my five favourite journals
6th February 2015
A journal isn’t just a regular magazine, it isn’t something you buy, quickly flick through and then throw away; it’s much more than that. A journal is something special that you want to keep and read again and again, something that inspires you, something that makes you smile and feel happy and relaxed. Each issue is another one to add to your collection.
I thought I’d tell you about five of my favourites…
Kinfolk was the first journal type magazine I came across, I guess it was what really started my fascination and love for these simple and beautiful publications.
Kinfolk describes itself as a ‘slow lifestyle magazine’ and ‘a guide for small gatherings’… it is a celebration of the simple things in life. Kinfolk explores ways for its readers to live their lives in a much simpler way and encourages us to take a step back and to just appreciate the important things. The important things like family and friends and enjoying time together, eating good food, relaxing, just normal things really, nothing fancy.
Kinfolk was born out of Portland, Oregan and is now printed quarterly in several different languages all across the world, we even stock it at our Cotes Mill showrooms in Leicestershire. Kinfolk is all about beautiful photography, the design is clean and simple with lots of white space, it’s absorbing and lovely to read, if you haven’t already then you should definitely check it out.
Cereal is a British publication ‘In pursuit of food and travel’ and it’s just beautiful. Similar to Kinfolk, Cereal is focused around stunning photography, clean page layouts, it’s printed on quality paper and feels lovely to hold.
Each volume of Cereal contains detailed write-ups on delicious food, cool travel destinations, as well as profiles on products, people and places. Each topic is something different, new and interesting, you can tell how passionate and how much the editors care about the words they have written, I really like that.
If you’ve got a spare half an hour to sit down and enjoy this lovely journal then I’d definitely recommend it, and if you’re struggling to get your hands on a copy we stock each volume at our Cotes Mill showrooms too.
In Clover was named after the phrase to describe contentment and living in prosperity. Although there has only been one issue printed so far, I already know it’s one of my faves and I can tell each issue is going to be even more beautiful than the last.
I instantly loved the front cover of this little journal, the typography and the simplicity of it all just looks perfect. “In Clover was born of a realisation that the world, with all its fascinations, may be passing us by.” I really like how In Clover has a focus on fashion photography too, I think these are my favourite pages within the magazine, the pictures are stunning, the kind you want to tear out and pin up on your wall. In Clover promotes slow living in the form of art, food, culture and sustainable fashion.
Unlike the other journals I speak about in this blog, In Clover does not have much of a social media presence at all, it promotes being ‘offline’ as much as possible. I guess the fact I’m writing a blog about it now is kind of contradicting that, right!? But I think you’ll thank me for mentioning it when you see for yourselves just how beautiful this journal is…
Apartamento is an everyday life interiors journal, it is a place in print for both people and for objects.
Apartamento has a cool and quirky vibe, it’s not as much focused on white space and simplicity, but more the beautiful side of clutter and chaos. Apartamento is a magazine about homes, living spaces and real life design solutions as opposed to the overly styled and false appearances of interiors today. This journal features the homes and lives of creative people from all over the world, real people with real, interesting stories. Apartamento ‘cares about the way people live and their relationships to the places they live’ there’s nothing pretentions or false about it and that’s what I love.
“A home sweet home is not curated or produced by acquiring a perfect arrangement of chairs, lamps and friends. A real living space is made from living, not decorating. A bored materialist can’t understand that a house has to become a home. It happens, not through perfection but by participation.”
“It’s very easy to have a clean white cover with a bleached out image and lots of space. It’ll look … nice. But we wanted something that when you’re in the bookshop makes you say: ‘Christ! What is that? I kind of want to put my finger in it.’”
I love that quote from the editors, and it’s true! I was in Magma (an amazing book shop in Clerkenwell which actually stocks all five journals I’ve spoken about) having a look around and The Gourmand immediately stood out to me. It didn’t look like the usual journal I’d go for, it was loud, garish and very colourful, but I think this is what made me pick it up and I’m really glad I did.
The Gourmand is an award winning, biannual food and culture journal. Each issue features pages of specially commissioned words and photographs, the content is super creative and unlike anything else out there. It isn’t precious or on-trend or uninteresting, it’s just cool and different and you’ll know exactly what I mean when you see it for yourselves!
A gourmand is a person who “takes pleasure and interest in food of all kinds”
I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing the round-up of my five fave journals and feel inspired to maybe give one or two of them a read.
There are lots of independent shops all across the country, and the world, who stock these lovely journals. You can order from each journals independent website, or if you’re in the London area then I’d definitely recommend a visit to Magma bookshop, they’ve got an amazing selection of journals and books, you can also order them online too.
