What a great Yarn

I love a good yarn...

Nothing like sitting by a fire with a warm knitted blanket spinning a few tales. I can light fires, and I can definitely spin... (some would use other terminology), but unfortunately, I can't knit. Never tried. Wouldn't know where to start.

Enter Yarn Magazine.

These guys make knitting accessible. Just as well, as knitting is suddenly cool. Check out the hollywood starts into knitting and you will see why it is gaining media attention. And besides, it is probably a good way to meet girls!

That is not the reason why we are holding a "Knit In" at mag nation this Thursday the 14th of December - the real reason is because we can! In conjunction with the wonderful Yarn magazine, we are inviting knitters of all standards (including yours truly who didnt until recently even know what a knitting needle looks like) to stage a "knit in" over wine and sushi.

Thanks to Yarn, there are door prizes including a weekend getaway for two at Tarndwarncoort and a Namaste needle binder. I don't know what this last thing is but boy does it sound cool.

Come and join us at mag nation (88 elizabeth st) between 6 and 9pm this Thursday. Have a knit and spin a good Yarn.

Wad is wad? Urban redefined...

It is increasingly hard to categorise certain mags. The mag industry got together a while ago to standardise mag categories - the problem with the result was that it was useless. Oooohhh, I am definitely going to get in trouble from someone with a big stick...

Take WAD for example. What is Wad? The cover, apart from being unbelievably gross yet strangely provocative, uses the following tag line "We'ar Different / A Magazine About Urban Fashion & Culture".

There is a new genre of magazine that is getting increasing cut through. I call it "Urban". Urban can cut across numerous genres such as fashion, art, design, literature or even travel (a la Paper Plane). Urban is not about content. It is about attitude. No wonder the industry associations don't get it.

WAD is one of an increasing number of bi-lingual magazines. Written in both French and English, it comes out of one of the centres of Urban in my humble opinion, Paris. Edgy, provocative, and aimed squarely at Gen Y, urban is a category of the future.

This is an unbelievable cover. Looking closely makes me squirmish, but I can't stop looking at it. Urban has this effect on me. At 32, perhaps I am too old to get it, but I can't seem to get enough.

Serious stuff

And now for a serious entry. Or at least serious in my world (not as if I am about to declare I have found the cure to cancer, learned how to turn lead into gold, or even discovered how to bite into aluminum foil without my teeth hurting).

There is a lot more to magazines than gloss, fashion, cool and funk. How about straight down the line, old fashioned “information”. The kind that makes you say “I really needed to know that and I am a better person because of it”.

A lot of what I blog about can’t be categorised in this way – unless I have had a few too many single malts. But as a Magazineologist, I don’t just read the “cool” stuff, but try to read a wide range of mags from different genres.

I was reading Australian Parents this morning. It may shock some of you to know that I have two kids of my own. The mag cover story was about whether you should have your kids sleeping in the same bed as you.

I have to admit that I love my kids in the same bed as me. They grow so quickly, and at 3 and 1, they are still really cuddly.

Up till now, I had never wanted to admit my co-sleeping. Made me feel like not only a freak but also an irresponsible parent given that many in western medicine advise against it. Reading Australian Parents today made me feel normal. Alleviated my guilt. Reaffirmed what my instincts had been declaring as natural.

I feel like a better person today. A small weight has been lifted. All because of a magazine. These babies of mine (the mags, not my kids) are cool, fashionable, glossy and at times, downright entertaining. But they are also serious tools for the flow of serious information. Seriously.

Sneaker Freaker Week

Sneaker Freaker Issue 09 is here. We have been waiting forever and we finally get it 4 days before any other retailer in the world. mag nation rocks.

You read Sneaker Freaker and think that the guys who put these publications together (guy in this case) must be way too cool for school. Mostly they are normal people with a dedication and passion for something. Definitely the case with Woody - just an all round good guy.

The SF team came into mag nation last night and decorated the store in celebration of the new edition. It has 3 different covers, though I am only showing one here.

Sneaker Freaker doesn't need much in terms of a plug from me. They are way beyond needing a MagMan. Woody is da man. If you like sneakers, you want Sneaker Freaker. It is the first and only mag documenting this global footwear culture (took that from their website!)

Take a look at what they did to my store...