Hamilton-based mag releases second edition
Wintec student and editorial director Naomi Johnston shares her journey on creating her magazine Blacklisted
Naomi Johnston never set out to make a fashion magazine.
She wanted to make a publication which did not rely on nudity or swearing. She wanted art.
“I just saw that there was a hole in the market for an art magazine that had a sense of moral obligation.”
The magazine aims to inspire art, culture, and fashion.
The idea started when Johnston decided to create a zine. “Something small with maybe 20 pages and low-end,” she said.
After making the publication the small team consisting of Wintec graduates Jess Molina and Rachel Fitness acknowledged that it was too small to be a Zine so the team created the Blacklisted magazine instead.
Blacklisted is a publication designed to leave on your coffee table or around your house without having to worry about what your children and family see.
“I think it is really important for me to stand up for my beliefs, but I also think that it’s really important to engage people and not isolate them so Blacklisted is my way of sharing my morals without shoving my beliefs in people’s faces” she said.
Blacklisted inspires its readers to think creatively with cleaner content.
“It’s better art when people have to work their way around guidelines and come up with something different” Johnston said.
The main guidelines Johnston has set for blacklisted include no swearing and no nudity.
Blacklisted is published four times a year as a seasonal magazine that covers art, culture and fashion and is produced by Wintec students.
The first publication sold 100 copies in the first two weeks.
Johnston believes her “just do it” attitude helped give her the confidence to follow through her dream.
“If we have the skill-set to accomplish something then the idea seems easier in our head.”
The autumn issue of Blacklisted magazine is available to purchase at Blacklisted Magazine
