Printing magazines may be viewed as a dying art, but those remaining are getting better than ever. I’ve recently discovered a third essential (Juxtapoz and Wire being current mainstays) in Smith Journal; a quarterly publication from Allen & Unwin done as the male companion to Frankie. And it’s absolutely brilliant, quality writing on the most random of topics.
The fact that the cover story is on the iconic Australian red brick house design should tell you enough, but in case it doesn’t you should also know that newly created punctuation, the reinvention of chess to a stadium sport, Tasmania’s hops domination, Melbourne’s home salami makers and even maple syrup warehouse theft in Canada are among what’s covered in the 143 page pages.
I like everything about it this magazine, and mostly that fine line it walks between not taking itself too seriously but incredibly well-researched and interesting writing. The topics are engaging enough to obsess over for a temporary time from start of the article to when you turn the final page of it.
Obviously an experienced layout gaze has gone over the top and great staff photography compliments it most of the way through. Craft beer, design product and clothes, sculpture and street art and just an overall level of accessibility to the creative world we live in; eyeglassed through the a newsagent magazine.
Though, if you can’t find a stockist you can head online to subscribe or order the current issue, or just hang out as they run a pretty wicked blog too: http://www.smithjournal.com.au/
via Smith Journal
You don’t need a mohawk to be a punk. It’s the DIY-ethos of creating stuff that’s real and raw, regardless of what’s in fashion, that matters. They might not resemble The Ramones, but volume eight is full of punks.
There’s an architect who believes that the classic Australian brick home – those short, red and orange boxes with neatly trimmed gardens – are a thing of beauty.
There’s a good old-fashioned heist, except this one’s exceptionally sweet, because it involves $20 million dollars of maple syrup.
There’s author and pop-philosopher Chuck Klosterman explaining how drugs can sometimes be good.
There are two guys who worked out how to take something as simple as salt and build a bench with it.
There are the people who eagerly wait for winter each year, when the cooler temperatures are just right, so they can head into their garages to start making their own salami.
There’s a new set of punctuation marks, created by inventive writers Nick Hornby, Judd Apatow, Peter Carey, Jon Ronson – and one very clever typographer.
It really is a magazine with a little bit of everything. (This is probably where a traditional exclamation point could have been applied.)