Delivered by STACK April, 2010: Anorak
It calls itself ‘The happy mag for kids’, but really that’s just Anorak being modest. It should call itself ‘The happy, cool, clever mag for kids and grown ups and anyone else who likes to see a good story told in an interesting and innovative way’. But that might be a bit of a mouthful. Stack has been a big fan of Anorak since the earliest days but always held off making it a full Stack magazine because it is, after all, primarily for children. But no more – with brilliant regulars like the Horace and Munkie photo story, its lovely illustration and charming tales, Anorak fully deserves its place on Stack – and we’re very happy to have it.
The Stack interview
Name
Cathy Olmedillas
Job title
Founder
What is Anorak?
Anorak is the happy mag for kids. Kids of all ages.
What makes it different to the rest?
It’s a pop culture magazine, which is uniquely aimed at both boys and girls. In fact, everything about Anorak is quite unique – from the actual look and feel of the magazine, to the content itself and the way that it is published.
Who makes Anorak?
Supermundane is Anorak’s CD (www.supermundane.com): he is responsible for all art direction and design, as well as the commissioning of illustrators for stories and games. We have a host of contributors from around the world and I personally take pride in the fact that Anorak is a creative outlet for a wealth of talented graphic designers, writers and illustrators.
We also have an army of ‘little editors’ who review books and films for us and carry out drawing missions. Oh, and me! I am the editor and publisher, that means I stuff envelopes, chase invoices, sell advertising and have fun writing about knees that talk or interviewing clowns.
Who reads it?
Primarily it is families who read the magazine. But there are plenty of people without kids or who have young nieces or nephews who read the magazine too. And of course there are those people who simply enjoy Anorak for its design or crazy stories.
Why do you work in magazines?
Because books and magazines are my best friends! I have always consumed loads of them. I always knew that one day I would have my own magazine – it just took me a while to figure out what about!
I used to work at The Face in the days when it was independent and owned by Nick Logan. I loved the spirit of that place, which was incredibly inspiring. It’s reassuring to know that that spirit is still alive, that there is a whole new generation of magazine lovers out there who not only create their own magazines, but make them intelligent, different and rich. The corporate world would like us to believe that magazine-making is very costly and an incredibly elitist affair. Independent magazines show that it is not. We are proud to be part of that.
Aside from the print magazine, what else are you involved in?
We launched an iPhone app in November. We are planning more updates in the next couple of weeks. It’s been great fun turning Anorak into a digital entity. And with Supermundane we have just launched Present Joys, a publishing house dedicated to the love of words.
What would you change about Anorak if you could?
I would not change anything about the magazine itself. We could have gone down a much more cost-effective route with our format and our paper, but I don’t think I could live with myself if it felt cheap or was small. If we had more resources, money and time I would love to publish it more regularly.
Can you pick a favourite issue of Anorak?
Every issue is great fun to create so it is quite hard to pick one. Having said that, I love our WORDS issue: Supermundane hand drew it all, it looks stunning.
Where do you see Anorak in five years?
We have created Anorak playgrounds all around the world. And the first Anorak rocket has landed on the Moon.
Tags: Anorak, Cathy Olmedillas
