Creative Living Creativity Corner

design porn

January 29, 2012

I am a confessed magazine addict. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am all in favour of these new funky online beauties that are springing up everywhere, like the lovely heart home magazine. Maybe they will even save me from having to find ever bigger homes to house my collections. I have been toying with the idea of giving away some of my hundreds of magazines but am still dreaming of one day building a huge library (à la karl lagerfeld) to house all my beloved books and mags. So, I thought it might be fun to show you some of my babies. Of course, there are the usual suspects. But I have also chosen some more obscure ones and some that, unfortunately, are no longer in print or didn’t make it very far. I hope you’ll discover something new!


elle decoration uk needs no introduction. My collection goes back to 1995. Help!

elle decor italia Well, the bible of all interior magazines. I had to stop collecting as one needs a mansion to house them.

wallpaper magazine is the cool and sophisticated kid on the block. This cover was my own design.

wired uk magazine is about the future of technology with great graphic layouts and spreads.

monocle is a lifestyle magazine founded by tyler brûlé. I am a huge fan and have most issues. Bit blokey i know!

vogue living is a fantastic australian interiors magazine.

case di abitare is an italian magazine featuring design, interiors, lifestyle and more.

nest magazine was an interiors publication. Unlike any other, it featured photographs of nontraditional, exceptional, and unusual environments. It folded in 2004.

byzance magazine is a bi-monthly french-lebanese interiors magazine first launched in 2003. It looks to bridge the gap between tradition and modern lifestyle, between east and west. It mixes these two different styles beautifully, through interiors, art, fashion and beauty.

uppercase is a magazine for the creative and curious. One of my favs at present.

recoup magazine was a belgian interiors publication and folded after 3 issues.

more magazine was a german lifestyle publication that folded after the first issue. I loved their craft projects and illustrations.

oh comely is a gorgeous lifestyle magazine with beautiful illustrations and photography.

apartamento is an everyday life interiors magazine.

bare magazine was edited by the wonderful ilse crawford. A stylish but short-lived ode to well-being that folded after 6 issues. It was far too ahead of its time.

cut magazine is a german craft magazine. The emphasis is on fashion. You’ll find cutting patterns in it.

sublime magazine is a bi-monthly international lifestyle magazine with ethical values and intelligent content.

rubbish magazine is eclectic, different, sporadic, rubbishy brilliant!

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24 Comments

  • Reply Igor January 29, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    Wow, now I understand why it took you so long to compile this blog post. It is amazing, your magazine collection is really impressive. I love the Byzance magazine, didn’t know it until now. I am intrigued…

    • Reply tina January 29, 2012 at 10:46 pm

      Ha ha, now you get it:) of course, these are just design related. There are others!

      Byzance is fascinating. I have about 25 issues. They are colour coded. So if the cover is red, a lot of the photography and layouts will be in red tones. In 2007 they launched an arabic version.

      Congrats to Djokovic. What an epic match. Watched throughout. Incredible!

  • Reply Theresa January 30, 2012 at 4:54 am

    Wow, Tina, that is an impressive collection! What a great resource for inspiration. Though not as amazing as your collection, I also keep all my magazines. Every time we move, my husband always ask me if I really need to keep them all. (Of course I do!) I just can’t get rid of them.

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 6:42 am

      Thanks Theresa. I love it. “Every time we move, my husband always ask me if I really need to keep them all.(Of course I do!)” I hear you loud and clear!! You know, I do toy with the idea of letting them go but can never bring myself to actually do it. I know one day I will have a dedicated space for all my books and mags. For now, my new rule is to try and limit what I buy each month.

  • Reply Chi @ Carousel January 30, 2012 at 11:21 am

    I am a minimalist and a magpie with each side of me constantly fighting for supremacy! 😀
    I used to collect Vogue and Another Magazine but I love having periodic purge/de-cluttering sessions too much to lay claim to any sort of collection now.

