Heading North : The Story of the North Journal
The roaring of the engine stops in a street adjacent to The Corso. A bundle of newspaper is thrown at the front of a sleeping café. Dormant stories, printed on smooth paper, are waiting to be unfolded. The North Journal is the story of a free and independent printed Journal, striving to reconnect with physicality in a world that embodies the intangible. Instead of gathering virtually, Matt Pike and Tim Boreham have gone back to the old way of collecting and telling stories, with real ink on paper.
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: http://ilikecreatingthings.tumblr.com/
: https://www.facebook.com/rssx.clouds
: https://vimeo.com/user11499233
The roaring of the engine stops in a street adjacent to The Corso. A bundle of newspaper is thrown at the front of a sleeping café. Dormant stories, printed on smooth paper, are waiting to be unfolded.
The moon is standing high in the sky, its glow caressing the Norfolk Pines, at the extremity of the Northern beach. Salt evaporates in the air, the same salt that will later fade the brightness of the ink on the paper. Another batch is thrown, and slowly the boot of the camouflage truck empties itself. Mentally, the map of cafés and shops supporting the Journal get crossed off, and soon the engine will be heading back along meandering road to Whale Beach.
Tomorrow, Northerners will get up and reach their favorite café with the slapping sound of their flip-flops.
The paper stacked next to the barista's rumbling machine, is waiting patiently to unfurl. A couple of eyes stop in its direction, and soon enough, a myriad of hands grab the freshly printed Journal. In the sound of rustling pages, eyes gaze thoughtfully and heads dive into words. Halfway in the Paper, incredible shots of dancing oceans, shake their white coat, frozen in the fraction of a photo.
The North Journal was born in 2014 as a printed Journal, and print only, which gives it a very audacious identity. Instead of gathering virtually, Matt Pike and Tim Boreham have gone back to the old way of collecting and telling stories, with real ink on paper.
The North Journal is the story of a free and independent printed Journal, striving to reconnect with physicality in a world that embodies the intangible.
It all began with the stories of Sydney's Northern Beaches. At this time, the two friends felt the population was misunderstood and not represented accurately in local newspapers. A desire awakened of telling the unheard stories of the creative community surrounding them. Tim recalls, "If you were a creative, you had to be in the city. And we never felt that. We loved the art and culture from the city, but we also felt the existence of a creative community up there, it was just more spread out, that's all, and it needed something to show Sydney and the people what was out there."
The Northern beaches hold a disparate but very tight community bound by the sharing of values. The eclectic population is spread out on the social ladder, but thanks to the environment in which the community evolves there is a strong sense of belonging. Nature is very present in Sydney's Northern coast, which inspires a relaxed and positive atmosphere amid National Parks and the back and forth of the ocean.
The Journal embodies the disparity of the Northerner by bringing together stories from different background and reach. Matt declares "our thing is putting a really established artist next to a local beekeeper" as it is acknowledging that both stories are worth being heard for the sake of storytelling and human interest, and none is more important than the other. There is this will of discovering people, gathering their thoughts and following the track of their life within the Journal.
This interest for people is transmitted by the format of the Journal, stretching itself on its double A3 pages spread, and perpetrating the Tabloid format essence. Tabloid, before displaying slanderous gossips and stolen photos used to be genuinely interested in human and storytelling, points out Matt. And only afterwards they drew this connection, and realized they returned to the old way of telling stories.
Telling stories about humans, but also about nature's phases through which we evolve.
The North is published quarterly, following the path of seasons. "It's that feeling of change, development, the hot and the cold, the different life, that as a person I feel and I yearn for the next season every time." There is no topic set for each Issue, but instead a particular atmosphere to convey, reflecting the transitional mood of a season. It is this in-between they want to capture through words and visuals, and align with how readers are feeling at a particular moment of the year.
The Journal is available free of charge at different cafés and small shops in Sydney. You will find the paper resting on the tables from Zubi to Finbox, from Palm Beach to the Coal Coast town of Thirroul. Tim & Matt thought about a pay what you want concept but decided against involving money "we felt it was a barrier if our main aim was spreading information and telling the stories that we think should be heard". The Journal feels like a gift, as it wasn't sold nor advertised to us but carefully crafted for our pleasure. It is a call for us to reassess the value we attribute to objects, beyond the monetary value.
One would wonder how Tim & Matt manage to find the funds to pay for the printing of each Issue. "Well, it's hard" is the answer that echoes from both of them. The Journal holds advertising and advertorial in its pages, which allow them to meet the printing's costs. But the supporters are carefully chosen regarding their genuine interest in the project of the North. One of the hardest part in staying independent is "to juggle people who genuinely want to contribute and understand what we're about, and then people that just want to push their business" exclaims Tim.
