Set Margins’ nourishes critical practices with a strong commitment to marginal voices.

Set Margins’ facilitates inclusive production, be it social, intellectual, in merit, geographical, in means or otherwise, and offers curiosity and individuation.

Through this, Set Margins’ focuses support of moral individuation from within an environment of autonomous plurality, disinclined from governing ethics and paternalistic habit. Set Margins’ acts out of a humanistic, slightly anarchist basis.

To give voice to the margin and stimulate the articulation of the plural, Set Margins’ aspires inclusive access to production and communicative clarity in output. In the making, Set Margin’s stands critical yet respectful to all darlings and shadows. In output, Set Margins’ aspires to be accessible for all in editorial framing, design and pricing, whilst knowing we often work for a future market rather than demand driven.

Set Margins’ brings visibility and engagement to publishing ambitions. Starting from productive support in the integral processing of editorial framing, design, finances, publishing, and print matters, and in delivering through distribution, promotion, and sales.

Set Margins’ also offers services as an editorial and graphic studio.

Subjects of projects might equally rest on or connect with the visible surface of the everyday or be more thoughtful and demanding. As life itself, the word of Set Margins’ is practice based, a true story supporting the practice of life and work. The only thing we should is what we could. Experimental, fictional, hypothetical, wandering or otherwise. Clear cut where possible, informed and informing, inspired and inspiring.

Set Margins’ non-exhaustive, continuously developing, publishing pamphlet

• Set Margins’ is not a group, nor a movement but a support structure to and platform for independent release.
• Set Margins’ operates through cultural autonomy, self-governance, platform and effort. (This is why we cannot be a not for profit)
• Set Margins’ is here to push for demanding topics and tools to mind and matter, not for demanding people.
• Set Margins’ follows the needs of the project, welcomes creative openings, and stimulates the capacity of involved effort along mutual consent.
• Set Margins’ uses designs’ qualities as means while it applies a conscious path, never perceives design as an end, and discusses design politics.
• Set Margins’ is editorially real in the truly committed, self-critical and creative setting of the frame
• Set Margins’ allows for processes to fail, to go well or to evolve.
• Set Margins’ urges independence of all involved: to find common ground or leave common ground.
• Set Margins’ ignores the neoliberal social leash of the free-market government.
• Set Margins’ opposes the corporate culture’s financial ruling of our cultural economy.
• Set Margins’ is not market-demand driven, by creating a new offer it builds on currently non-existent target groups.
• Set Margins’ reaches out to engage, organize and connect internationally in solidarity.
• Set Margins’ uses the publishing world’s infrastructure and creates collaboratively to build a recognized and supported platform.

Set Margins’ offers support in the smart setting of project ambitions, in content, form and style as well as in financial and in publishing management. Set Margins’ therefore appreciates receiving proposals at an early stage to get the best result in reach and content-output. It is through teaming up and release of inspiration that Set Margins’ widens the bandwidth and supports a public resistance needed for contemporary citizenship, builds, and grows an independent community.

What Set Margins’ has to offer:

• Support with the editorial development of critical framing to establish a true and elegant, well argumented framing of the position taken.
• Support in the creative articulation of framing, style, form, and object qualities along print support, design choices and more. Set Margins’ can propose designers, authors and others.
• Depending on financial and publishing opportunities, Set Margins’ can contribute to costs of research and development,  production and presentation, publishing, and distribution.
• Commitment to dissemination in well established distribution and representation infrastructures.

Set Margins’ welcomes proposals based on a commitment to Set Margins’ ethos. Please know we do not need a fixed plan as results are best when processed through critical and creative synergy. Set Margins’ values proposals consisting of:

• an outline of the argument/position taken,
• how this is evidenced by the content,
• what the content would or could roughly be,
• who you would like to involve or what kind of profile you are looking for,
• what the indicative costs are for production and what are the benefits optional, expected or guaranteed,
• It is also nice if you can share what you would want from Set Margins’ in the production and artistic management of the project.

This serves as good basis for understanding your engagement and ambition whereupon Set Margins’ can respond constructively, and we can open conversation. Please know Set Margins’ advice might suggest to shift things around or to leave it as it is. We discuss and consider constructively. We work creatively, critically, and entrepreneurially open and transparent, and so we produce and deliver the project.

