When you’ve worked in the magazine industry before, it’s a little hard to go back to being nonchalant about certain things. You learn a lot about advertising, PR, brands and their strategies; and enough to know that an article may be rehashed and rotated among different magazines for 10 times in 5 years (did you think that people don’t notice?) and that quite a few magazines out there perpetuate unrealistic ideals to girls everywhere. All I knew is that when I was I was a magazine editor, I stopped reading almost all women’s magazines that has any sort of headline that includes boyfriends, lovers and how to make yourself lose 20 pounds (I merely tolerated them before).
My list of favorite magazines have been whittled down to single digits because I’ve become THAT choosy about what I read. So when Oh Comely sent me some of their magazines in the mail, I was hoping that they would be different from the mainstream offerings.
And I wasn’t disappointed.
To tell you the truth, when I received the first copy of the magazine, I wasn’t impressed. At first glance, it reminded me a little bit of Frankie magazine, but it had a more laidback vibe; which on its own wasn’t a bad idea. It was because of my hectic schedule for the past couple of weeks that I began to have a better understanding of what they stood for: creativity, inspiration and of simple neighborliness joys. And just like that, they’ve won me over with their subsequent issue.
While Frankie is hip, crafty and a fun girl you want to hang around for a chat, the bi-monthly Oh Comely makes you want to curl up with a good cup of tea and reminds me of talking to a good friend for hours on end about processes, joys, offbeat things; putting the fun into just being. Of course it helps tremendously that they have illustrations in there by some of the artists I love: Lizzy Stewart and Ryan MacDonald among others, brightening their pages.
Don’t expect hipper than thou riffs, or anything related to weight-loss or boyfriend troubles in the magazine. Instead, they have interviews with the quirky, make you revisit nostalgia, converse about food (Korean barbeque anyone?) and compare rubbers (not the safe sex kind, but those that erase mistakes on paper!) All in all, London-based Oh Comely magazine is an unpredictable but interesting read that makes you rethink the junk that’s out there.
If there ever was a magazine dedicated to the Slow Movement for indie, crafty, creative peeps, Oh Comely would be it.
——————————————
Have a great weekend peeps! I’m going out of town for Mr. T’s cousin’s wedding and may not get the best reception, so emails will have to wait till my return on Monday.
Get out and get some sun!
