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...

Giant Robot

Has anyone read Giant Robot? If you haven't, then you should. Does amazingly well in the US, but very few people know about it in Aus or NZ.

It describes itself as Asian Pop Culture and Beyond. It comes out of the US. Personally, I wouldn't describe it as Asian Pop Culture. Makes it seem as if it is less relevant to non Asians, and this is crap. I would prefer to call it Global Pop Culture with an Asian perspective.

Giant Robot have retail stores in LA, San Fran and NYC. They are a very funky brand and the mag seems to be an extension of it (or perhaps it is the other way around). In any case, I would go as far as to say that it is one of the best mags I have come across. I have known about it for a while, but you don't get it in most places. mag nation to the rescue. Again.

One of my favourite parts of the mag is the regular "book collector". These guys really do find the cool stuff to read.

Check it out. Pop culture from an Asian perspective is going to be huge. Asia is the future and their influence on the streets here in Aus and NZ is only starting to be felt.

Giant Robot is already huge in the US. It deserves to be huge here too.

OK!

Ok, so if you hadn’t heard, OK! (Australia) has gone weekly. It was fortnightly, and it was previously $5.95, but it has been repositioned as a weekly and the lowest priced of its competitors at only $2.95.

Now I have no vested interest in saying this, as the money I make on selling one OK! at mag nation ain’t going to be putting my kids through college any time soon.

I really like OK!

You might have guessed by now that I am not much into weeklies. My personal tastes are more towards a mag that challenges my withering intellect. But, I recognise that there are magazines for everyone (my entire business is based on this premise), and the weekly celebrity gossip mag has its place in the market. (It also happens to be the best selling category of magazine and what keeps your local newsagent ticking along).

We don’t really depend on the weeklies at mag nation like other retailers of magazines. But I have to tell it as I see it. OK is different. It is “cleaner”. I am not the expert in how magazines are put together, but the people who do the setting out for OK should be congratulated. It just feels easier to handle and navigate.

Well done OK! You are definitely OK by me. And so far anyway judging by our sales numbers, your readers seem to agree.

The Power of Controversy

Nothing sells a magazine like controversy. Brad Pitt has apparently been photographed in white undies and put on the cover of Vanity Fair. He is suing. And Vanity Fair couldn’t be happier. Nothing like a juice law suit to sell more magazines.

We have ordered in more copies.

My NZ readers will know of Pavement – a very popular lifestyle and fashion mag from Auckland. It is also sold in Aus, but has less of a profile. This is old hat for you guys in NZ, it has already hit the news and died down.

The Spring edition of Pavement caused a lot of controversy. Entitled “Lost Youth” it features fascinating snippet insights into the lives of today’s teens. And yet, people will probably remember this edition for the flashes of breasts belonging to girls who look as if they are underage.

I am told that the Pavement team might get a fine. They are known for pushing the boundaries and this part of what gives Pavement its positioning.

If the powers that be wanted to draw attention to Pavement and guarantee that every pervert in a trench coat buys this issue, then they have done a great job. The fact that I am blogging about this is a case in point.

There is a controversial debate underlying all this, and I am not going to get into it here. But you have got to hand it to Barney and the guys at Pavement. They know how to sell magazines.

Shame that I read in the NZ papers over the weekend that the magazine is about to fold due to lack of advertising support. After 13 years, I wonder if this is just another controversy in the offing…

S T R E T C H

I love my job. One of the perks is I get to see sneak previews of some of the coolest mags in the land.

And the POL Oxygen Stretch Special Expanded Issue is one of those magazines.

I really like innovation, but especially so when it happens in my industry that rarely dares to dare. (mag nation is all about innovation and challenging the established norms in the magazine industry).

POL Oxygen has shown a sense of adventure in creating a beautiful magazine that needs to be folded out vertically.

Beautiful in the sense that great imagery is made even better at a large scale with great content to boot.

They have called it the Stretch Edition. It will stretch your mind and your visual senses. Hopefully it will add to the groundswell that might finally act as a catalyst to stretch the magazine industry as well.

The Kylie Wars

Kylie is back. In case you didn’t know, just take a look at the mag covers of the popular women’s titles.

Vogue Australia. Marie Claire Australia. Elle UK (probably won’t find the airfreight version in most places). All of these have Kylie on the front cover. All vying for our attention.

Make no mistake about it, this is all out war. The average punter won’t be buying Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle at the same time. Therefore, the magazine publishers, knowing that Kylie sells, are all vying for our allusive custom.

Vouge hit the shelves first, and we sold more in the first few days than ever before. We have always known that covers are what sell the popular women’s mags, and some stars have more pulling power than others.
Kylie is one of those with amazing pulling power. No wonder everyone is doing the pulling.

T-World rocks my world

Simply put, some magazines kick arse. T-World – The Journal of T-Shirt Culture is one of those mags.

People who know me well will have heard me speak about T-World before. I had my doubts about it when I got a sneak preview of the launch edition. Would anyone actually buy it? I like T-Shirts as much as the next guy or gal, but would I actually buy a mag about it?