If you feel cool about Set Margins and if your proposal feels real to you, please email Set Margins’ and let’s open the conversation!

Set Margins’ builds on 20-years professional experience. This ranges from working with established professionals and working in institutional settings, to dealing with precarious bases of progressive practitioners and art workers. Within Set Margins’, as in publishing at large, there will be books with more means and/or results, contributing to books with less means and/or results. The full list will inspire and strengthen the sum and therefore all parts.

Part of Set Margins’ community lives and works by the precarious mode and is inclined to DIY and keeping things close. Set Margins’ works with solidarity and productive honesty. This means Set Margins’ can both stand in solidarity with precarious production, can DIY in means of labor and finance, without giving-in too much. On the other end, Set Margins’ can things further via optional investment into production anticipating positive revenue.

When partners have more or full basis in production budgets, Set Margins’ will welcome support and acknowledgment of Set Margins’ as standard to sectors like commercial branding or MA education. Altogether, every project has its own budgetary and managerial conditions and needs to be respected accordingly. Equally and simultaneously each project must be considered along with entrepreneurial opportunities and alongside the content itself.

The ownership of the publication’s rests with the authors. All information on the website is shared Creative Commons 4.0, so you must accept that if you want to work with us. Your book can have copyright if you want.

Freek is the owner and does not sign a contract but offers transparency.Those commissioned by Set Margins’, sign a contract. People we publish and commissioners, have contracts as well. Unless we sign a contract, nothing is written. This is to stay good friends most. If parties reach out to Set Margins’, they initially enter as commissioner.  In coproduction, we define and share responsibility.

Set Margins’ offers full transparency on its business plan and financial situation. You can find this a little further down.

​Rates services Set Margins’

In cooperation, starting from within the dynamics of the project, we define tasks and responsibilities. Set Margins’ can provide a range of services in support of the result, working our way from the content to the framing of the object whilst keeping track of and anticipating to financial and creative opportunities.

Set Margins’ will receive compensation for services made prior to release and/or after release in balance with and acknowledging the efforts of others involved as well as realistic to the financial opportunities within production and through sales.

A working basis rate within the production phase is 40 € ex VAT, 65 € ex VAT for an ideal budget or greater opportunities and/or means. If multiple professionals are involved, payments and must be in balanced between all involved. In case a project must be released regardless of means and/or efforts need to be done for free, cheap or with much risk, that is opportune but requires a transparent basis to establish consent and acknowledge mutual respect. Set Margins’ can provide this as experienced process manager.

Set Margins’ non-exhaustive, continuously developing, managerial pamphlet

• Set Margins’ brings transparent, honest and constructive collaboration on the basis of engagement and trust.
• Set Margins’ is clear about what can and cannot be done but allows for much that might be.
  During the process, Set Margins’ remains open to new insights when needed or when opportunities arise. This may be particularly progressive when operating precariously or with closed budgets when this is necessary to working creatively and to delivering outstanding work.
• Set Margins’ works along direct, short lines, delivering professional, integral consideration of the full spectrum in book making resolute and thorough, such as opportunities of content, form, costs of production and expected results and much more.
• Set Margins’ is attentive to respectful honesty to motive and sensitivity and operates with effort for consent along the process, as to work on a basis of trust.
• Set Margins’ invests care and (self) criticality towards presuppositions and blind spots of all involved.
• Set Margins’ respects collaborators with financial and managerial honesty and transparency to budgets, effort, and ambitions.
• Set Margins’ work is based on shared working budgets acknowledging what is recognized, what may be recognized and what is not, leading up to final contracts.
• Set Margins’ may invest along calculated risk transparently, either in terms of work effort or in terms of financial investment.
• Set Margins’ is not a funding body.

Formal foundation

Set Margins’ starts out as an ‘eenmanszaak’ as the legal person is called in Dutch: a one-man business. This is financially the preferred way to start with regards to tax responsibility and internal organisation. It is a one-man duty. That of Freek Lomme. This also includes a personal liability for Freek to Set Margins’ on financial and legal level. This makes sense for the start-up costs as well as free labor are on Freek, and free labor will remain up to Freek and people Set Margins’ will collaborate with.

Set Margins’ might grow and become another formal entity, a ‘BV’. This is a slightly bigger enterprise, wherein more people can work, but owned by Freek. This change will be realistic when Set Margins’ reaches a turnover wherein the bureau can grow out of increased revenue from services or sales.

