The STACK Blog
Christmas shopping
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Okay, so the post seems to be grinding to a halt but you can still give Stack as a Christmas present. Just choose the gift option on the subscription page and we’ll email a PDF gift card to you. We can keep sending them out up until midnight on 23 December, and your real card plus your first magazine will follow shortly after. Phew.
Making Mymags
Friday, December 17th, 2010
Stack America‘s final mailing of the year contained a unique publication that you can’t subscribe to, even if you wanted to. That’s because MYMAG is a series of remarkable one-offs, each themed and created by their celebrity guest editor.
Another new launch
Monday, December 13th, 2010
I’ve written here before about the upcoming launch of Port, a new men’s magazine by the people behind Zembla. But the Port holding page went live today and it got me excited again, so I thought I’d mention it. And would you look at who they’ve lined up to be their iPad Consultant? magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie joins a masthead that includes Hanif Kureishi (music editor), Jon Snow (politics editor) and Ekow Eshun (culture editor).
Add this star-studded line-up to the current affairs upstarts at Delayed Gratification and 2011 is already looking like a good year for new independents.
Delayed Gratification
Friday, December 10th, 2010
I’ve had my hands full with Christmas subscriptions over the last few weeks so it’s all been a bit quiet on the blog, but I had to break the silence for a first look at the preview of Delayed Gratification.
In a nutshell, a group of magazine people in London have decided that rather than rushing to keep up with the Daily, Twitter, Wikileaks and all that, they should use print to produce a news magazine that takes its time to ruminate on what’s been going on and present a thoughtful, attractive almanac of the last few months. I’ve been curious to see what it will look like since I first heard about the project, and this first glance is everything I was hoping for and more.
It’s due for a launch in January, and you can subscribe now (the first 200 subscribers get a limited edition print of the Shepard Fairey cover). I’d been hoping to send Delayed Gratification out for the January Stack delivery but I don’t think we’ll manage that. It WILL be on Stack just as soon as I can organise it though, so keep an eye on the blog for news of that…
Have a Bad Day
Sunday, December 5th, 2010
The last Stack America mailing of the year contained three publications (one entirely on postcards) and a remarkable Designers Series print that’s got New York magazine talking.
We were delighted that one of the magazines was the Toronto-based publication Bad Day, filled with smart interviews (including one with cover star Glenn O’Brien from Interview) and an exclusive poster as well. It’s a lovely, one-color publication with a tight design and bold content. We cornered Eva Michon to ask her all about the magazines, and if her day is going any better.
The secret of happiness at Oh Comely
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks so I’m only just getting around to posting this. Earlier this month I spoke to Des Tan, publisher at Oh Comely, to find out what goes on behind the closed doors of their offices in Bermondsey’s Biscuit Factory. Read on for his thoughts on publishing, ranting and happiness…
Magazine designer’s guide to magazines
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Each mailing of Stack America arrives with an exclusive, magazine-themed print. Previous editions have been created by Jeremy Leslie, Cyrus Highsmith, Robert Newman among others.
I’ve refrained from putting them online until now, as they are intended to be a special, subscriber-only treat. However, infected by a bit of the pre-Christmas spirit, and in celebration of the completion of Stack America’s first year of mailings, I’m sharing with you a version of the latest print – not least, because it’s far too funny not to show.
The Magazine Designer’s Guide to Magazines is a creation of the design team at Bloomberg Businessweek (they tweet @BizWeekDesign), headed by Richard Turley, and it reveals everything you didn’t need to know about the down-and-dirty reality of magazine designing. Well, kind of.
Print it out, put it on your pinboard, and point to it whenever your editor won’t stop talking.
(Right-click / control-click to download)
Click here to view it as a JPEG in its glorious entirety.
Click here for a PDF version.
Another party
Friday, November 19th, 2010
One of the best things to come out of Wednesday night’s Stack / Le Cool party was meeting Timba Smits, the man behind Australia’s completely amazing Wooden Toy Quarterly. Okay, so it’s not really a quarterly (it comes out pretty much once a year) but it’s worth the wait – the magazine comes packaged in its own cardboard box, which is also stuffed with bits and pieces like zines, posters, and whatever other bits of print Timba has lovingly put together.
He’s been running Wooden Toy in Australia for years now, but has recently made the move over here to launch the magazine properly in the UK. On 2 December he’s throwing a big party at Concrete Hermit in Shoreditch to launch the music edition, and I strongly recommend that you go. He’s going to be commandeering the whole venue and turning it over to his lovely / weird / disconcerting lowbrow art imagination. You don’t want to miss that.
