Wednesday, February 8, 2017

What's in a name?


Someone out there please help me, what do you think the magazine should be called? I have a few names stuck in my head but if someone has a better name that I could consider put it out there. Color will not play a part in the name of this magazine. Please consider this, the magazine is to feature all ethnicities focusing on African American makers. That is not saying that you will never see a Caucasian maker in this magazine. If I choose a name that you suggested and it is available that beautiful person will receive an amazing gift bag! 

I’m closing this suggestion post in exactly one week from today which is Wed Feb 15th. 

Thanks in advance for you suggestions!
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26 comments

  1. Sew sistas magazine. I will try to think of some more

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  2. Rainbow. Then a description ....sewing mag blah, blah.

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  3. Oh Michelle, I really do love this idea! Here's my entry for a name…Melanin Stitch Magazine (MSM). LOL! Can you tell I love acronyms?!

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  4. Hi Michelle, I haven't previously commented on your magazine idea, but I've actually been thinking a lot about it. I wasn't convinced at first, because colour is not a category I base my reading choices on (do people really do that?!?), but I get the problem of underrepresentation. Still, I'm not sure the title of your magazine should focus on this issue, since it would undermine your intention imo (there is a lot of unintended segregation happening through emphasizing differences where it's not necessary, instead of taking them as a given and just including all. Like saying "blacks and whites" instead of "everybody"). Our hobbies have no colour, so a sewing magazine should be about sewing, not white sewing or black sewing. English is not my mother tongue, so I'm not able to come up with an actual title, but I would go with something simply inclusive, like "everybody sews". I hope I could get my meaning through! Also, love your work, so it's going to be a great magazine! Sophie

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    1. Hi Sophie, I get what you're saying but I politely disagree. There is separation as unintentional as SOME of it may be, it is real. Now I hear ya, I don't buy sewing magazines based on color but I do know that when I'm looking at them it's lacking. On my research quest I bought 10 magazines which included sewing, crafts and DIY, NOT ONE of those magazines featured or presented work/projects done by an African American Artist/Sewist/Designer/Crafter/Maker. HOW CAN THAT BE? This is where I come in or should I say this is where I feel my voice is needed. You're right about one thing EVERYBODY SEWS so I just want to help represent us in that EVERYBODY.

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    2. I think I expressed myself poorly. I think of content as the message (in this case the showcasing of the work of people of colour), but the title of any publication is not so much a message as an invitation to engage with said message. Now if you called it "black sewing" (or anything applying to race), you would risk that a large portion of people do not get your message, because they do not feel like they are part of your intended audience, they don't feel invited, and that would be a shame. You would probably get people who "want to see what blacks are sewing", but I guess that this is not your goal. Also, this discourse is deeply rooted in American culture, but your readership is international, so someone german like me for example would probably think something along the lines of "oh verdammt, is apartheid back again?".
      Also, preaching tone is unintentional, my husband complains of it very often! Sophie (lesintemporels on WordPress but I forgot my password)

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  5. Sew Sistas is my submission for the magazine name. Janie

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  6. Hey Michelle, I love the idea! What if you did something like "Chic Style", "Styled", "A Chic Approach", "Sewn Expression", "That Chic Form". You could also have a subtitle if you felt like it was needed. For example "GQ: A magazine for men's style" (I don't think that GQ actually has a subtitle like that, but it works as an example). Super excited to see what you come up with!

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  7. How about C'est Chic? It references your blog name, sounds glamorous because it's French (lol), and relates to fashion and style.

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  8. It's me again, looks like Sew Chic is pretty popular already. How about SEAM CHIC?

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  9. I like Janie's suggestion. My suggestion is Threadz of Color or Color Threadz. Please offer a special for those that subscribe annually, a special for the first edition as it will be a collectors item, or a special on e-book edition versus printed. But of course we sistas like to feel SPECIAL, because we are.
    Queendeb

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  10. Sew Royal - a sewing magazine for Queens.

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  11. Sew Sistas is really catchy, but what if you get submissions from men? I might go for "Ebony Stitching" for that reason.

    Anything with "melanin" feels kinda weird, like it's a medical term. Maybe I'm missing something!? :)

    As for the anonymous commenter above that pretending to be colorblind is naive at best, damaging at worst. Race is present in many reading/buying/social/crafting decisions everyone makes, conscious or not. It's a reality that a lot of white folks (me included) are continuing to learn, and some of us are still learning to accept that uncomfortable truth and trying to confront it in a constructive way.

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  12. Hi Michelle!
    What about Stitches are Us?

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  13. "The African Vibe"
    So looking forward to this!

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  14. SEW I RISE". if anyone knows anything about Maya Angelou- they would understand the title.

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  15. Urban Sewing, Urban Threadz, or something similar.

    Since you originally mentioned the issue of women of colour being under represented in the sewing media I have been horrified at how few women of colour are in sewing publications or on pattern envelopes (can you tell I'm white 8-D, ashamed to say I never noticed before).

    Your magazine will be the first ever that I will subscribe to BTW. Not the least because if I don't I will never see in Canada.

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  16. What about:

    "COLORED"/"COLORS"/"CREATIVE COLOURS"/ "CREATED COLORED"/"COLOURED CREATIVES"/"COLORED CREATIONS"/"CREATIONS OF COLOUR"- because it will feature black makers and it will be full if colourful creations."COLORED CONCEPTS" is another possible variation or maybe

    "SEWL SISTA" :) like soul sista but with sew

    All the best!


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  17. Or one sewing term that can be symbolic of what the mag represents:

    "SEAM" or "SEAMS" or "STITCH"- the fact that the mag will bring makers of all ethnicities together.

    "FRINGE" or "TRIM" because you're featuring faces not typically seen in mainstream sewing mags...which leads me to...

    "MAINSEAM" a play on 'mainstream'.

    "PATTERNS" - we all create so many different styles from the same pattern. It shows diversity


    I like one-word titles! But then I want to go back to my original post and add THIS: "COLOR BLOCK" :)



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