Adventures with Ernest

When I was in Bristol a couple of weeks ago I met Jo Keeling, editor and co-founder of a new magazine called Ernest.

It’s been around since the end of last year as a blog and iPad magazine, but along with art editor Tina Smith, Jo is currently midway through making the leap to print. And they’re doing it with one of the most convincing Kickstarter campaigns I’ve seen for a long time.

Having been loosely involved with a couple of Kickstarters I know the key to success is preparation, and it clearly helps that Ernest has already established itself as a digital brand. There’s nothing vague or unsure about the pitch – Jo and Tina know exactly what they want to do, and they’ve got great examples of existing work to show.

They also have publishing form. Jo has edited Pretty Nostalgic for the last couple of years and Tina was the co-founder of Lost in London, and now they’re pooling their experience to make what Jo describes as a magazine “for people who like to whittle”.

Fellow Bristolians Another Escape have already shown that there’s an enthusiastic market out there for this sort of alternative escapism, and Jo and Tina look like they’re right on the money with both their content and their Kickstarter rewards (check out those reconditioned satchels, customised with one-off woodcut screen prints). They also work from what looks like a very lovely garden shed in Bristol. Live the brand.

At the time of writing the campaign still has 11 days to run and it’s just £64 short of its £5,000 target, making it a good example for anyone considering their own Kickstarter initiative. And of course if all this sounds like it’s up your street you should still get in there and pledge – the more money they make, the more awesome Ernest will be.

Ernest on Kickstarter
Ernest
Pretty Nostalgic
Lost in London
Another Escape