I'm Marek

Tidemark is my analog half. Leather, paper, ink, things made slowly with my hands. The digital half lives at marekw.io, where I build software and work with AI every day.

Tidemark is a slow hobby. I make things at my own pace, one at a time. At some point I decided to share them.

I grew up in more analog times. Letters, paper maps, a phone on the wall. So I have the comparison. Some of it I don't miss. Some of it I keep on purpose.

Marek's leather notebook after ten years of daily use: worn, scratched leather, softened corners and the old mark on the cover, with a brass pen under the elastic. Not retouched. — My notebook, ten years in. Not retouched.

I have used my own notebooks and wallets for about ten years. They age well. The leather darkens, the corners soften, and they start to look like they belong to someone.

Analog is not for everyone. And you don't have to take all of it. A paper journal for working on myself never worked for me. I tried, many times. So I built Notka: one button, half a second to start talking. The next day, and again after a week, a month, a quarter and a year, it writes back. Letters that notice patterns and ask questions you wouldn't ask yourself.

Paper for plans and thoughts I want to hold. Software where it serves me better. That's the balance I'm after.

Mark Shark