Interweave has launched an new e-magazine called Handcrafted Jewelry Studio. Though at first I thought this would be like many of the other pdf style digital magazines available on the Internet, I was totally wrong. It is a very different animal than what you may have already seen on-line these days. Most e-magazines are basically digitized versions of hard copy periodicals. You download a pdf file or click and open up a pdf in a browser window, and this may even include some links. This is basically what I was expecting when I was offered a chance to review the last edition of Handcrafted Jewelry Studio.
What I discovered is a downloadable .exe file that you end up installing on your computer, complete with an easy to locate desktop icon. This format allows for a lot more interactive capabilities such as videos, links, pop up windows, and slide shows. For example, in the issue I looked at there is an article about artist Susan Lenart Kazmer. It includes text, her photo, a 5 plus minute video interview where she discusses how she works with found objects, pop up photos of some of her work, and related links. So you aren't just reading an article about her; you actually get to hear her talk about her work.
The magazine also includes projects. Some link out to the Internet, and other are embedded as pdf files inside the emag that requires you to save the file to your hard drive in order to read the full instructions.
This e-magazine is not subscription based. Instead, each stand alone issue is available through the publisher's web site for purchase ($9.97). The site also includes some FAQs about how the magazine works as well as a video tutorial to show you how to get around. I pretty much jumped in and found it fairly easy to navigate. While it is obviously a different experience than reading a paper magazine, to me it felt like a cross between a web site and pdf style digital magazine. I enjoyed it, especially the videos; I thought they were probably the best part of it.
With the popularity of e-readers these days, I think many jewelry designers are ready for this new type of electronic magazine. Even those who enjoy reading on paper can't dispute the fact that seeing jewelry techniques via videos is a huge plus over paper.
Comments
I’m a natural skeptic so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this. I can definitely see the enormous potential with this kind of publications. I did download this issue and I wasn’t disappointed. I can see how you could have this open and take it right to your workspace.
Thanks for the input, Heidi. It’s kind of like you have to see it and click around and get a full understanding of what this thing is like. They have really come up with something unique.