If the Journal started closely in the sphere of the Northern beaches, it is now opening up in Sydney and beyond, to the rest of Australia.
The North can be anywhere. Any place can be North of something, and in some ways, North is anywhere and everywhere. The name is a reflection of the spread of the audience it captures, a resonance of the global community found within its pages. Now extending beyond the place where it was first born, but still belonging to the Northern Beaches.
The moon is standing high in the sky, its glow caressing the Norfolk Pines, at the extremity of the Northern beach. Salt evaporates in the air, the same salt that will later fade the brightness of the ink on the paper. Another batch is thrown, and slowly the boot of the camouflage truck empties itself. Mentally, the map of cafés and shops supporting the Journal get crossed off, and soon the engine will be heading back along meandering road to Whale Beach.
Tomorrow, Northerners will get up and reach their favorite café with the slapping sound of their flip-flops.
The paper stacked next to the barista's rumbling machine, is waiting patiently to unfurl. A couple of eyes stop in its direction, and soon enough, a myriad of hands grab the freshly printed Journal. In the sound of rustling pages, eyes gaze thoughtfully and heads dive into words. Halfway in the Paper, incredible shots of dancing oceans, shake their white coat, frozen in the fraction of a photo.
The North Journal was born in 2014 as a printed Journal, and print only, which gives it a very audacious identity. Instead of gathering virtually, Matt Pike and Tim Boreham have gone back to the old way of collecting and telling stories, with real ink on paper.
The North Journal is the story of a free and independent printed Journal, striving to reconnect with physicality in a world that embodies the intangible.
It all began with the stories of Sydney's Northern Beaches. At this time, the two friends felt the population was misunderstood and not represented accurately in local newspapers. A desire awakened of telling the unheard stories of the creative community surrounding them. Tim recalls, "If you were a creative, you had to be in the city. And we never felt that. We loved the art and culture from the city, but we also felt the existence of a creative community up there, it was just more spread out, that's all, and it needed something to show Sydney and the people what was out there."
The Northern beaches hold a disparate but very tight community bound by the sharing of values. The eclectic population is spread out on the social ladder, but thanks to the environment in which the community evolves there is a strong sense of belonging. Nature is very present in Sydney's Northern coast, which inspires a relaxed and positive atmosphere amid National Parks and the back and forth of the ocean.
The Journal embodies the disparity of the Northerner by bringing together stories from different background and reach. Matt declares "our thing is putting a really established artist next to a local beekeeper" as it is acknowledging that both stories are worth being heard for the sake of storytelling and human interest, and none is more important than the other. There is this will of discovering people, gathering their thoughts and following the track of their life within the Journal.
This interest for people is transmitted by the format of the Journal, stretching itself on its double A3 pages spread, and perpetrating the Tabloid format essence. Tabloid, before displaying slanderous gossips and stolen photos used to be genuinely interested in human and storytelling, points out Matt. And only afterwards they drew this connection, and realized they returned to the old way of telling stories.
Telling stories about humans, but also about nature's phases through which we evolve.
The North is published quarterly, following the path of seasons. "It's that feeling of change, development, the hot and the cold, the different life, that as a person I feel and I yearn for the next season every time." There is no topic set for each Issue, but instead a particular atmosphere to convey, reflecting the transitional mood of a season. It is this in-between they want to capture through words and visuals, and align with how readers are feeling at a particular moment of the year.
The Journal is available free of charge at different cafés and small shops in Sydney. You will find the paper resting on the tables from Zubi to Finbox, from Palm Beach to the Coal Coast town of Thirroul. Tim & Matt thought about a pay what you want concept but decided against involving money "we felt it was a barrier if our main aim was spreading information and telling the stories that we think should be heard". The Journal feels like a gift, as it wasn't sold nor advertised to us but carefully crafted for our pleasure. It is a call for us to reassess the value we attribute to objects, beyond the monetary value.
One would wonder how Tim & Matt manage to find the funds to pay for the printing of each Issue. "Well, it's hard" is the answer that echoes from both of them. The Journal holds advertising and advertorial in its pages, which allow them to meet the printing's costs. But the supporters are carefully chosen regarding their genuine interest in the project of the North. One of the hardest part in staying independent is "to juggle people who genuinely want to contribute and understand what we're about, and then people that just want to push their business" exclaims Tim.
If the Journal started closely in the sphere of the Northern beaches, it is now opening up in Sydney and beyond, to the rest of Australia.
The North can be anywhere. Any place can be North of something, and in some ways, North is anywhere and everywhere. The name is a reflection of the spread of the audience it captures, a resonance of the global community found within its pages. Now extending beyond the place where it was first born, but still belonging to the Northern Beaches.