that sweet spot
So I said I was looking for some inspiration, and then I came across this terrific interview with Penny Martin of The Gentlewoman on Three Thousand, via the epitome of quiet. Love the honest and thoughtful way she addressed the questions - she doesn't seem condescending, and it's so easy to sound that way when you're trying to set the tone for something.(Good questions from the interviewer too.)
I started off liking but not loving The Gentlewoman because it felt a little self-serious in the first few issues but I love that it's found its pace and I look forward to every issue. I do wonder if the very qualities I find appealing - personality-driven, exploring subjects and issues through the lenses of the women they feature - would also be the ones that limit its potential as a magazine. But I think that's a challenge Penny Martin would appreciate: how to relate to people and yet be true to the magazine's vision, and keep people coming back for more.
Comments
Your post makes me want to head out to WH Smith bookstore during my lunch break and grab "The Gentlewoman".
I LOVE this. What an interesting person. Thanks for passing on the link!
kate: i'm lucky that it's carried here at a large bookstore, but it does sell very fast! i've taken to calling ahead and checking with the store as to when they will put it on the shelves.
Aissa: I agree, very few magazines are worth the price. Sometimes you come across a good profile or feature in US or UK Vogue, but that's getting to be a rare thing.
I say go grab that copy, so that you have some good reading material for the weekend!
Frances: I was really thrilled to stumble across the article myself; that's what I like about social media, the way good things can passed along.
I think The Gentlewoman has the advantage of only coming out twice a year; it leaves you more time to do things in depth, perhaps.
Ammu: She's awesome isn't she? She has such clarity of ideas and you can see it in the pages.
miss sophie: these are definitely magazines worth keeping!
marzena: No problem, I'm only passing along something being shared to me :) I really like that it comes out just twice a year...it slows down the pace when everything these days is about what's the new thing.
"My colleagues at Fantastic Man are always really struck that the women we interview really want to focus on what they do as much as who they are." -- I found that line kind of weird, though. Like, how much do women have to talk about what they do before people in general start to realise that that's a normal thing? Why are the Fantastic Man people always surprised by it, rather than realising that's just reality and that there are plenty of women out there who do amazing things and want to talk about those things? I hope it was just unintentionally phrased that way, and that people aren't that constantly amazed that there are women out there who want to talk about what they do.
I was thinking that perhaps the people who work at Fantastic Man are strange, haha.
I feel like The Gentlewoman has always been really good about balancing insightful and intelligent conversations with a bit of charm. It's all too rare today.
What really impressed me about this interview was that Penny Martin is so open and responsive to criticism. What bothered me most about the early issues (and I think we've talked about this) was the inattention to copyrighting in the early issues. It drove me nuts in the beginning, but has improved. I also was always perplexed about the on sale date of the issue- it really makes no sense, so i was glad that she addressed that it really should be hitting newsstands earlier to be relevant.