Piscine magazine on documenting Glasgow's creative scene
Print is alive and well in Glasgow, as we hear from Calum Herbert and Molly Hooper about their process and the inspiration behind Piscine magazine
“It's an art and culture magazine, for and about Glasgow,” Calum Herbert and Molly Hooper explain of Piscine magazine, Glasgow’s newest print publication, started by a group of recent-ish graduates from Glasgow School of Art. Originally named Piss Scene, but softened into today’s more welcoming liquid title, the magazine aims to “show off all the fun work that everyone's doing… documenting all the cool things that are happening.”
Its first issue contains insightful commissioned writing, with highlights including food reviews by Mike Hill and a piece by artist Briony Godivala documenting a project in which she tattooed a QR code onto her arm, linking to a webpage changed daily via public vote. Alongside these longer features are columns written by artists, musicians and organisers within Glasgow’s creative scene. “We just let the people – that have so far mostly been pals – write them,” the pair explain, creating a democratic and naturalistic way to discover new corners of the city’s culture.
Herbert and Hooper are the design duo behind Piscine’s visual identity, and issue one marked the first time they had worked together formally. Herbert was initially approached by the editorial team to design the masthead and, through his extended residency at local letterpress studio The Caseroom, crafted the logo using a wooden typeface found in the cases and printed using a traditional press. “It looks gorgeous because you get the texture of the wood – it's just amazing,” he explains.
Asked how they approach the design partnership, the pair joke that they “parallel play.” But readers of the magazine will be able to see play within its pages, deftly woven with experimentation, care and a clear love for design and printed material. The cover, for example, lays bare the team’s entire WhatsApp chat history, with only bank details removed, and overlaid with an illustration by artist Freddie Guthrie. This simple idea intersects insight, humour and style, which continues throughout the magazine. Hooper takes the reins on graphic design, producing thoughtful typography and layouts, while Herbert’s influence appears through collograph illustrations and the use of woodblock and letterpress forms.
Their time studying together at Glasgow School of Art has proven to be an influential foundation for their design sensibilities. They were taught, alongside Pickstone, by Matthew Walkerdine, founder of independent small press bookshop Good Press. “[Walkerdine] instilled prints in us. Books. Just feel the material, get the paper in your hands,” Herbert enthuses.
“That's kind of what we rave about and talk about all the time in studios, just pulling out books. Just really loving books. I almost see the magazine more of a publication, like an actual book.”
Molly Hooper (L) and Calum Herbert (R) of Piscine magazine.
I wonder if this is a response to the cold world of phones, doomscrolls, collapsing attention spans? Dare I say, a response to the un-nameable form of ‘intelligence’ coming to eat artists alive, up and down the land? “Actually, no, I don't think so,” Herbert responds. “I think we just love print stuff, like genuinely.”
“It's also quite nice, I think, with print, to say okay, it's done, it's done now, it's been sent off,” Hooper adds. “You kind of have to let it go, whereas on digital... I mean, I tweaked some of the things on the Instagram the other day.”
A print-only publication was not the original plan. Early discussions involved publishing more work online, but the realities of producing issue one – which arrived almost ten months later than intended – forced a reconsideration of priorities. “After this one came out, I think we were kind of like, why are we messing around with trying to put too much out? Why are we trying to churn out lots of writing, when actually we could just have a bit more control.”
Starting a print magazine in 2026 is not for the faint of heart, or those shirking from hard work, but luckily the team behind Piscine suffer from neither such ails. With issue one dedicated to labour and work, Piscine looks graft right in the eye. Herbert was the only member who didn’t hold a hospitality job alongside his practice, although he has recently picked one up. Hooper, alongside her hospitality work, also runs R.A.T., an independent artist studio and gallery space in the city centre.
Despite the workload, issue two is due to hit Glasgow’s streets soon, this time in the form of a broadsheet newspaper. Expect Piscine’s signature yellow and tactile masthead, but beyond that, there are no rules. As for future issues? The boundaries of print and publication are set to be tested. “What we really want to do is to start a kind of workshop situation,” Herbert explains. “Actually getting people involved to construct a magazine – we've been calling it Day Mag, because what we really want to do is do a magazine in a day.”
“Real time printing, real time making, editing – everything's happening, and at the end of it you have a magazine. Hopefully.”
For Piscine, print is neither a nostalgic medium in decline, nor an opportunity for mawkish pastiche. The team treats print as a living, collaborative medium, one which is growing and changing shape as much as Glasgow’s culture itself.