'Unhappy Hipsters' invade Boston

December 15, 2011|Rachel Raczka, Globe Staff

Molly Jane Quinn (at left) and Jenna Talbott, two Design New England alumna, are the creators behind cheeky contemporary design blog, Unhappy Hipsters. And despite what the name may suggest (or perhaps just my original assumption), they're actually quite happy.

"We're not referring to ourselves when we say 'Unhappy Hipsters,'" clarified Talbott. "It's just a term for the world that we're commenting on." Until this past fall, the blog was home to tongue-in-cheek commentary and contemporary decor and design photography written by the duo. They remained anonymous until this past fall when their first book, "It's Lonely in the Modern World," debuted through Chronicle Books. The book features plentiful design tips in a similar style to their blog.

Quinn and Talbott will be in town tonight for an event and signing at Twelve Chairs (319 A St., Boston) from 6-8 p.m. to visit "the city that inspired their book." Ah, we're blushing already....

Quinn, who recently moved to Portland, and Talbott, who remains local, rang me up the other week to chat about their book and how their time in Boston fueled the inspiration for their blog:

When you came clean about your identities, did anyone say "That's exactly who I thought you would be?"
Quinn: When we first came out people actually thought we were either from New York or were former Dwell staffers. They said they would have never guessed it was two women in Boston.
Talbott: We actually got marriage proposals from women.

Why did you chose to be anonymous?
Quinn: There's a lot of judgement going into an individual doing [a blog] like this and it's easier when it's just an entity writing it. It allows for a larger audience to relate to the humor of what we were doing. Now people are okay with who we are because they're familiar with the website.