diff --git a/slic/utils/debug.py b/slic/utils/debug.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7a0a1836
--- /dev/null
+++ b/slic/utils/debug.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+from logzero import logger as log
+
+
+class Traceable:
+
+    def __new__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
+        cls_name = cls.__name__
+
+        printable_args = [short_repr(i) for i in args]
+        printable_kwargs = [f"{k}={short_repr(v)}" for k, v in kwargs.items()]
+
+        combined = printable_args + printable_kwargs
+        combined = ", ".join(combined)
+
+        line = f"{cls_name}({combined})"
+        log.trace(f"creating: {line}")
+
+        return super().__new__(cls)
+
+
+
+def short_repr(string, cutoff=20):
+    res = repr(string)
+    if len(res) > cutoff:
+        res = res[:cutoff] + "..."
+    return res
+
+
+