Meet Clutter: On The T, Boston’s Underground Transportation Zine
Written by Daphne Bryant
All images courtesy of @clutter.onthet
scrapbooking and collaging is often a solitary hobby, but a small group of college students are coming together to share their clutter with the world. Introducing Clutter: On The T, Boston’s underground transportation zine. Every week, the team behind this brand new collective put out one piece of clutter and distribute it in different train stations in the boston area. Their commendable Passion For DIY and spontaneous energy encourages readers to keep their creative juices flowing, no matter how much skill or experience they have. This week, i had the pleasure of speaking with clutter: Read our interview below! ★
Q1: Clutter: On The T is a brand new Boston-based zine whose slogan is“ stimulating creative freedom from station to station.” What’s the story behind that messaging?
A: Clutter is all about embracing spontaneity, messiness, and creative expression without overthinking it. That being said, the T is gray and dispiriting—the perfect place to spark creativity. It’s an in-between space where people are constantly moving, waiting, observing, zoning out—the perfect moments for inspiration to strike.
Q2: Where did the inspiration for Clutter come from? Why this focus on underground transportation?
A: Honestly, the idea was born as a reaction to the structured, curated nature of traditional campus publications. My friends and I were reflecting on how formalized and selective some creative spaces can be, and we wanted to make something raw, spontaneous, and open to everyone. The T just happened to be the first place we thought to share that joy!
Q3: Up until this point, Clutter has maintained a faceless online persona. Who is the team behind this super cool zine?!
A: The culprits behind Clutter are some of the most incredible, expressive, and kind people I’ve ever known. Right now, we’re keeping things low-key and letting the zine speak for itself, simply because we wanted to create something for the sake of creating! That being said, follow our Instagram and you may just see us introduce our crew soon...
Q4: How would you describe Clutter’s visual aesthetic?
A: The dictionary defines clutter as a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass. With this in mind, we don’t have [an aesthetic]! The whole idea of Clutter is to spark creativity of all forms. Each issue is different since we embrace whatever inspiration we gather each week, creating a playfulness that makes it feel like a personal artifact rather than a polished publication.
Q5: What makes this zine so fun is that both dedicated and random readers can stumble upon Clutter in train stations all over Boston. How do you go about putting this zine in different places? Is there a rhyme or reason to it, or is it all pretty spontaneous?
A: Our distribution is completely spontaneous. Every Friday, we hop from train to train without a set route, slipping our zines into any nooks and crannies we can find— even (respectfully) reaching over commuters’ heads to leave them behind. The goal is for Clutter to feel like a surprise, something you stumble upon when you least expect it.
Q6: What actually goes into making the print zines?!
A: Every Wednesday, our small group of friends each turn in a piece of clutter. After I format and print them, we come together on Thursday to talk, laugh and inspire each other while cutting, ripping, and folding. It takes multiple hours, all my spare change, and a lot of hands, but it’s so rewarding when we finish and have a few neat little packages of zines (finished with a ribbon), ready to be distributed the next morning.
Q7: Do you have an end goal or aspirations for Clutter: On The T?
A: At its core, Clutter exists to remind people that making art doesn’t require permission. As we get older, creativity starts to feel like something exclusive—something for 'real' artists. At some point, saying‘ I’m not an artist’ became an acceptable excuse to stop creating things—a mindset making the world and the people in it increasingly duller and less original. We want to push back against that and encourage people to create authentically, simply because they can.
Q8: If someone wanted to acquire their own Clutter zine, where could they find you guys (both online and in Boston)?
A: The best way to find Clutter is to ride the T on Fridays! We drop issues in various stations and cars across different lines, and part of the fun is the randomness of where you might find one. Online, you can follow us on Instagram for drop locations, behind-the-scenes peeks, and updates as we expand and explore new ways to contribute.
