Notions: Magazine Boot Camp

Most of you probably know we’ve been planning to publish a print/digital edition of Generation Q Magazine from the very start of this eZine last summer. It’s not that we have anything against our online GenQ. It’s because we vehemently believe that there is a niche in the print/digital quilt world for a lifestyle publication like ours, one that caters to the whims and fancies of the modern and contemporary quilter and sewist.

Lizzie B's wonderful quilt sign from Spring Market 2010 in Minneapolis

To us, that’s the quilter, male or female, who lives in today’s creative world, the one that blends the joys of online access to information with the creativity found in needle, thread and fabric. That’s you, people. You are fun, interesting, intelligent and talented and want to celebrate what you do and how you do it with each other, regardless of age, life station, physical location or style preference. But there we go again, preaching to the choir…

So, after an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign in which all of YOU—thank you soooo much!–helped us raise the cash to print and market this premier issue of GenQ offline ($20,000 in pledges achieved in NINE days—and it’s actually still going!!!), we thought you might like to hear how this grand adventure is progressing. Fueled by our excitement and your incredible response, we’re basically working at warp speed, pushing hard to bring GenQ into a new dimension. Can we just say this is like spring training and boot camp all rolled into one?

The pace is fast and the to-do list is long, but it’s becoming real. The two biggest things we’re working on now are content for the first print issue and its mid-May launch at International Quilt Market in Kansas City, Missouri. Oh, and we’re still maintaining our eZine’s postings, which will continue on after the print’s launch. One minute we’re debating the parameters of a story, and the next minute, musing about the right flooring effect for our Market booth. (Cushy faux-wood rubber or a painted twill floorcloth…hmmm.)

Our print content will be a feast of features, tutorials, interviews, product information and some amazingly beautiful projects that we’ve received from our great friends. (We’ll tease a little here: Can you say Heather Jones? Julie Herman? Melissa Peda? And there’s more, but you can’t have all your dessert first.) We’ve also got fun interactive features to get you involved, as well as important insights into our q-niverse.

Spring Market 2011 in Salt Lake City: Shop owners plan out their attack on Market--Which way do we go?

To the non-magazine person, the process of pulling together a magazine must seem like a cyber fire drill. Stuff is moving everywhere. All of us are writing or editing various stories, zipping them off to Megan, who is also immersed in designing the look and flow of the magazine. (Files and pages and images, oh my!) And then we have our other jobs. Melissa keeps track of what’s coming in from where and whom and Scott is in charge of making sure we’ve got new projects on the horizon. And Jake is also handling all of the back office stuff.

As far as Market goes, we’ve booked our flights, paid for our booth–Number 841 if anyone wants to visit–and selected a theme for our booth. If you’ve never been to Market, you’ve gotta figure out a way to do it one of these days. It’s an incredible display of everything we love, all in one place. Sewing machines, tools, books, fabric, patterns and of course, magazines. Our goal is to impress quilt shop owners, who will in turn carry our magazine in their shops, which means it gets to you all. We also want to show off our stuff to our supporters—those that have invested in our magazine with their advertisements.

And while we know very well how to put a magazine together, we’re not embarrassed to admit we’re learning some new skills in this adventure. Frankly, some days it feels as if the learning curve is straight up and over backwards. But the excitement from mastering a new task and connecting with the right people to grow GenQ keeps us pushing on.

Now, can someone pass the Red Bull, please?