Anorak Magazine Talk

Cathy Olmedillas, founder of Anorak Magazine came to speak to us today and although children's illustration is not a strong interest of mine, I found what she was saying really interesting and inspiring. 

About Anorak

• A magazine for boys and girls aged 6+, bringing young boy and girl culture together instead of dividing them like most other magazines and not giving an age range that is unnecessarily specific. 
• Founded in 2006
• Quarterly, themed issues - themes can be educational, philosophical or general. 
• Almost entirely illustrated. 
• Some parts are written by children but still illustrated by adult professionals.
• Range of items for sale spreads beyond the magazine into activity books, colouring books, 'The Best of Anorak' Book, Dot Magazine for under 5's (a simpler and smaller publication'. 
• They have 'Studio Anorak' which has about 12 illustrators who work on briefs to fund the business as well.
• Sponsorship from H&M at the beginning. 
• Now sold online and in independent retailers. 

I particularly liked how Anorak takes a totally different approach to other magazines aimed at children. It avoids the 'cheap' look and takes more of a sensible approach to what children should be looking at and reading about. Because of this, it stands out on a shop shelf against other publications using typical selling techniques. 

What would they be looking for in a portfolio?

• Consistency - it shows that the practitioner is reliable and you know what kind of image you will be getting. 
• Hand drawn and colourful. 
• Retro?
• Unique. 

Cathy genuinely seemed really passionate about Anorak Magazine and this shows through in what I have seen of the publication so far. I am inspired by her confidence to keep pushing her idea even though so many places turned her down in the beginning saying that it wouldn't sell. I also found it interesting to say that she isn't very business-minded which is something I can connect with. She seemed to say that the business probably would be doing a lot better if she had made decisions based on business rather than creativity but with a publication so fun and playful as this, I can see how it would be difficult to think so formally about it. I suppose it is about balance and finding what works for you. 

Opportunity to volunteer at a family event at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. 

• Volunteering for workshops. 
• Creating an event - proposals by 7th March. 

I can't say I am totally taken in by this opportunity, it sounds fun but I don't think it is that relevant to my practice because my illustrations don't really connect with an audience this young. 

This presentation has made me think more about children's illustration as a whole and whether my practice would ever fit under that umbrella. I never thought I had the right style or tone of voice for it but looking at the wide range of covers for this magazine, maybe it could. A lot of the designs were heavily shape based which I understand works for this age group but it is not something I enjoy. However, seeing the detailed work of Amandine Urruty on one cover shows that a range of different styles can work. It's no something I have written off entirely, I would just need to find the right project to keep me interested and educate myself more on how children look at pictures.