We've gotten some questions and feedback from readers indicating they'd like to know more of the story behind Artizen - how it came about and who the people are behind it. So I'm going to try and fill in that gap a little here.
Artizen is a growing dream/project created by me, Cindy Marks, a long time print designer. I started a company just over 3 years ago, CatStone Press, upon discovering Flash digital publishing on the web. I found the prospect of being able to combine the organic layouts I was creating in print production with the most fun and interactive items on the web - video, audio and animations - to be absolutely thrilling! So I hung my shingle out making digital publications.
My first in-house magazine was a music magazine called PLAYLIST. We (my husband, Mike, and I) targeted an area from Maryland down through Virginia and proceeded to publish the schedules and music news from as many venues and festivals as we could round up. PLAYLIST was fun but a huge task and finally, being a new magazine with a small, though growing readership, we gave it up after a year and half of trying to gain a foothold in the advertising arena of the music industry. We'd set ourselves up for constantly needing to stay on top of schedules and venues with very little return. Well, other than incredible interviews with musicians, meeting great writers, and the fun of highlighting amazing music and videos each month in a magazine that did get many views and nice compliments.
For the next year, I focused on growing the client base for CatStone, creating digital publications for businesses ranging from travel to parks & rec to interactive shopping catalogs for food and clothing. I love working with small businesses and especially love it when I can not only turn their paper publications into something both green and fun, but also save them quite a bit of cash in the process. I continue to design and produce publications for wonderful clients.
But clients don't always have room for pushing the creative envelope - sometimes they feel it's too risky or too time consuming. So eventually, I really wanted to create my own magazine once again. This time, I tried to think beyond the obvious (music - rich media - seemed like a great combo, right?) and spent time searching for what I myself really enjoy reading and being involved with. I kept coming back to the arts, or maybe foodies, or beautiful gardening, or... I finally realized that the things most dear to me on both a creative and intellectual level include just about anything created lovingly by hand with a sprinkling of pizazz. At the same time I kept coming across marketing information saying that the prizes of the web world would go to those who could wade through the myriad bits of information and then present the very best in a compelling way to an audience.
And so, Artizen was born. It's an endeavor based entirely on the things I love most - design, beauty and a touch of geekiness. I get to contact and highlight artisans for whom I have endless admiration. It's daily fuel for my own confidence and creativity and a real life stomping ground for high quality publication marketing and production. I gain so much from the process myself and hopefully I add to the artisans' exposure and bottom line by bringing them new eyes and customers.
My hope is to grow the magazine and a team of associates at the same time, since I know I can't possibly do this all myself. For the first issue, I had the unwavering help of an intern, Christina Ritchie Rogers, who watered the idea and then conducted many interviews and wrote several articles. She's a whiz at video and I'm looking forward to many more of her multimedia journalistic gems in the future. I also had several guest writers jump on board, graciously willing to give things a spin as we see where this goes. Many of these contributors have continued to offer help and support, sharing bits of their own blogs and interviews. They all do amazing work and I'm grateful they are willing to share.
I firmly believe there is tremendous opportunity with Artizen. I know I enjoy designing and publishing it. Discovering the content is pure joy. I think there is an excellent basis for generating revenue with the ability to shop right off the pages, so I feel advertisers will view this as a good place to hang their interactive flags once they see it in action. And I think there are lots of readers having similar interests to my own. One may not like everything in each issue, but I suspect you'll respect the quality if not the subject matter of all these artisans.
There's the story of just the beginnings of a journey. I hope you'll enjoy reading, and perhaps contributing to, Artizen. The door is open for suggestions, submissions and feedback. Thanks so much for every part you play.
All the best,
Cindy Marks, owner and publisher of Artizen magazine