I got my hands on Monocle magazine's premiere issue. Magazines all over the world are dwindling, many are folding (George, Talk, The Face, to name a few), and most are getting slimmer, with fewer and fewer advertising pages. So it is laudable that somebody is willing to launch a new magazine given this scenario.
Monocle was launched positioning itself as a new type of business magazine. Well, it is definitely not a business magazine in the traditional sense. With sections categorized from A to E (Affairs, Business, Culture, Design, Edits), the magazine's premier edition brings an eclectic mix of topics, such as the emergence of Japan's navy (the cover story), an interview with Lego's CEO, the semiotics of Iran's president wardrobe, and a fashion editorial set in Okinawa.
The most interesting piece for me is an article about Miura Golf Clubs, the maker of Tiger Woods' clubs (Nike puts the logo on them, but they're actually made by Miura). Hint: following on centuries of samurai sword forging tradition they see themselves as forging specialists, not club makers, which gives an idea about the craftsmanship involved.
Some other features of the magazine:
- At 242 pages it is surprisingly big
- There's a "manga" supplement, complete with instructions on how to read it (from right to left, obviously)
- It clearly intends to be an international edition. With a head office in London, the magazine has bureaux in New York, Zurich and Tokyo.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
monocle magazine
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4 comments:
Where? I can't find it anywhere (looked all over in AMS and now in ATL, too.)
=(
Ha! Special delivery from Tokyo's Narita Airport (my wife). But I assume you must find it easily in Europe. Are you in Atlanta now? Careful, there's a low pressure front coming your way (just saw on CNN).
Hi, I was just surfing around trying to see who else in Singapore had picked up a copy of Monocle. Of course, I heartily recommend it - Tyler Brule has done an impressive job for the first issue.
Anyway, I'm posting this comment to solve your plight, Michell. I got my copy from Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann City in Singapore. English magazine section. There were only a miserable three on the stand, though.
I'm hoping to get the second issue tomorrow. Good luck to you!
Cheers.
Hi Nic, thanks for the tip. Monocle is really a bit of fresh air. Just hope it doesn't get to Singapore one month after it's been released in Europe (as was the case with the first edition).
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