Paper as Laura sees it. Photography by Laura Nguyen
Paper as Laura sees it. Photography by Laura Nguyen

My first insight into the visual team of Sad Mag‘s first issue is Laura Nguyen. Laura spent a morning in Molo’s Design studio in Gastown and photographed the team working away. Her photos can be found accompanying Stacey McLachlan’s interview with the Molo group in issue one of the magazine. Her clean and simple aesthetic makes her one of Vancouver’s up-and-coming food photographers. She is also and amazing cook, and can score you the best Vietnamese food in the city. I urge you to check out her commercial portfolio online: www.lnphoto.ca

Laura photographed some web exclusive photos for sadmag.ca and I sat down with her and chatted about her work, Sad Mag and how her summer went.

Pauline Kong's sculpture. Photography by Laura Nguyen
Pauline Kong's sculpture. Photography by Laura Nguyen

Sad Mag: Why do you photograph still life?

Laura Nguyen:I shoot still life because the combination works. I enjoy making ordinary objects beautiful. My mind just sees and understands how to manipulate and shoot still life more than any other subject. Plus, it’s fun!

Sad: What drew you to Sad Mag?

LN: Sad Mag is the perfect showcase for introducing the new crop of amazing artists and writers the city has to offer. There are so many talented people here that need an outlet like Sad Mag to introduce themselves and their work.

Sad: What do you think of food photography today?

LN:That it is taking over the world. It definitely has grown and gained popularity with the success of things like food blogs and flickr. It also has become a separate category of photography itself, not just merged in with commercial photography. Visually it has evolved from mostly simple clean high key images to having more variety with bold, sexy colours or moody, contrast lighting.

Sad: Who are some of your favourite visual artists?

LN: I admit I usually don’t pay as much attention to the artist as the art itself. However I do follow the works of John Kernick, Matt Armendariz, Lara Ferroni, and Tracy Kusiewicz.

Sad: Any show or gallery that you enjoyed going to in the past summer?

LN:I will shamefully admit I didn’t attend any shows this summer. [Brandon: No shame, Laura, no shame.)

Sad: Summer has escaped us. Highlights of the summer summer? If not one thing you regret missing this summer? Or something that you feel was lacking from your summer?

LN: My summer was pretty fantastic. Highlights being my first completed new years resolution ever which was to create my new website (it took 8 months but it still counts!) and learning how to swim. The water and I didn’t start off great together but seriously, now I think it’s the best thing ever.

Follow Laura on Flickr and check out her new work.

-Brandon

The editorial concept for Sad Mag can best be summed up as “be surprising.” We wanted young writers and visual artists to draw on their own personal interests and experiences to produce content for the magazine, so the concept hasn’t been difficult to achieve.

Want to know about a gypsy musician / vintage store owner and her role in the development of Main Street in the last 15 years? We’ve got that. How about, what a Chinese immigrant thinks about life and perserverence? Yup. Got that, too.

Nobody is asking Chinese immigrants what they think of life. The piece that opens the magazine, “A Good Life,” was written and photographed by Justin Mah and Jimmy Hsu (respectively). The friends and roommates frequent the laundromat of their interview subject, Jessie Li, a few blocks from their basement apartment in Burnaby.

Jesse Li at work. Photography by Jimmy Hsu.
Jesse Li at work. Photography by Jimmy Hsu.

It’s an exquisite piece. The first of the submissions we received, “A Good Life” was the first affirmation that our vision of publishing uncommon writing could be achieved.

I’ve said it before, but the kinds of writing young people are going to produce is necessarily different from that of more established folks. Young people eek it out at minimum wage, share apartments with friends, and rent in the dodgy areas that allow for paying rent and having enough left over for beer. We use laundromats.

Jessie Li shares that she’s seen some hard times.

“I was once at the peak of my life, then suddenly lost everything one day. It’s determination, I think, determination that kept me going—just thinking on the bright side. When problems come up, just face it and don’t give up. One should be hardworking, kind and honest; this is my personal philosophy.”

Keep your head up. Work hard. Don’t give up.

The difference between this article and something you might read on economic hard times elsewhere is simple, and it’s this: established writers, skilled and connected as they may be, don’t hang out in laundromats. And I think we’re missing out on something really important as a society by relying exclusively on politicians and talking heads to give us moral guidance in times like these.

I’d rather speak to Jessie Li.

So, that’s our deal. We want unexpected, uncommon writing from young people—experienced or not. If you’re thinking of developing a pitch for Sad Mag, follow these three simple steps first:

  1. Grab onto an issue or a topic that interests, even obsesses you. I’m super interested in the prevalence of burlesque among hipsters. What’s the deal with the sudden popularity of faux-suppressed sexuality?
  2. Consider how this issue or topic affects you personally. What about your position in life makes your take on the issue particularly interesting? My roommate started taking burlesque classes last month, and now it’s all nipple tassels and feather boas. She says she feels more confident, but I’m not so sure. As a feminist, can I endorse boobie shaking as a confidence-booster?
  3. Do some research. How can you feed your interest, teaching yourself and others through some quality time in the library, and out on the streets talking to people? I’m going to do some research on the history of burlesque dancing, interview my roommate and her dancing friends, and what the hell, take a class myself. It’ll give my writing some spice, or good jokes, at least.