Business plan

The development of Set Margins’ is to follow various phases:

1. Start-up phase

First there will be the financial investments by Freek, without returns. This implies the investment of much free labor by Freek.

There are the material costs of setting-up the website, warehouse, financial infrastructure, identity and more, which will presumably cost about up to € 15.000.
Second costs are those of various first publications. Set Margins’ will do a reprint of ‘Can you feel it? Effectuating tactility and print’ as first publication. The print costs (about € 5.000 ex VAT) are paid by Freek, like the first print he made of the book, and all benefits of sales will go to Set Margins’, like the benefits of the previous prints did not go to Freek either.

This phase was completed 2nd quarter 2023.

2. Pioneer phase

Started 3rd quarter 2023.

Once Set Margins’ is up and running, structural cost rose due to loans taken out, while structural benefits increased. It will take some time to cross the negative cost-benefits ratio in the pioneer phase.

Loans (Fonds Kwadraat and Cultuur + Ondernemen), enabled Set Margins’ to invest more per early first quarter 2023. Set Margins’ commenced to immediate monthly pay-off from these loans. This is a commitment that will take up to mid 2024. Once paid off, more financial means will become available.

Two types of benefits will bring stability to Set Margins. First money paid to Set Margins’ for services, such as editorial work, lectures, publishing advice, graphic design or otherwise and second money from sales of books.

At first the results will cover costs of the day-to-day workings, such as publicity/PR, packaging and posting, travel and residence, but equally investments into print costs. Freek payed for his living expenses up to the third quarter 2023.

The balance between commitments to costs and returns was found in the third quarter 2023, making Set Margins’ financially self-determined.

Freek aspires to earn about € 2500,- ex vat freelance wage as soon as possible, as this is the minimum he requires to pay for his living expenses. At present (speaking first quarter 2024) this is a bit of an ideal, and costs of Freek are still as low as possible, yet rising. It would be nice to also gain, for example,  €300 per month to pay for a Bread Fund. This fee is not connected to hours made and is likely not to be a ‘fair’ wage yet, but Freek considers this to offer security.

All means available are still sourced to production. Slowly, more support is hired, from administrative to warehouse. Perhaps Set Margins’ will soon move into a new combined space for shop, program, warehouse and office. Nevertheless first priority remains the production of titles.

3. Acknowledged phase

Set Margins’ is fully established once its continuation is secure, financial reserves allow for enough risk management and there are structurally enough returns to pay according to the Fair Practice code, hire Freek in a permanent contract and have a decent working space. New staff would also be contracted, although some of these wishes might be fulfilled earlier.
Freek hopes to get here mid 2025.

Financial responsibility to all engaged with Set Margins’

Where money goes around, particularly in this precarious environment where nickels are worth dimes, Set Margins’ offers full transparency. Set Margins’ will not handle cash where possible. Every year, possibly more often, reports will be shared and anyone with questions is welcome to ask for more.  This allows for deeper engagement and understanding.

• First overview of costs and benefits, that of the third quarter 2022, can be found here
• Overview of the fourth quarter 2022, can be found here.
• A 2023 report can be found here.

Indeed so. The Set Margins’ publishing house relies on the commitment and professionalism of Freek Lomme. Grown out of 20- years’ experience as a curator at artist-run centre Lokaal 01 and the Van Abbemuseum, as a founding director of art/design space and publisher Onomatopee projects, freelance curator, writer, lecturer and tutor. Freek also held board member positions with various local to international organizing bodies to independent production. Freek holds an MA in Art and Sciences, with a specialization in Art Policy and Cultural Identity.

Topical in his focus as well as typical in his practice, Freek explores forms of (self-) organization and communication with an independent angle, with a particular interest in identity politics.

Freek is curious about the input of practitioners and respects the risk they take to produce. He wants to bring attention to this. He dislikes designs’ technocratic authority and the invisible hand of capitalism in this, by nudging strategies to numb individuality and corrupt civil engagement. He provokes that anything not authentic, not individuating should be distrusted. The silent majority deserves more, so he believes. Reject easy confirmation, embrace your heart. Find others in otherness. Trust, but don’t rely. Getting that together is his mission. But it is up to him to feel that way. It is up to others to Set Margins’.