The first few days of a brand new year seem ripe with possibilities, inspiring a fresh start in new ventures or revived inspiration for forgotten pursuits. There couldn’t be a better time to introduce a brand new magazine, starting what could be an entirely new chapter in many lives.
Laika, named as a tribute to the first dog in outer space and all other creatures treated unjustly, takes on a huge responsibility right off the bat. Serving up vegan content that anyone could happily digest, it takes the positive reinforcement approach that won me over so many years ago. It feels like a stroke of pure luck that I had the opportunity to be a part of the premier issue, and in a far bigger way than I could have imagined.
Based in Brooklyn, it was an easy hop, skip, and jump over to the site of Chef Merida’s Vegan Secret Super Club, an event that I had initially only planned to photograph. I hadn’t planned on becoming such fast friends with Julie, the magazine’s founder and editor, nor did I have any intention of writing a single word to grace those pages. Long story short, I ultimately submitted my first ever “real” article to the project, spanning numerous pages and delving far deeper than a mere recipe introduction ever could. Accompanied by my own photos, I feel almost as proud as Julie herself must be of the whole first issue. Of course, my penchant for creating and sharing is never satisfied, so I also was overjoyed to share a few thoughts on new, innovative vegan products, along with a recipe and photos.
It’s not at all a single-focus, food-only publication, despite my own edible additions. It’s the vegan lifestyle magazine that has been absent from news stands, that I’ve wanted all along. It’s about awesome, inspiring people, exciting events, innovative fashion, compassionate beauty and personal care, relationships- All that just happen to be vegan. This may just be the first issue, but it’s far from the last. Like 2013 itself, this is only the beginning of something great.