Then bombs away to info@sadmag.ca and we’ll chat about making it a fit for the magazine.

Keep writing,
Deanne

Photography by Jimmy Hsu
Photography by Jimmy Hsu
As the Sad Mag family excitedly moves closer to our launch date on September 17, we’ll be giving sadmag.ca visitors exclusive sneak peeks into our premier issue. Check back in the coming weeks as we preview original content right here.

“When problems come up, just face it and don’t give up. One should be hardworking, kind and honest; this is my personal philosophy.”

— Jessie Li, as told by Justin Mah
FALL 2009, ISSUE ONE

Our pre-presss proofs. Say that three times.
Our pre-press proofs. Say that three times. Blurred for the surprise element.


Sad Mag
is launching its first printed issue in one week! The proofs look fantastic, the colors floated off the page, and the CMYK looked stark. The magazine is going to be a beauty to hold in your hand. Vancouver’s Rhino Press did a fantastic job. And did we mention that is is printed on FSC-certified paper? It is printed on sustainable forest paper. Good for the environment, good for us. Good for you.

The founders of Sad Mag are going to be posting on sadmag.ca at least once a week. Being the creative director of Sad Mag, my blog will be bringing you visual art, inspirations, sneak peeks into the design of the magazine, and interviews with Vancouver’s raw visual talent.

Stay tuned this week for interviews with two of our photographers and our cover artist!

-Brandon

Molo's Gastown Studio. Photography by Laura Nguyen.
Molo's Gastown Studio. Photography by Laura Nguyen.

As the Sad Mag family excitedly moves closer to our launch date on September 17, we’ll be giving sadmag.ca visitors exclusive sneak peeks into our premier issue. Check back in the coming weeks as we preview original content right here.

“This is molo’s signature “softwall.” Today, it acts as a curtain, shielding us from the dreary afternoon with its thousands of delicate honeycomb folds. The softwall stands tall, wrapping the room in a cool white light. It is like looking through a cloud, thick yet transparent, into the vague shapes of the world below.”

— Stacey McLachlan
FALL 2009, ISSUE ONE

Skull and Crossbones. Photography by Eric Cairns
Skull and Crossbones. Photography by Eric Cairns

As the Sad Mag family excitedly moves closer to our launch date on September 17, we’ll be giving sadmag.ca visitors exclusive sneak peeks into our premier issue. Check back in the coming weeks as we preview original content right here.

On my snoops through decades of clutter, I prefer the stores that arrange their VHS tapes in a cabinet like they’re still in a home. Then I can gingerly remove a film from its spot, marvel its pleasantly thick-novel shape, and imagine the staff would view it after hours.

— Lauren Schachter
FALL 2009, ISSUE ONE

cbcsadmag
Profile on National Radio. The buzz is on.

Thank you to everyone who was planning to listen to today’s interview on On the Coast. Unfortunately, CBC changed their programming at the last minute and cancelled their interview with Sad Mag. Another time! Stay tuned.

The whole city is talking about Sad Mag! The little magazine that could caught the attention of CBC Radio. Tune in to Radio One’s On The Coast at 4:10pm on Wednesday, September 2 to hear Sad‘s Editor in Chief Deanne Beattie in conversation with Stephen Quinn. They’ll be talking about magazines, the launch party, and the summer of Sad.

By your computer? Stream the show online.
If you’re on the road, listen in at 88.1 FM or 690 on your AM dial.

headshot-1

Sad Mag‘s Creative Director, Brandon Gaukel, was featured this week by Xtra West as “one to watch.” Congratulations, BG!

Check out Brandon’s interview with man-about-town Sean Horlor, on making it as a photographer, his creative philosophy for Sad Mag, and nudie dance parties here.

Cascadia Defied. Illustration by Kristina Fiedrich
Cascadia Defied. Illustration by Kristina Fiedrich

As the Sad Mag family excitedly moves closer to our launch date on September 17, we’ll be giving sadmag.ca visitors exclusive sneak peeks into our premier issue. Check back in the coming weeks as we preview original content right here.

“Victoria’s transition from the commercial and cultural capital of British Columbia to an idyllic tourist town can be traced back to a fateful decision by the directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway to select Vancouver as the line’s western terminus.”

— Racan Souiedan
FALL 2009, ISSUE ONE

Simple and classic. Photograph by Dan Elstone.
Simple and classic. Photograph by Dan Elstone.

As the Sad Mag family excitedly moves closer to our launch date on September 17, we’ll be giving sadmag.ca visitors exclusive sneak peeks into our premier issue. Check back in the coming weeks as we preview original content right here.

“This is espresso, yet also honey, a rich, velvet shot suddenly melts into a lukewarm cup in twin columns, falling, flowing; it is sweet in taste and deeper in complexity. The adorable little doppio espresso in your palm hums with caffeine, caked with the pollen of its blonde foam, its crema; alive, fresh, and born from the cocoon of a bean.”

— Adam Cristobal
ISSUE ONE, FALL 2009