A studio visit with Romke Hoogwaerts and Grace Leigh (Mossless)
photographs by Molly Matalon
How did you two meet and how did you start working together on Mossless?
Grace: Romke and I met in life drawing class at SVA my freshman year. We sat next to each other while we drew naked ladies. We started getting our lunches together and we'd sit for the hour on the stoop​ ​and talk. I started running into him basically everywhere I went, it was truly bizarre. It actually became a joke between my friends and I. I would be like "oh I went to this great show in the lower east side last night" and they'd be like "oh cool, how's Romke?"​. Eventually, I just decided to ask him to go to a movie with me. The movie was a total bust, sold out, but it ended up being a great night, and it just clicked. We just started spending almost all of our time together after that. ​
I started working on Mossless mostly as a means to hang out with him more and help with everything he had going on, I initially had no intention of becoming involved past that. I started by just helping with packing and shipping and that morphed into me becoming really invested in the project.​ Progressively I started doing more and more, helping him out with some smaller editions and things like that. It wasn't until our month in Holland visiting Romke's family that we starting thinking of projects together.​ Romke was so open to me becoming a part of it, it all happened really fluidly.
Where is your studio and how many hours per week would you say you work in it?
Grace: ​Our studio is in our house, in a little room off of our living room. We are actually currently renovating it,​ so I'm spending a little more time in there than usual. We just extended our lease for a year and a half so we're like, okay lets turn this into a room we can really work in, because since the beginning we've kind of just been working wherever there is space on the floor... ​ It's definitely time to have a workspace.
Romke: We've been aching for a studio for the longest time!
Are there things that are specifically Grace's things to do or Romke's or do you both work on everything regarding Mossless?
Romke: We divide things fluidly, depending on what needs to be done.​
Grace:​ When we have special editions to work on, like the ones we did with Laurie Kang, Mark King and Jake McNulty, which are usually an edition of 25-50 and printed in house, I'll do the binding and assembling of the books. I have also recently taken over the task of our stateside distribution, which is itself a whole learning experience.
Romke: I do most of the editorial labor, preparing pages, tweaking details, talking with printers, and so on. What I like most about our partnership is that we scrutinize every creative editorial choice together.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start self publishing?
Romke: Be experimental and pursue what you think should exist! That, and avoid putting your personal finances at risk.
What are the pros and cons of your studio?
Grace: It's easy to get distracted when you have your studio in your house, and that goes both ways: getting distracted from work when you have things to do and working when you're trying to relax at night (i.e. eating dinner at a normal time). It all becomes a bit muddled. But it's nice in that we can jump into work whenever we want or need.
Romke: Our equipment and tools and things are all mixed up with our personal belongings. It's kinda nice to work at home but when you spend about half an hour a week looking for the same tape dispenser, you know something's not right. I will say that the intimate setting allows us to keep our guards down, in a way.
Romke, you recently started working as a photo editor for Bloomberg Businessweek. Can you tell us more about what you do for BBW and are there things you didn't expect to encounter?
Romke: I got hired by BBW to help edit photos for the front of book, the news sections. I had already known and befriended an editor there, but the third issue really got my foot through the door. About half a year into that I got offered an incredible position at the NYTimes Magazine, so now I work there. I oversee the photography on the magazine's website. It's a great honor and it's fun too.
What is next for Mossless?
Grace: We've got a couple of smaller editions in the works, which we are finally able to get to now that things from around Issue 3 are calming down. This is is shaping up to be a summer of books for us, I'm really excited about it.
Romke: We'll also be releasing a new video as well, a pilot for a type of short photographer doc. We'll see how it's received before we invest in making more.
What's the best thing that happened to you thanks to Mossless?
Grace: I'd say it's everything I've learned about work ethic, about making books, about working in collaboration with someone. This is invaluable to me. ​​
Romke: I was able to get a legitimate career in magazines, no internship could ever have offered me a way to showcase what I can do. I'm mostly glad I can pay rent without worry now. But of course, the greatest thing about is all the photographs I have been able to see as a result. That alone really has been an education.
What is your favorite track to edit photos to?
Romke: During Issue 3 I was listening to Bill Fay quite a bit, Willis Earl Beal and Angel Olsen too.
Grace: For me right now it's Jessica Pratt's Back, Baby.
For more of Romke and Grace’s work, please visit www.mosslessmagazine.com
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