After last week's absence, I'm back with a
new feature: interviews. I've decided that it would be interesting to
know more about some of the people that send their publications to be
reviewed here.
When I was sent these two copies of Shoppinhour Magazine,
I knew it was the perfect time to give the interview a try. I messaged
Peter Eramian, one of the founders of the magazine, and asked him about the publication and how he sees today's independent magazines sector.
Could you introduce yourself and the magazine?
Shoppinghour Magazine is composed of a team of writers, artists and designers from different backgrounds and locations (New York, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, Udine, Montreal, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Nicosia...). Our ‘headquarters’ are in London, a city which we all share a special connection to, but most of our communication is handled online.
From the get go, Shoppinghour has been about bringing the arts, humanities and social sciences together in responding to issues of a more nuanced relevance. Though we may not be directly tackling current political events, our concerns are very much current and politically relevant. Perhaps you might say that we address not the conscious but the subconscious of our time.
We take our design very seriously and want it to be just as relevant and thoughtfully handled as our content. TWO (Think Work Observe) have been incredibly important in understanding and translating our ethos into a bold visual identity that confronts and speaks to a contemporary audience.
Shoppinghour Magazine is composed of a team of writers, artists and designers from different backgrounds and locations (New York, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, Udine, Montreal, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Nicosia...). Our ‘headquarters’ are in London, a city which we all share a special connection to, but most of our communication is handled online.
From the get go, Shoppinghour has been about bringing the arts, humanities and social sciences together in responding to issues of a more nuanced relevance. Though we may not be directly tackling current political events, our concerns are very much current and politically relevant. Perhaps you might say that we address not the conscious but the subconscious of our time.
We take our design very seriously and want it to be just as relevant and thoughtfully handled as our content. TWO (Think Work Observe) have been incredibly important in understanding and translating our ethos into a bold visual identity that confronts and speaks to a contemporary audience.
Why did you and Yasushi decide to start Shoppinghour?
Yasushi
and I met at Goldsmiths College. I was studying Fine Art and History of
Art and he was studying Sociology. We immediately clicked, Yasushi’s
like a brother to me. We would take long walks ‘sparring’ ideas, epic
8-hour-long conversations on ethics, resistance, love, violence,
sentimentality, empathy, and so on. We were completely unpretentious
about this. Thinking and conversing were – and still are – a means for
us, never an ends, for unpacking our inspiration, making us receptive to
different creative possibilities. Shoppinghour was one such creative
possibility that simply made sense, since it translated our
conversations into something we could share and open up to others.
Independent fashion and photography magazines are quite common
nowadays, but I guess some of the topics that Shoppinghour deals with
(philosophy, poetry & critical theory) are more directed to a
'niche' group of readers. How has the people's response to the magazine
been?
Definitely very positive. We’re finding that
there’s a large audience out there seeking to engage in such
challenging, complex and thought-provoking content, outside of academia.
Shoppinghour is much more than your average magazine, it offers
something you can enjoy over a longer period of time. Neither our form
nor our content is disposable. You’re meant to cherish Shoppinghour,
lean back and read it slowly, over days, weeks, months, carry it around
with you, and reflect on the artworks and ideas presented in it. We’d
like to think there’s a timelessness to it, so that if you were to find a
copy lying around 10 years from now you would still pick it up and want
to read it, like a good novel or poetry collection.
You’re
right, independent fashion and photography magazines are quite common
nowadays, and some of them are absolutely beautiful. One in particular
“Girls/Boys on Film” has recently caught my attention... ;) Shoppinghour
isn’t like these magazines because that’s simply not who we are. Most
of us have academic backgrounds in cultural and political theory, fine
art and art history, sociology and philosophy. That said, we certainly
do have a strong appreciation and awareness of contemporary trends in
fashion and photography.
How do you find your contributors? Do you usually approach them or do you receive submissions?
We
usually approach them. Our themes are often quite specific so it’s
difficult to add something random to an issue. We are of course always
open to ideas and submissions however. The content for each issue comes
together after many hours or conversation and individual research. We
hold meetings (often online) which last several hours, agreeing and
disagreeing, thinking about every decision meticulously. There’s very
little editorial hierarchy between us, since we’re all friends after
all! Our editorial vision finds its equilibrium through our friendship
and love for each other, as cheesy as that may sound!:)
How do you fund the magazine?
The
magazine is funded by Yasushi and me, but this is only possible because
everyone involved is generous enough to contribute their time without
expecting payment. There’s no question that Shoppinghour is a labour of
love, which we devote time to separately from our paid jobs and other
projects. The first 6 issues cost very little and were printed in very
small quantities. Issue 7 was the first properly printed and distributed
in retail. Sales are strong. Issue 8 was sold out pretty much
everywhere and orders for issue 9 have increased significantly. We have a
very specific advertising strategy lined up for the near future and
hope that as our distribution supply and sales go up everyone involved
will eventually be paid.
The distribution process is, probably, one of key elements in the
'life cycle' of an independent magazine. Can you tell us a little about
your distributors and where people can find your magazine? How much has
this process grown since you started the magazine?
Distribution
has been an adventure! The first zine issues (back in 2008-2009) were
printed, hand-stapled and distributed for free at about 100-200 copies
between us and our friends. Issue 5 was distributed in the Don’t Panic
packs, again for free. Issue 6, the Secular Religion issue, was
published online-only via Issuu. We were never paid sales for issue 7
(our first in retail) because our distributors went bankrupt! The early
days of Shoppinghour were very much about making mistakes, learning and
sculpting the magazine into what it’s now finally becoming. Eventually,
we were able to impress and convince established distributors such as
Central Books and Export Press to take us on. Since issue 8 onwards
we’ve had excellent UK and international retail distribution.
You can
find Shoppinghour at selected galleries, bookshops and stores, such as
Tate Modern, Artwords, Serpentine Gallery, Magma, Foyles, Arnolfini
Books, Colette Paris, Galerie Yvon Lambert Paris, Motto Berlin, Do You
Read Me?! Berlin, Logos Shibuya Tokyo, and many more. And of course you
can buy or subscribe to Shoppinghour online at our website.
In
the last couple of years there's been a boom in the independent
magazines market, with lots of well-designed and unique publications
taking over. How do you see the future of print publications against
online publishing and the growth of iPad and tablets sales?
I
think it’s a very exciting time for independent magazine publishing.
Before the web, printed magazine publishing was a necessary disposable
means of communicating mostly disposable news and trends. But now such
content no longer really needs to be printed. You’ve got your news
websites
and blogs online, you can read it all there, scan, link, search,
connect... The web is the perfect home for such publishing. More and
more magazines are making this transition as it simply costs less, is
easier to manage and is more interactive. By default, this means that
printed magazine publishing is now becoming more and more defined as a
non-disposable medium, which is great for independent magazine
publishers producing carefully designed and thoughtful magazines, such
as Shoppinghour! :)
Shoppinghour Magazine is celebrating issue 09 - Authentic Human - on October 19th at X Marks The Bökship in London, with a special guest performance by Penny Rimbaud. Everyone is welcome, so have a look at the poster above and find more information about the event here.
Thanks a lot Pete for sending the two issues and spending part of your free time replying to the questions!
*You can check all the previous reviews here and follow Sunday Zine Review on FB. If you want to get your zine reviewed, leave a comment below or drop me a message to igortermenon@gmail.com*
