It all began here...

Written By Jose Araujo

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. I was always the kid drawing on something. School papers, notebooks, whatever was in front of me. Looking back, I probably owe a lot of my drawing ability to all the sketches I was supposed to be doing instead of whatever was actually assigned.

My English teacher at the time wanted to help me become a sketch artist for cartoons. She had a friend who worked in commercials, and she was an actress in commercials herself. She wanted to help me make a connection, but it wasn't something I was interested in at the time.

All I cared about was graffiti and drawing. Looking back now, I think, man, was I an idiot.

I just wanted to draw what I wanted to draw. And I still do.

Somewhere around 16 or 17, I started making zines in high school and selling them to my friends. Around that same time, I also started a blog/site with my friend Anthony Camacho. It was a simple photo blog about our adventures and pieces we had painted. We were both into photography, graffiti, making videos, and making zines.

The first site we made was called Fish and Grits, and then we made another called TenGramz. The first zine I made myself was around 2009 and was called RareForm. Anthony made his own called Killer of Ants.

The zines weren't anything fancy. We made them because we liked making things, and we liked taking photos and writing on walls. I'd draw, make collages, take photos, put things together, make copies, and try to get people to buy them.

It was probably one of the first times I realized that something I made with my own hands could actually end up in someone else's hands.

I've always been into printed media you can hold.

I'm a collector. I've collected all kinds of things over the years. Old stuff, weird stuff, things that probably don't make much sense to anyone else. I like the history of objects. I like the way things look after they've been around for a while. Scratches, worn edges, old printing, faded colors, and especially knick-knacks.

I like little things. Things that show that something has been made. Things I can put on a bookshelf or keep on the top shelf of my desk or station.

I think all of that eventually found its way into Street Magic Supply.

Street Magic is still figuring itself out.

It's a collection of things I'm into, things I want to make, places I want to discover, and things I think are worth sharing. Some of it is art. Some of it is clothing. Some of it is magazines, books, and zines.

All of it is just stuff that I think is cool.

That's what I want this blog to be about.

Not just selling you something. I want to talk about the stuff behind it.

The artists, the objects, the places, the ideas, the music, the people, the things I find, and the things I'm working on. Some of it will probably make sense. Some of it probably won't.

That's alright.

I've never had a straight line to follow. I color outside the lines. I started with a pencil and the margins of my schoolwork, and Street Magic Supply has been the next part of that.

So, if you're here, thank you. We really appreciate all the support we've had so far. There's more to come, and we hope you're in for the ride.

It began with my friend.