Meet the Magazine: Lagom
Bristol-based Lagom is a lifestyle magazine that connects a global community of like-minded creatives who care about thoughtful design, independent travel, and a balanced approach to life.
We spoke to husband-and-wife team, Elliot and Samantha, to learn how they came about founding the magazine, that receives contributions from all over the world...
In five steps, can you summarise the path that led you to start your magazine?
- Elliot and Sam graduated from university; Elliot began a career in web design.
- A little while later Sam began her career in editorial.
- Elliot felt a need to create something lasting, and not temporary in nature as websites are, so he began publishing 8 Faces, a printed publication.
- Sam helped Elliot with the editing of the magazine, and they decided they liked working together. They came up with the idea of creating a lifestyle magazine, covering topics that they were interested in and featuring people they found interesting, as a means of working together and creating something they both really liked and would enjoy creating.
- Lagom magazine was born.
Where does your magazine's name come from?
We have a few Swedish friends, and became aware of the name and the philosophy via conversation with them.
What does your magazine celebrate?
It celebrates independence, creative nature, good design, and those who achieve a positive balance between work and play because they think outside the box.
What are the best and worst parts about making a magazine?
The best part is that we get to meet interesting, positive people. We love stumbling across new stories and speaking to people who have set off to begin their own endeavours. It continually motivates and inspires us to do the same. The worst parts are probably trying to stick to deadlines, managing the day-to-day finances, and trying to keep on top of emails!
Why do you love physically, printed magazines?
When we read stories on screen, or look at photography or art on a screen, we find that we rush and don’t take long enough to appreciate it. Whereas printed magazines encourage you to take a moment out of your day to pause for a moment. You can appreciate the tactile nature of the smell and feel of the paper, and enjoy the experience of reading a story or admiring illustration or photography at a slower pace. And of course, they’re great to add to your collection on your book shelf, so you can go back to it whenever you want to catch up on articles you didn’t read and enjoy another quiet moment with a cup of coffee, or in front of the fire.
Any top books, magazines, blogs you can't stop reading at the mo?
Online, for quick inspiration, we enjoy WeHeart, and for longer-form reads about other creative entrepreneurs we enjoy reading Freunde von Freunde. In the physical world, we really enjoy the photography featured in every issue of Sidetracked magazine.
But if we’re honest, we find that running a magazine, and being a parent to our two-year-old while juggling other projects doesn’t leave us with as much time to read as much as we’d like! Most of the time we find ourselves reading kid’s books to our daughter, which is fine as we really enjoy looking at the variety of illustration styles in children’s literature!
Where is your favourite place to read a book or magazine?
We have a patio in our garden, surrounded by trees and hedgerows, that takes in some views of the (now abandoned) viaduct in our village. It’s a peaceful place to enjoy the sunshine and take a moment to pause and breath.
...and Lagom is the perfect magazine for those moments of pause. Thanks to Elliot and Sam for taking the time to give us a little bit of insight into the life behind Lagom. Pick up a copy for yourself and head straight to your favourite reading spot.