    There isn’t much one can’t find online these days and while it’s not the same as sniffing the ink and caressing the glossy pages (is that just me?), it’s a more practical solution ………… for me.

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 12:30 pm

      @Chi I totally understand that constant fight. I also love de-cluttering. That’s when I am happiest.

      However, I think I would be quite miserable without my mags and books. Online is great to a certain extent. I need to supplement it with products I can touch and feel:)

      I am envious of your studio….

      @ Holly My pleasure. Hope you’ll find something of interest.

      When I am old and wearing purple, all of you can visit my mansion (dreaming is allowed) where I’ll display my diaries, sketchbooks, books, magazines and other collectibles:)

  • Reply Holly January 30, 2012 at 11:55 am

    Wonderful collection! Will have to look into some of those – how nice of you to share. Much appreciated 🙂 Xx.

  • Reply ursula (room to bloom) January 30, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    Uppercase looks interesting – not come across it before, where have I been?! I am a total hooligan when it comes to magazines – I rip out anything that catches my eye and file these pages for future reference, then bin the rest after 2 years usually.

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 7:15 pm

      You can buy Uppercase only in one shop in London. http://www.raystitch.co.uk/ It’s in Islington. The latest issue (12) has just arrived.

      That’s what makes us all different… I also have that system, btw, #justsaying:)

  • Reply annie January 30, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    Ursula that really made me laugh! A hooligan. I’m with you on this one. I have no respect for magazines at all. Most of mine get dropped in the bath anyway. I’m starting to find it frustrating not to be able to pin pictures from magazines now.
    Amazing collection Tina I’ve only heard of about three of these. Thanks for showing us all the photos. I like the look of the French-Lebanese one, talk about a niche market! Have to say I won’t read Wallpaper. I find it most snobbish pretentious magazine in the world.

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 9:33 pm

      Thanks Annie. I’m sure that, in the not too distant future, someone will develop an app so you can pin pictures from magazines straight to pinterest!

  • Reply Lauren January 30, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    oh…WOW! That’s an amazing collection of magazines! I’m totally impressed and a little envious! I think it’s terrific that you have such a vast resource of printed magazines, and I say keep at it! You put me to shame, which should make my husband very happy, even if it doesn’t make yours so!

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      Do you believe, I have even more design magazines but thought people would a) get sick of a long post, even with colourful pics and b) for the ones who identify (like you) the pain would be greater:)

      How are you? I haven’t yet been over to you guys (keep that for when I get to bed) so not sure you are all well again?! I hope so. See you later.

  • Reply Tracey Chalk January 30, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    Oh my Tina!
    I thought my magazine habit was totally out of control until i saw yours. That said, in an attempt to be minimalistic…ha…recently i had a huge purge and now try to live by a system (mostly failing) as put forward by Benita of Chez Larsson. Basically you go through every mag (once read) and pull out every article and page that has something you find draws you in and file immediately. So far i have three gigantic files of inspiration mostly like all the best bits from every magazine i’ve ever read. Even better if you can categorise your files…interior design, christmas blah blah. Anyhow, i still have ooh at least 100 mags lying around that i still have to do. It’s not easy when they are so beautiful! And i am so full of procrastination!!

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 10:12 pm

      Tracey, hi. It’s so nice when we meet up and put a face to the name. It was lovely to meet you.

      I am so pleased am not the only obsessive magazine collector. You know there were times when I wanted to have frames made for my favourite covers and hang them on walls. Crazy, or what?

      Don’t think I don’t have this system down where I rip out bits I want to keep and paste them in sketchbooks or file away. That’s besides my huge collection. I am not sure. For now, I’ll keep them. I keep de-cluttering, making more room and storing some. Anyway, will look out for Benita of Chez Larsson.

      Can’t believe you still have more than a hundred to go through. Good luck girl!! And no, you are not full of procrastination. You have 3 kids!!!!

