The Best New Indie Mags for Travelers 2015
by Team Fathom
Photo courtesy of Openhouse.
We find it hard to resist a well-made print publication. Last summer, our magazine obsession inspired us to compile a list of our 24 favorite indie magazines for travelers. But we couldn't stop there. We've been keeping our eye out for other small-batch, niche, and rare titles for our own travel inspiration fix. We hope you like what you see (and read).
Bunyan Velo
What we love: The quarterly collection of photographs, essays, and stories celebrate everything that's great about exploration by bicycle – our favorite mode of slow transport.
Last seen: Dodging camels in the vast martian landscape of the Sahara Desert.
Price: $5
Available at: bunyanvelo.com
Ala Champ Culture Handbook
What we love: Published twice a year (alternating between London and Tokyo), this small tome investigates big ideas that stem from creative cultures around the globe. We love the wild graphics and bit of attitude.
Last seen: At the Vans offices; presenting an exhibition at a gallery in Shibuya.
Price: £10
Available at: champcreative.bigcartel.com
The California Sunday Magazine
What we love: Their targeted approach to reporting on the places that are most important to Californians – California, the West, Asia, and Latin America. They've got a stellar roster of talent too, with alumni from the likes of Slate, The Atlantic, Interview, W Magazine, and Wired.
Last seen: Digging into the details of a treasure chest buried five years ago in the Rocky Mountains.
Price: $60 per year
Available at: californiasunday.com
Drift Magazine
What we love: Each issue highlights a different city through its coffee culture. In New York, this means a guide to Senegalese, Ethiopian, Sri Lankan, and Mexican brews and a photo series dedicated to iconic diners. Tokyo offers a look at the city's cosplay cafes and profiles latte art champions.
Last seen: Learning about the legacy of the Latin lunch counter in NYC.
Price: $52 for 2 issues
Available at: driftmag.com
Ernest Journal
What we love: The biannual journal, iPad magazine, and website pulls at the curious (and curated) traveler's heartstrings. It's slow journalism for slow vacations, with an emphasis on makers and their passions, captured with dreamy photography.
Last seen: Trekking the island of Scilly in Cornwall and exploring the medieval farmhouse of a kinetic sculptor in Monmouthshire.
Price: £10 per issue; £15 for iPad subscription
Available at: ernestjournal.co.uk and itunes.com
Life and Thyme
What we love: Stories told through the meals and recipes we make and eat in culinary destinations from California to Colombia to Taiwan.
Last seen: Basking in the gastronomic glow of Blackberry Farm in Tennessee; laying the foundation for success in the gelato business; eating bouillabaisse.
Price: $16
Available at: lifeandthyme.com
Monster Children
What we love: Skating, surfing, music, arts, travel, and rowdy behavior rolled up into an impressive cultural guide put out every quarter.
Last seen: Trucking around South Sudan; killing it with an outsider's guide to Japan.
Price: $12 AUD
Available at: monsterchildren.com
Open House Magazine
What we love: Published twice per year, the focus is on charming "public" spaces — everything from parks to restaurants to studios to the homes that people open up to strangers (through hosting salons, dinner series, and other creative, people-to-people pursuits).
Last seen: Attending a concert at a home in Barcelona, eating at a supper club in New York, shopping in a Berlin apartment, and sailing along in a little boat in Menorca.
Price: €16 and up
Available at: openhousemagazine.bigcartel.com
Pineapple
What we love: The folks behind Airbnb are doing a deeper dive into their top communities to learn more about the incredible characters inhabiting them. The first issue explores three urban environments: London, San Francisco, and Seoul.
Last seen: Hanging with a group of friends who've turned an old Victorian schoolhouse into a piece of paradise in East London.
Price: $12
Available at: airbnb.com
The Usual
What we love: From interviews with folks like designer Cynthia Rowley to a taxonomy on boat names, this limited-edition newsprint explores the unusual stories and personalities that make Montauk home.
Last seen: Mapping out an alternative guide to the tip of Long Island.
Price: $10
Available at: theusualmontauk.com
