The art of gardening in Pleasant Place
We delivered Pleasant Place to our subscribers in October, and then at the end of November Guus Kaandorp, Floor Kortman, and Lou-Lou van Staaveren jumped on a Zoom call to talk about making their magazine on the art of gardening. One of the first things they wanted to say is that they’re not really sure that what they make is actually a magazine. They consider Pleasant Place to be something broader, inspired by vintage fact files rather than other magazines, and they actively want to avoid the restrictions that could come from needing to hit strict deadlines or please advertisers.
Their strapline is, “a growing collection of publications about the art of gardening”, and it was great to look back with them over the six issues they have published so far, and to hear them talking about what they have achieved. The main thing that’s still left in their to-do column seems to be the binder they want to create – the magazine has lovely loop stitch binding, which would lend itself perfectly to some kind of folder, so that readers can look after their collection as it grows. But as Guus explains, while that was their plan from the start, they’ve discovered that in practice it’s not as simple as they’d thought, and they’re still searching for a solution that will give them what they need.
If you’ve already seen this magazine I hope you’ll enjoy hearing the team talking about it, and if Pleasant Place is new to you, take a look at it in our shop to see more information, including sample spreads and a story list. And of course if you like the idea of receiving a surprise independent magazine every month, sign up to Stack and we’ll mail our selection direct to your door, and then invite you to a Zoom call so you can hear the editors and designers speaking about it.
