Spinning with people who share your feelings,
We want to deliver.
. The price of 3,800 yen per issue is one thing, but I also see the potential for the future of magazines in their contents and sales methods that are not bound by conventionality.
Ide:From production to publicity and sales, every aspect of magazine production is done from the ground up, seeking alternative ways of doing things. The price may seem high for a magazine, but as a medium that receives no advertising revenue, it is a business just like a regular book. . The gap between the two is difficult to fill. There is a kind of common sense or assumption among people that magazines should be inexpensive. However, I want to produce a good magazine at a fair price and present it to the world.
The stores we carry include many small bookstores and stores , and we feel the spirit of the company.
Ide:I was surprised by the unexpected response to the first issue, which was a limited edition, and I thought I would do it as quietly as I could. We were not doing much marketing other than selling the book at VISVIM stores and on the Web, but we were contacted by bookstores and stores all over the world, and we are very happy that they are buying and selling the book, rather than just selling it on consignment through the usual agencies.
Unlike consignment, buying books on consignment involves a stocking risk for the store. . Even so, a store that buys a book because it is a good book will do its best to sell it. We, the magazine's creators, always try to keep this kind of tension as a "natural" part of our work. I feel strongly that it would be great if we could work with people who share this attitude and take good care of our products.
How has the response been overseas?
Ide:Currently, we have begun selling in the United States, Canada, China, England, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. I don't know the actual response from readers yet, but the staff involved is happy, so I'm glad to hear that. I think it is a good thing that we are sending out all pages bilingual, so that people overseas can read it properly in English.
From the very beginning, I had hoped to have the overseas staff involved in the production of the magazine from the very beginning, so that the magazine would have a broader scope. The article by Takeshi Yamauchi in the second issue and the article by Ei Kasamatsu on "Origami Furniture" in the first issue are probably valuable as the first articles in English to be published in detail in this medium. .
Do you have any goals for the future?
Ide:Subsequence" does not have an editorial department at this point, and I am still the only one in charge of the magazine as a whole, as well as the designer. We don't even have an assistant. It is a very small, personal circle. It may not be something that reaches the masses, but I would be happy if what I am freely and happily creating reaches the right people.
. I hope to continue to create a system for better magazine production through trial and error, and to gradually improve the environment. . To that end, my goal is to keep going first. I hope to work together with those who feel that it would be good to have a place where they can do what they want to do, and over time, steadily and gradually increase what we can do from a small ship.
