7.29.2010

i ♥ magazines


i have always loved magazines. ever since i can remember i was carrying one around. i used to beg my mother in the grocery store aisle to buy me just one more. i am forever a dreamer and magazines were my escape, my window into another world.

my first-ever "real" job out of college was an internship as an art assistant at working woman magazine in 1994. honestly, i had no idea what i wanted to do after i received my bachelor of fine arts, with a concentration in graphic design. i just knew i LOVED magazines. so without any help and very little knowledge, i went to the book store (no internet back than kids!!!) and grabbed a stack of any and every magazine that looked interesting... and off the resumes went. i was literally jumping for joy when the letter came in the mail that working woman was interested in me. i didn't know it yet but i was very lucky, because i met a freelance graphic designer at that internship who would end up introducing me to the creative and talented group of designers and editors i would work with for the next 15 years. along with this good fortune, working woman was literally across the hall from sassy magazine. this at the time was the edgiest, hippest, young women's alternative magazine out there. so it was ridiculously exciting to walk onto that floor everyday. after sassy folded, the editor in chief jane pratt, went on to create jane magazine, another one of my favorites. i do believe sassy magazine started my love for alternative and indie culture. thank you sassy!!!


my first paid job at a magazine was as an art assistant for YM magazine, so i know a thing or two about teen mags. today while browsing refinery 29, i came across a new indie teen magazine that is launching tomorrow: hardly magazine. this new online canadian magazine has been likened to sassy and hopes to accomplish something very important in my opinion and what my blog aims to achieve as well...


"those magazines had their own voice, but they also spoke to us—they gave us a voice. they reminded you that the world was bigger than your high school, and they introduced you to bands, writers, artists, and fashion designers that made the world beyond your immediate experience seem unbelievably exciting."
- founder of hardly magazine, 
jennifer lee via refinery 29

IMAGES FROM HARDLY MAGAZINE VIA REFINERY 29
last but not least, i have to mention another magazine that always brings it when it comes to indie culture. NYLON magazine is probably one of my all time favorites. i have been following it since day one and even have the very first issue packed away in my closet. it has ever inspiring fashion and beauty and is always on the forefront of awesome music. while so many of the good ones (i miss domino) have gone under, i am just happy in this rough market it has managed to stay alive.

so a little PS before i end this post: i must thank magazines from the bottom of my heart (corny as it sounds). through them, i learned to dream and to always be inspired, found a career where i felt at home, and also discovered an important life lesson... way more really does exist beyond our immediate experience. xo nikk


dig this!
PAGAN POETRY
vespertine
bjork

9 comments:

Ian said...

Ditto Nicole!
Your magazine post hits close to home, as I felt the same way growing up in small town TX, with a Seventeen magazine around to help me realize that maybe I didn't fit in to that conservative small town, but there would definitely be somewhere I would blend in someday. Working at GLAMOUR with you and the fantastic Art Department opened my eyes and made me feel happy that there were people who had the dreams/aspirations/creative pull as I did/do. :)

Unknown said...

my room is covered in magazines there everywhere xxxx

nicole said...

thank you mrs. lyoh and kirstyb for checking out my blog. make sure to become a follower!!!! happy to have hit home with my post. xoxoxo nikki

kadler said...

Ah, absolutely love magazines - even to this day. But, man, when I was a teen/preteen, they were my life!

ag. said...

what a fantastic post!
i always dreamed of working for a magazine but never thought they'd be interested in me...you're an inspiration to follow your dreams, you never know where they will lead you!

m.fay said...

i am always swimming in a sea of magazines. never enough.

happy to find your blog, hope you stop by and say hello.

m.fay
http://www.amateurcouture.com

Unknown said...

I interned at Sassy when Jane was the editor. An editor there--Andrea Todd--hooked me up with the YM job where I met YOU. I swear I have that Kurt Cobain/Courtney Love issue in a box somewhere!
xo

nicole said...

michele- see it is exactly why i LOVE magazines. so many great things have come from them- friendships and such, especially yours :) xoxo

ps: everyone go out and buy a women's health magazine its the best!!! ;)

K said...

Nicole, I have just discovered your blog and really enjoyed reading it. Your photographs are stunning and your writing has a beautiful blend of honesty, reminisence, fact and I also like the fact that you are directing the reader to books and magazines which will possibly be of interest to them. Although our situations are very different, I relate to you as a mother of a young child working in the creative industries, striving to retain a sense of identity. I'm there too!

Kathryn