Letter from the Editor: Issue One

I don’t think many millennial creatives talk about how completely debilitating the artistic process can be and I think we need to. I think it's important to note that it's not the glamourous world that we see on Instagram or the perfectly stitched together stories that we see on Snapchat. It’s hard and it's scary. Just like any other young adult trying to find themselves in the workplace, young creatives are facing an oversaturated job market and a non-linear path to success. While I can’t speak for other professions, what I find most difficult about pursuing a creative profession is the intertwined aspect of the personal with the professional. While in many careers you can work to separate them, for artists it is not often that simple. The personal is professional. Your life, your body and who you are is what you create. That essence is your product. I believe that is what is most taxing about being a young creative. It’s not will they like my photo, my painting, my writing. It’s will they like this piece of me, this embodiment of my emotions or experience. Will they think it’s good enough?

Which is why I think we need to support each other and open the lines of communication. Creative individuals are nothing on their own. We need communities, we need support systems and to be successful in creative industries you need people who will want to see what you have to create. So instead of comparing follower counts and perceived success I think we need to send love and support lavishly. I think we need to foster collaborations and opportunities where we watch each other flourish. The creative process and the creative field aren’t for everyone but if those who are interested in it aren’t out supporting one another and getting on board, how can we expect others to?

We created this magazine with this concept in mind. We wanted to have a space where anyone could showcase their photos, illustrations and writing. We want you to feel like you have a voice. To know that we hear you, we see you and we support you. This is your space to make it whatever you want it to be and whatever you need it to be. With that I’d like to thank my amazing team of editors, contributors, illustrators and photographers for helping to make something that has been a long time dream, a reality.

To this issue and many more.

- Chantel Ouellet, Editor in Chief