quincylampshades

I used to be an editor. Law and physics were my thing. I was very good at correcting High Court judges and Chinese physicists. Originally, I wanted to be a journalist, but I got sacked six weeks in. My love of books, writing and illustration did not suffer, so when I read of a young woman determined to publish her very own print magazine I offered my support. A bit of proofreading perhaps? But no, Helen Martin wanted my stay-at-home-mum to small-business-owner story. These past months I have followed her progress in awe. This Sunday she launches her very own Lionheart Magazine:

 I wanted to inspire with a collection articles, illustration and photography that will affirm a reader’s sense of belief in themselves and their capabilities in some way … I knew that if I put everything together and made a physical, printed publication into the vision I could see, it could be amazing … My own paper inspiration, I have always kept. Then I tried to do as much market research and go to as many meetings with editors, publishers, stockists … to try and perform this dream, with as much knowledge as possible. Always hanging onto that ethos, so integral to Lionheart Magazine: print, created with no compromises – only a roar in the heart.

Read Helen’s writing here and watch a video here. Be sure to buy Lionheart Magazine when you see it, or buy now. Inside you’ll find the heart of a determined woman and many others, including mine. Or drop in to the launch party, Sun 11th Dec, at 40 Alfred Place, Bristol. I’ll be giving a lampshade-making demo and I’ll have an armful of shades for sale at market price.