From newspapers to television shows to magazines, both long established and newly formed ones, the movement seems to keep shifting to online content. I don’t believe that print will ever be dead (as some might say), but there are some great design magazines that have been popping up all over the web. Here are my picks of the latest and greatest (and lots of weekend reading for you!):
Newly launched Rue, by bloggers Anne Sage (City Sage) and Crystal Gentilello (Plush Palate), is a Domino-inspired mix of impressive features with original photography. You can see the results of all the time and hard work they put into it. I hope Anne doesn’t let her blogging slide because I have to confess, in terms of product roundups, I prefer her blog to Rue’s front pages. They’ve set the bar high for sure. Here are just a few images that are a taste of the premiere issue:
Great acid-yellow tights!
One of my favourite pages was the blogger profile — I love the illustrations. I tried to find more by the artist, Dallas Shaw, but her site wasn’t loading for some reason. They remind me of the work of Toronto fashion illustrator Danielle Meder. I have one of her pieces on my wall at home and it’s one of my favourites.
And of course there is Lonny — also similar to Domino — that already has a few great issues in its archives.
Closer to home, some magazine editors in Toronto recently launched Covet Garden. It’s not as styled or polished, intentionally, as Rue or Lonny, and it’s a much shorter, tighter package that focuses on one space. I love the retro cover, and once I got over my surprise that it’s essentially one story, I really appreciated how it doesn’t try too hard.
This is the second issue of Pure Green Living and they did a great job of beefing up what was good about the first issue.
I love the fall theme shot on a ranch and the travel and eco hotel roundup is fantastic. The food shots (below) are beautiful, too.
I guess I should point out that there’s a good chance your favourite home decor magazine already has a paid digital version (we do!) and a website. The next wave is downloadable apps so you can read them on your PDA, iPhone, iPad, etc. I’m all for it, but for me, the thing about online-only mags is that the lack of page restrictions makes for a pretty long issue, which I don’t always have time to read all at once. So I either skim it quickly or start to delve in, get sidetracked, and rarely think to go back. Maybe one day I will get better at bookmarking and organizing online files, but it’s still not the same as coming home to see your new issue of Vogue Living/Elle Decor/House & Home lying there waiting for you to pick it up and carry on where you left off.
Click here for more editor’s picks from Lonny.
Photo credits:
1. Rue, photography by Laure Joliet
2a. Rue, photography by Tiny Water Photography
2b. Rue, photography by Max Wanger
3. Rue
4. Lonny, photography by Patrick Cline
5. Covet Garden
6-7. Pure Green Living, photography by Erin Monett
8. Pure Green Living, photography by Celine and Jonathan MacKay
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