  • Reply Sania Pell January 30, 2012 at 10:31 pm

    Lovely post Tina! My piles of magazines are growing and threaten to take over my studio. I love your selection, Nest was wonderful, Recoup looked so good, what a shame it is no longer, I think I have almost every Elle Decoration too. By accident last year I cut up sections of Wallpaper issue number 1, whoops! Italian Case looks great, I think It might have to be added to my reading list, thank you and see you soon. X

    • Reply tina January 30, 2012 at 10:40 pm

      Sania, what a pleasure to have you visit here. Btw, really like the pic with me and you.

      I love that you have the same problem. Do you remember ‘Spaces’? Around 2004? Have those, they don’t exist anymore. What about the Times Interior Magazine that launched for only 12 months and then folded? I actually threw them out a couple of years ago.

      I have Wallpaper #1, if you ever need it.

      Recoup was great but so was Nest. That was something else… Case di Abitare has changed. Don’t like it anymore. Australian Inside Out is quite good. These days I just go to Selfridges (used to go to Borders, before they closed) and look around. I usually come away with a couple of issues. Have to curb it, but still get that rush when you open a great magazine!

  • Reply Erin January 31, 2012 at 1:37 am

    I can’t believe so many of those magazines folded so quickly (after 1, 3, 6 issues? That’s crazy!), especially because they are all so beautiful. I’m a sucker for the traditional shelter mags like Elle Decor and such. Over here we have Dwell, which is all modern and sleek interiors with a focus on sustainable and forward design. I miss Domino magazine, but thankfully they published a book on decorating, so that acts as a substitute. Sometimes I’ll even curl up with a new West Elm catalog and a cup of tea, I’m so weird!

    Someone before me mentioned Chez Larsson, but she has every issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, and has gone into detail how she stores them. I must say I’m jealous of your one-day library.

    • Reply tina January 31, 2012 at 7:29 am

      @erin I know. Most of them I subscribed to for a year so that wasn’t great either. In my experience, the ones that stand out and are different often don’t make it. Those are the ones I like!

      Dwell is good. I often look through it and have a few copies. Domino decorating book I need to look up.

      It would be good to have West Elm here. Saw a side table I liked but shipping and Vat put the price up by over 50%, crazy!

      Most people dream of more bedrooms, bigger kitchen. I dream of a library and a studio:)

      @jennifer Oh, Thank you. I secretly imagined you sympathise. Poor hubby, that was not pretty. I would go mad if someone threw out a first issue (which often gets sold out). Ebay to the rescue.

      I recently lost the auction to issues 1, 2 and 3 of Uppercase. Oh well!!

      I went to visit the people behind rubbish. They only publish a new issue when time permits. Every format is different. I love that element of surprise.

  • Reply Jennifer January 31, 2012 at 7:04 am

    Tina! Thank you for sharing your wonderful collection and I say keep them! I’ve been a magazine hoarder for years now and that’s one of the only things my husband just doesn’t understand! He once threw away a certain W that was particularly close to my heart and I made him feel so guilty he went on ebay and found a new copy for me:) Oh – and that Rubbish with Lily Cole on the cover – could be framed! 🙂

  • Reply Toni January 31, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    I am a great lover of magazines myself but this is hardcore! Loving it

    • Reply tina January 31, 2012 at 12:50 pm

      I wondered how long it would take for someone to pick up on the title. Trust it to be you. Love it!!!

  • Reply Michael January 31, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    Hi Tina, oh comely 🙂
    what else for me to say? Amazing blog.
    Your choice and your pics are awesome – I was lucky to get a “clip” of the whole thing and it´s impressive.
    Who am I to comment on this but I understand the fight of limit myself to collect [u know that :-)]. But the thing is, isn´t it a testimony of time – our time? Not only a collection. So, why getting rid of it?

    • Reply tina January 31, 2012 at 11:06 pm

      Hello lovely. Ah yes, your DVD collection. Correction DVD/Blue-Ray/3D collection.

      I agree it’s a acknowledgement of our time and passions. Oh well, you are moving home with your 1000’s of DVD’s…. good luck with that!

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