen to music and podcasts.
The company steadily siphoned money from indie artists, spent millions to host Joe Rogan, littered their library with AI music, and now the CEO is investing in AI weapons.
There are plenty of less damaging ways to listen to music and podcasts.
August 15, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Friends, please stop linking to Spotify like it’s ok.
The company steadily siphoned money from indie artists, spent millions to host Joe Rogan, littered their library with AI music, and now the CEO is investing in AI weapons.
There are plenty of less damaging ways to listen to music and podcasts.
The company steadily siphoned money from indie artists, spent millions to host Joe Rogan, littered their library with AI music, and now the CEO is investing in AI weapons.
There are plenty of less damaging ways to listen to music and podcasts.
