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a cool magazine
ReadyMade, do-it-yourself guide for creating a life
By Jeff Bercovici
There are any number of magazines out there for do-it-yourself types, in fields ranging from home repair and car maintenance to fly-tying and needlepoint.
But what if the "it" you want to do yourself is decorate your apartment with stuff other people might throw away? Or convince people that you're smarter than you really are? Or make a living as an unlicensed therapist?
Then you need ReadyMade, a new magazine for the young and resourceful.
Published quarterly out of Berkeley, Calif., ReadyMade is part arts-and-crafts manual, part whacked-out humor magazine. Its motto is "Instructions for everyday life," and it's not kidding; the cover even has an arrow pointing to the edge of the next page with the words "Open here."
Many of the "how-to" features give instructions for making home furnishings or decorations from common or inexpensive materials.
The premiere issue, on sale now, shows readers how to craft a stylish clock from a crushed soda can, melt a vinyl LP into a groovy fruit bowl and fashion a durable wallet from a FedEx envelope.
But there's weirder stuff to be found as well.
On page 58, Neal Pollock, author of the soon-to-be published book "Poetry and other Poems," offers advice on "How to Become a Famous Writer." His tips include "Put naked pictures of yourself on the internet," "Make sure that a jealous fan attempts to hire someone to kill you on your tour," and "Move to Philadelphia."
Readers who want to follow the example of "pseudo professional" Josh Greene and go into practice as unlicensed therapists are advised, "To convey that I am listening to the intimate details of a patient's family and dating history, I nod solemnly and cross and uncross my legs." Lest you think Greene irresponsible, he also warns, "Sometimes there is screaming."
Some articles combine equal parts comedy and utility.
Post-collegiate females are sure to find the feature on "How to debachelorize an apartment" painfully funny and even more painfully true.
It even comes with a handy checklist of "10 signs he needs de-programming. No. 9: Argues bong on coffee table looks like a flower vase."
ReadyMade is the creation of two California natives, editor in chief Shoshana Berger and publisher/COO Grace Hawthorne. Berger has written for Wired and The New York Times Magazine and is the former editorial director of Young & Rubicam's Brand Futures Group. Hawthorne has master's degrees in business and film, and her résumé includes a stint at Inside.com.
The magazine, which debuted last month, is independently funded and distributed at retail outlets, including Urban Outfitters stores.
One might think that a magazine that teaches readers how to make what they need for themselves might encounter some resentment from advertisers, whose goal, after all, is to convince them to buy new stuff.
But Hawthorne says her readers are encouraged to do both.
"We don't position ReadyMade as something that discourages consumerism," she says. "It's about customizing and personalizing your living environment.
"Our readers are going to buy the beautiful, high-design chair and stick it next to the table they made themselves. They’re a generation that isn't as label-conscious as their boomer parents. For them it's about the look."
January 17, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Jeff Bercovici is a staff writer for Media Life.
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