These Birds Walk was established in 2003 in Oakland, Ca. by photographer Paul Schiek. He wanted his new publishing company to “provide affordable art books that existed somewhere between a discarded pamphlet on the street and a high-end coffee table book.”

Paul was cool enough to sit down and answer a handful of questions about whether his efforts are reaching their destination.

Dry Ink: Tell me about the background of your book publishing company These Birds Walk. What inspired you to start it and is there anyone else involved? And where did the name come from?

Paul Schiek: I started These Birds Walk as a way for me to publish my photographs in a contained, portable format that took the idea of zines to the next level, sort of. It was Kinkos, but at the next level… postcards. Really, my books are bound postcards more or less. There’s a lot more to it than that, but that’s the gist of it. I was really interested in seeing if I could use common materials that anyone can access and make a full-blown book out of it. And I found out I can! It’s just me doing it. The name, at first, was just this anti-bird joke, sort of; this broke-ass bird who can’t fly that has to go to its shitty job like everyone else but it’s so jacked it has to walk there. It’s just a joke, and now it turns out to be the name of my company. For better or worse.

DI: The newest book that you’ve put out is actually the latest in a series of books called The Kin Subscription Series. It’s comprised of four individual books, each representing an individual artist. Can you tell me more about this project? How did you come up with the idea for the series, and how did you choose the other photographers involved?

PS: The photographers are either friends or mentors. They’re all people I’m associated with in some way. And I wanted to do a project that was involving us all, and how we are all playing off of each other’s photos in some way. I used to love ordering records and getting them in the mail, so I’ve sort of directed my publishing company off of that idea. Having these art books come to your home from the mail guy, it’s sort of a old idea, but still really relevant. I see so much change in the world with these technologies and it’s amazing, I love it. But I’m trying to corner this tight niche that I don’t think can ever really go away. And that’s the printed, reproducible photo that comes to you in the U.S. mail. No matter what technology comes around, I think there will always be people who will want that. I hope so anyway. Maybe I’ve just cursed myself…
The project has been doing really well. I’m going to be doing it annually from now on, with new photographers I choose each year.

DI: This is the fourth project that you’ve worked on. Can you tell me a little about past book projects that you have put out?

PS: I put out a book called Diptych that was really serious, had a financial backer and was my first book; I had no idea what I was doing and I was pretty much in over my head, but I learned a ton. The next book was super limited and was all hand-bound. The third came around when the company really became established as a publishing company. It’s called Good by Angels and it’s in an edition of 500 and it’s really an interesting form for a book. The form of that book (cardstock pages, hand-stamped covers, offered in a 5×7 inch format and in a limited run) really inspired the series of books that came after. I found they were really easy to ship, and people really responded to them well. They liked the intimacy and object-like feel to the books.

DI: I heard that the first book, Mike Brodie’s in the series, is in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. How did this come about?

PS: Well, the whole series is in the (San Francisco) MOMA’s collection as well as the Whitney (Museum of American Art in New York). They have them in their permanent libraries. I like to think it came about because I’m such a great publicist, as well as the result of me e-mailing people all day long. But really it probably came about because Jim Goldberg has a book in the series and he is very sought after and collectable. Ari (Marcopoulos) would argue it’s because he is so sought after and Mike I’m sure will tell you it’s because he is the best thing ever and sought after as well.

DI: You’re a photographer yourself and I noticed that the next book or second book coming out in the Kin series is of your own photography. How did you get into photography?

PS: Really I just started to make these books to show my own photos. I never really thought I would be a publisher. But it’s rad. I like that people know me from publishing. But yes, I am a photographer and if I had to place priority to it, I would say I am a photographer first and publisher somewhere else. I got into photography through shooting bands I would go see, or shooting my friends skating - the same things as every fucking person ever, it seems. I eventually studied photography in school and it quickly became my obsession and my life. Now everything I do involves photography in some way.

DI: When do you expect to have the Kin series complete? What book projects do you have lined up after the series is completed?

PS: The last book in the Kin series is scheduled to ship Aug. 1. After that, I’m working on subscription series No. 2. I also want to start doing a photography magazine without ads or articles, which is bound like a book. I want it to be a collection of images by all sorts of photographers that will create a cohesive theme. Also, I have a new book that will coincide with a upcoming exhibition titled “Holes and Halos,” which I’m really excited about. It’ll be exclusively black and white photography.