WHEN IS IT DROPPING?
‘COMING SOON’
#FromXtoX
FRONT COVER BY Amber Vittoria, Sam Cardelfe , Gerardo Mendez
“Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses and their concerns without fear of reprisal.”
The key takeaway from this quotation is transparency. Something that credits practice consistently. Being able to be an open book for our readers, and most importantly for my company is a hurdle; because of fear, fear of failure, and fear of judgement. I challenge myself and my team to do something bigger and better with each issue, and in return, with hopes that we reach milestones that increase our creative abilities both individually and collectively. It's important for me to willingly accept our shortcomings and mistakes during the process of building each issue so when we go back to the drawing board we are more aware of ourselves and the product we put out.
I've never felt the need to pin a letter to our readers before we release the magazine, as I do now. In life, it is common that we face obstacles. Whether you're embarking on a journey of love or trying to build a company, it never fails, shit happens. I came up with this idea that we should have a series called Conversations. All of this stemmed from my love-hate relationship with social media and why I believe that it messed with the way we communicate. The end goal of this series is to produce 4 issues, different colors and dope artwork to serve as a collectible item. We're almost at the end mark which is always critical; that's where your faith is tested since disbelief and bad habits always decide to creep in. It's similar to knowing you're about to graduate but for some reason, this is the moment you feel the need to procrastinate and indulge in bad habits.
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I find it interesting how stoked I was to create this series and have so much to say on communication, but the gag is while putting this issue together I realize that communication is one of my weakest points. Which was a huge shock to me I must say? This Issue #FromXtoX is different, the process is slower, and the demand is higher, the pressure is insanely overwhelming. Everything that I prayed for is finally happening, we have stores, we're in print, we have bigger companies interested in us. But how freaking convenient the fire that we usually have when in the final stages before releasing seems to have been blown out. During the making of this issue, we had many curveballs thrown at us, both individually and as a team. Despite it all, I am not one to ever give up. I'm a firm believer that in life when you feel like giving up the most, usually means you need to start fighting harder. We listen and read everyone's success stories, it's motivational, and yes we need it. Although our own stories, our pain, our late nights searching for inspiration in a pool of mostly over saturated and mediocre affairs should help inspire us and fight the hardest fight of not slumping into anxieties and the pressures of this world. The hope is to stop trying to please others, which will only leave you mentally and physically drained so start taking the time to please yourself!
I know that's easier said than done, and surely i am living in that moment, this is why i have the urge to share this with whoever stumbles upon this and going through the same thing. I can give steps on how to overcome this, except I learned that everyone gets out of their darkness in different ways, everyone moves at a different pace. I write all this to say have faith in your 'coming soon', don't give up or give in to your anxieties keep working and release your beautiful projects! Always a niche of people waiting to see and support, work hard to not disappoint yourself.
——- Seanella EIC @Artsymagazine
BACK COVER.