I was wrong. We have sold more of the first edition of T-World than nearly any other mag we get. The magazine and its creators even inspired us to hold T-Week at mag nation – a week long celebration of the humble t-shirt with a limited edition T packaged with 100 copies of the magazine.

T-World rocks my world. I enjoy nothing more than seeing something take off and T-World is doing just that. To think that I played just a small part in it by giving it a wonderful retail environment warms by heart.

Go you good thing T. I am now a believer…

Out of action

Two weeks with no blogging.

I have a good excuse - Chicken Pox.

Ugly thing to have as an adult, but all good now.

The only good thing to come out of it is that I have had a million things running through my mind, all to do with magazines, and all that will end up being poured out here.

Had lots of time to read mags - in between itching like crazy.

I love mags. I hate the chicken pox.

Quality vs Quantity

Men are such primal creatures. Or maybe the word is shallow. Or maybe we just think with parts of our body other than our brains. This is is what the majority of men's magazines would have us believe.

Who cares about the quality of the magazine. Just make sure there is quantity and you have the recipe for success. Quantity for mens mags seems to mean big boobs and lots of them.

As a magaholic, I find this quite disappointing. There is much to be said for style, class and magic when it comes to magazines. I am not being all snobish and talking about the niche and art-like publications that I normally go on about, but even with your main stream stock standard titles, some stand out from the others.

Take these two mags. GQ Style is almost 3 times the price of Loaded. The latter has quantity in quantities. GQ appeals to our desire for style rather than drooling. What I have never understood is why those of us out there who buy the latter type of magazine don't simply buy Hustler, have a good wank and be done with it.

We have sold much more GQ Style at mag nation than Loaded, despite the price point. Kind of restores my faith in the male gender. Quality is important.

But the cynic in me says we are buying GQ Style so we can learn a thing or two and eventually get laid anyway. Perhaps quality is our guise for ending up with quality. Taking this argument further, men would buy business magazines to help them get rich so they can impress women and eventually, end up with someone like Loaded girl. All way too confusing. Maybe I should just stick to music mags...

Blender you bloody mind bender

I quite like Blender. Or at least I did. Their tag line is "The Ultimate Guide to Music and More"

SO WHY THE HELL DO THEY HAVE PARIS HILTON ON THE FRONT COVER???

I am soooo sick of this girl. And how relevant to your average music lover is Paris in a "I don't know what the f#*k type" bra and fish nets?

In the mag industry, they say that covers are what sell a mag. I really hope that this particular issue doesn't sell well. Hopefully, Blender will go back to doing what they do well - being a music mag and appealing to beat rather beat off lovers.

That's my hand in the photo by the way (yes everyone - I'm bleck - as in Lethal Weapon 2 for those of you who think I can't spell "black"). The positioning of my finger hopefully conveys my opinion of this particular cover...

Blender will bounce back and I will like them again. Pity I had to blog about the cover because the content is as always, pretty good. Integrity is a dirty word in today's world where a young girl with heaps of money and the propensity to take her clothes off gets so much attention. This blog entry is not helping the cause... maybe if I had ignored it, it would have all gone away.

To all the magazines I've loved before

who've travelled in and out my door...

I'm in a musical mood today. Must be the kick arse playlist that is currently on at mag nation (and no - there is no Julio Iglesis or Willy Nelson on it)

We are having a mag nation launch party tonight. Or more accurately, a 6 month celebration. Everyone said we would die within a month of opening. You are allowing people to browse??? The evil B word. What - you mean you actually encourage it???

Imagine buying a pair of jeans without trying them on I say. They just scoffed.

So, I have to give a speech to say thank you to heaps of people. Staff, family, customers - the really important people.

What about the magazines. I get so excited when cool new publications come in (hopefully by tomorrow I can show you some unbelievable cool new zines in the design space that we are going to be stocking - just beautiful things).

Thank you to all the magazines. Can't say this during my speech or people will think I am off my rocker. But thanks guys (and gals). Can't imagine mag nation without you. I guess we'd just be nation and frankly, that would be quite boring.

Its Just Wrong

I love the French editions of various magazines. They have so much class and style. Even having a French Vogue in hand sort of makes me feel glamorous. It doesn't matter that I understand bumpkis. French mags are the type that need to be read with sunnies on.

Was flicking through a newly arrived title this morning - Vogue Paris Hommes International. French Vogue for men - now that is cool. Anyway, was flicking through, looking at the various fashion gods, wishing I was able to look like them... stop, wait, now that it just wrong.

I definitely do not want to look like this.

Don't misunderstand me. Ralph Lauren is a great brand (the suit belongs to them and I don't want them to sue me). The suit in question is actually quite nice (a mon avis). But I do not want to look like that. What is the world coming to? In order to be glamorous and fashionable, do I need to take estrogen but grow a mo so that no one thinks I am a chick?

The French can keep their style and glamour. Maybe I will just stick to my tank top and faded boardies. Even women would beat me up if I walked around like that. If that is fashion, then its just wrong.