Our latest 188-page biannual, Issue Seven – ‘The Social Issue” celebrates the breadth and aspirations of ‘social design’. Some of the most extraordinary examples of contemporary design have arisen in response to a call for social values.
The Holborn „A Well-Made Life“ kommt wie so einige gute Magazine aus England und sieht sich als fiktives Stadthaus in Holborn, London. Diese „Haus“ ist untergliedert in fünf Lebensbereiche und so ist es auch mit dem Magazin. Innerhalb dieser Kategorien befassen sich die Autoren mit der Suche nach dem Besten aus Design, Bekleidung und Handwerk.
Diese Bandbreite ist ein Faktor, der mir gut gefallen hat. Das Reinschnuppern in andere Bereiche, die dann insgesamt zusammenhängen. Neuentdeckungen sind so eigentlich garantiert.
Als Leser lernt man die Leute hinter schönen, intelligenten oder einfach nur praktischen Produkten, Marken und Ideen kennen. Die Geschichten sind kurzweilig und geben doch tiefe Einblicke.
Das handliche Format – eigentlich untypisch für ein Magazin – hat seine Vor- und Nachteile. Gut zum Mitnehmen, schlecht zum ganz aufklappen und lesen. Insgesamt aber unterstreicht es den „Ratgebercharakter“ des Heftes.
Mit der Johnston Underground wurde eine ungewöhnliche Headlineschrift gewählt, die aber genau dadurch die Artikel zusammenhält. Das recht strenge zweispaltige Raster wird immer wieder mit Bildern, großen Headlines und Zitaten durchbrochen und somit aufgelockert.
Nimm’ ein paar Dinge aus diesem Magazin mit und dein Leben wird bestimmt schöner :)
Who are the people behind The Holborn?
The magazine is run by myself as Editor-in-chief and my wife Julia as a Creative Director. The Holborn, which started as a blog, was founded way back in 2012 by myself and our Editor-at-Large, Joshua - we’d met over several beers whilst studying at Royal Holloway College many years previously. Julia joined shortly after to add her trained design eye to our ramblings. The team opened a pop-up store in an old Ironmongers shop in East London and after six months of running the bar/shop/events space we launched our Kickstarter and Issue One of The Holborn landed in January 2015. Since then we have built a team of talented editors from a wide range of backgrounds who give their time and talent to create something together. Add to this a network of freelance illustrators and photographers and there are a plethora of talented individuals who make The Holborn what it is.
Why a print magazine and not only a blog?
We started from day one wanting to run a print magazine - it just took a few years as penniless graduates to make it happen. We have always thought that since our goal has been to celebrate what we call ‘a well-made life’, that it would be disingenuous to not craft a beautiful ‘well-made’ product ourselves to celebrate those who make & create with a passion and a purpose.
What do you do, when you don’t make the magazine?
By day I work as a content marketer for an events agency and Julia, an Architect by trade, is a store designer for a UK fashion label. The rest of the team include a policy officer for a pensions regulator, a brand ambassador, a lawyer, teachers, a group of marketers and professional copywriters. So we are a pretty varied bunch and I think that breadth of experience brings a lot when we come to sit down and throw ideas around a table.
What are must-reads if you like The Holborn?
Oh so much - our bookshelves and magazine racks are well and truly stacked. I could include some of the books featured in our most recent ‘The Coffee Table’ in Issue 7 where our Editors recommend reads- such as Confucius Lives Next Door by T.R. Reid or The Correspondence by J.D. Daniels. Or anything written by our most recent guest on our The Bookshelf feature; Deyan Sudjic. Another recent interviewee Katie Treggiden's book for Hoxton Mini Press ‘Makers of East London’ is a personal favourite; as is the With Love Projects’ The Backbone of Britain. Magazine-wise a recent personal favourite is Dirty Furniture magazine and I’ve also, having just become a father, just invested in the back catalogue of polish magazine Fathers.
Do you have future plans on The Holborn you want to share?
First and foremost more exciting issues exploring interesting ideas and continuing to celebrate ‘a well-made life’. We have a series of events which will soon be announced and a book project in the pipeline for 2018. Onward and Upwards.
