Maker Magazine Review Issue 1: UPPERCASE

There’s a wide variety of maker magazines in print these days, and unfortunately, subscribing to all of them just isn’t possible on most crafters’ budgets. In this series, I review one issue of a maker and/or artist focused magazine so you can decide if you’d like to purchase it for yourself. Note: These reviews will not focus on rating how “good” a given magazine is, rather they will offer an overview of the content of the magazine and suggest who is most likely to enjoy it.

In this edition: UPPERCASE Magazine

Overview:

UPPERCASE describes itself as “a quarterly magazine for the creative and curious inspired by craft, design, typography and illustration.” It began publishing in 2009 and is published in Canada although it features artists from all over the world. The founding editor, Janine Vangool, is basically a one woman shop, although she does have regular contributors who help with writing, photography, and copyediting.

UPPERCASE issues are released four times a year. Issues run roughly 130 pages and have no ads. In this post I’m reviewing Issue 62 (July-Aug-Sept 2024).

What craft(s) are represented?

Visual arts of all types, primarily illustration and painting, although the issue I read included every type of medium you could imagine, including mosaic, ceramics, crochet, knitting, quilting, jewelry making, and often a mix of multiple mediums. 

There are also features on design (graphic and general product design), specific artists (past and present), and articles for people pursuing or interested in pursuing a creative career. For the issue I read, the theme was “domestic arts” so the articles focused on every day objects found in our homes, artists whose work dealt with domestic objects in some way and personal essays about the way changes in an artist’s home (a move or the birth of a child) impacted their creativity. 

Do you buy this magazine for the pictures or the articles? 

UPPERCASE is a visuals first magazine, with even the longer articles featuring a lot of photos, illustrations, and other artwork  that is relevant to the topic. The bulk of the magazine is various features that show submitted works of art with a short blurb from the artist.

The magazine really puts a premium on high quality print production – this is a beautiful magazine that is a pleasure to hold and flip through. 

UPPERCASE intends to be a magazine that celebrates finding inspiration in a variety of places, so by design, their articles cover a wide-range of topics. Some cover the history of a person (in this issue there was an essay about Margaret Burroughs, particularly interesting to me as newly adopted Chicagoan) or certain styles of art or designed objects (for the domestic arts issue this included a number of “everyday” objects like pasta shapes and shelf paper). Some are personal essays about creative life, some are about managing a particular aspect of a design career. 

That said, I found myself drawn to the visual inspiration in the magazine far more than the articles.

Can you make things from this magazine?

You can certainly use it for inspiration (I am now seriously thinking about using coffee bags as art material after seeing an example in this issue) but there are no patterns or tutorials in UPPERCASE. 

Artists can also participate ahead of each issue by submitting work that aligns with the issue's prompts, which means you can make things *for* the issue, just not from it. 

Can you learn new techniques or ideas from this magazine?

Only in a philosophical sense. In this issue I particularly enjoyed learning just how astonishingly creative “domestic arts” actually was as reflected in the featured artists’ work – including a fascinating vase with a ceramic bottom and a knitted opening, an artist who was recreating handpainted china with watercolor on paper plates, and an artist recreating old advertisements as quilts. Some of the longer artist features include a bit of discussion of their process, but, again, not as a step by step tutorial.

Does this magazine feature industry news and/or review new products and books?

UPPERCASE is aimed at people interested in creative careers and does have some practical articles (this issue included “how to charge what you're worth” and another on how to use your business revenue to support environmental causes). It also has a one page feature with book recommendations that provide further exploration of the issue theme. 

However there are no paid ads, no new product announcements or other nuts and bolts industry news, aside from how the artist features function as a way to see a variety of current art pieces.  

Does this magazine profile makers or discuss living a creative life?

Yes. this is the heart of UPPERCASE! There are several features profiling makers and artists, from the “Fresh Picks” which feature artists being published for the first time, to the careers section, where established artists discuss their career journey. 

Does this magazine have any unique features?

I particularly liked that UPPERCASE made artist profiles the focus of several features, each with multiple photos of the artist's work. It made the artists the true focus, rather than a few pages in the back as I have seen in other art focused magazines. UPPERCASE also issues prompts ahead of various issues, so artists can submit work following the prompt for the chance to have their work published in the magazine. 

It’s worth noting that at least in the issue I reviewed, the vast majority of featured artists appeared to be female-identifying. The editor has stated that one of her primary goals is to feature as many subscribers as possible*, so this is possibly a reflection of that goal.  However, it has been my experience that once you cross into mainstream visual art spaces it can be much harder for women to be taken seriously so I’m always happy to find any art-focused community that values women’s work, no matter the medium.

One unique feature isn't in the magazine at all, which is a maker community. A subscription to the community also gets you access to the archive of back issues. 

Additionally UPPERCASE has a children’s magazine, Little U, which donates 100% of its sales to UNICEF.

*-This info is in the welcome message you receive when you subscribe to the UPPERCASE newsletter, which I did after reading this issue.

Who would most enjoy this magazine?

If you miss the feeling of browsing Instagram or Pinterest and discovering new artists and craft inspiration without having to wonder if what you’re looking at is AI generated and/or an ad, UPPERCASE is a wealth of visual inspiration (and has a very strict no AI generated art or writing policy). Speaking from my own experience with this magazine, it was so relaxing and refreshing to just look at real human made art and not have to have my mental context filter up. 

If you are a creative professional or aspiring to a creative career, this magazine can provide both inspiration and opportunities to have your work featured.

Where I can I find this magazine?

You can purchase subscriptions and back issue bundles directly from https://uppercasemagazine.com/ . Though the magazine is produced in Canada, books and magazines are still falling under a tariff exemption for the US, so at the time this post is published (April 2026) purchasing directly is not an issue. However, you can also find individual issues at a number of US bookshops; I ordered mine from Red Hen Craft Books in Portland, OR.

This is such a beautiful magazine that you could easily purchase one or two issues with themes you find interesting to serve as coffee table books before deciding on a subscription.  I’ll also note that one of the upcoming 2026 issues has the theme “Texture” and from the teaser photo there may be a significant amount of featured yarn and textile art, so it may be worth checking that one out if you come to this blog for the knitting/crochet/sewing content.

Have you read UPPERCASE previously? Did this review make you interested in picking up an issue? Let me know in the comments!

Also, since this is a new series, let me know if there’s a maker magazine that you’d like me to review! I have a few magazines stockpiled but would love more recommendations!