As an avid music fan and devoted admirer of typography and graphic design, I began making Tickets Please in March 2023 after walking by a concert hall and noticing people simply displaying a QR code on their phones to enter the show. I was taken back to my youth, and how I used to cherish and save each concert ticket for the various shows I attended. Serendipitously, I had recently reconnected with a friend who is a collector of concert ticket stubs. This ongoing series presents a combination of those stubs and vintage tickets that I have since sourced and purchased myself.
I have saved every ticket from every concert I have ever gone to. That is, up until there stopped being physical tickets. Ticketmaster tickets are an absolute bore. However, my ticket to Phish’s Clifford Ball in 1996 stands out as the most beautiful, I even have the plastic entry bracelets. I remember a childhood friend of mine’s parent had all of their concert tickets framed on the wall, the collection even included Woodstock! This display of concert-going pride definitely inspired me to start my own collection. Although mine stays in an envelope in my desk.
That's so amazing that you still have so many of them! I wish I'd collected more of mine before they all started to disappear. The printed out ticketmaster page does not have the same allure.
I have saved every ticket from every concert I have ever gone to. That is, up until there stopped being physical tickets. Ticketmaster tickets are an absolute bore. However, my ticket to Phish’s Clifford Ball in 1996 stands out as the most beautiful, I even have the plastic entry bracelets. I remember a childhood friend of mine’s parent had all of their concert tickets framed on the wall, the collection even included Woodstock! This display of concert-going pride definitely inspired me to start my own collection. Although mine stays in an envelope in my desk.
That's so amazing that you still have so many of them! I wish I'd collected more of mine before they all started to disappear. The printed out ticketmaster page does not have the same allure.
I am so fascinated by these!
new subscriber from twt – im enraptured by these!!!!!! physical media and ephemera is so lovely.
Ah, ty, hope you enjoy! Ephemera forever!!!
Felt compelled to let you know how much joy these emails bring me, thank you!!
Thank you so much Ruby!
What struck me here is how a ticket is never just a slip of paper.
It’s a wave of expectation, order, and belonging.
From the root, it reminds me that access is not only about doors opening, but about how we stand in line with others calm, patient, present.
Thank you for bringing that feeling to light.