As far as I remember, I always loved magazines. I read them methodically from the first cover to the very end. And I read everything that's been written; readers letters sections included. I grew up in the 90s so back then, magazines were really THE medium to follow your passion, and dig even deeper into it. TV - at least in France - was way too mainstream.
Throughout my teenager years I really immersed myself in 2 communities: video games and skateboarding. Both had a decent amount of titles to offer. On the skateboarding side: Thrasher and Transworld were the US titles; Sugar our french one; with Kingpin from the UK sometimes available as well. On the video games side there were plenty - including the official ones focus on a specific video game system - and the biggest one for a while [or at least, the one I read the most] was Consoles+ - issue #1 was published in July 1991 and the last one in December 2012.
Consoles+ was my very first job experience too. In France back then, you had to go through a 1-week internship when you're around 14 years-old. It's called a discovery internship, the idea being to immerse young folks in a company environment to help them understand more what the corporate world looks like and choose what to study next accordingly. I was living in Lyon but because my grand-parents were in Paris I sent cover letters to every video game titles possible. And Consoles+ replied. I went to the interview in their HQ with my grand-ma. For some reasons I still don't really grasp, they accepted me. And I can tell you: this was one of my most amazing week ever. I spent every day of the week next to one specific 'department': design, sales, distribution, and the best of all for a teenager like me: testing and writing about the games themselves. What they called the 'dark room' was truly a dream come true. All the consoles everywhere, all the games that haven't been launched yet. A paradise.
I remember following that week, back to school, when our teachers asked us what we wanted to do in our lives, I proudly answered: video games tester. Most of them laughed at me. My mother was scared. Something I didn't realise back then was: the writing part. I wouldn't consider myself a writer in anyway but I wondered if my love for writing started through these magazines, and that week in particular.
Video games magazines made me happy like I was owning all these consoles; and playing with all these games. Skateboarding magazines made me high like I was skating at that level and with this attidude. More importantly: they made me travel. To every country possible around the world. I know they've played a huge role in my desire to travel extensively further down the road.
It's funny how I can analyze few of my interests across life through the magazines I've read. Like when I was a student, I also worked at the Cartier store in the Champs-Elysees during my weekends so I spent a lot of time in trains [TGV in France] between Lille, Paris and then Reims [where my girlfriend was living] and that's when I read Monocle, GQ and a bunch of music related titles. Then during my 20s I read - and even subscribed to - Philosophie Magazine. Which is still to this day one of the title I love to read on a regular basis.
I've discovered Magazine B lately. The picture below is from one my current favorite coffee place in Paris: Bonjour Jacob. I highly recommend. Their tagline sounds like poetry to me: Coffee | Magazine | Vinyl. Their magazine collection is top notch.
Magazine B is my newest obsession. I've introduced it to a few friends already and they all fell in love. Gilles is reading their Barbour issue; which makes sense considering where his longest serving jacket is coming from. I agree with Toby's feeling when he wrote about them:
As someone with an interest in exploring brands, an invaluable resource I have been learning much from is Magazine B. [...] Each issue studies a brand that the company considers to be “well-balanced”.
I agree with him again here: "[...] reading the actual magazines, which are beautifully designed and a pleasure to collect.".
----
Objet du jour
After the Creator Economy is the latest magazine I'm currently reading. "Will we still be asking people to like and subscribe in 10 years?" Partners co—matter - a research and strategy studio in Berlin - and Metalabel - based in NYC - explore in this publication constructive alternatives for the ways we produce, distribute, and monetize creative work online. Relationship recorded with Objet.
