Ernest #3
If you like hand-drawn maps, bird sketches, Icelandic woollen sweaters, photographs of rolling long-grass vistas, and if you would like to know how to make your own homespun terrarium, than Ernest is the magazine for you. The publication is part of the Bristol-based independent piblishers group BIP, and its tagline reads ‘Curiosity & Adventure’. The name ‘Ernest’ derives from a Germanic word meaning ‘bold, vigorous, resolute’, and the magazine is definitely resolute in its wanderlust vision. There is also a gentle earnestness that radiates from its eclectic pages, making the name doubly pertinent.
Ernest’s bookish form means it’s the perfect size for a parka pocket; a magazine that’s ready to be whipped out and consulted if you suddenly need to know how to build a pit oven or need a guide to foraging in the woodlands (above). Its use also extends beyond the forest, and an illustrated map of London’s Brutalist buildings by Aidan Meighan strikingly extends the idea of adventuring to city streets (below).
A feature on hidden elves in Iceland’s rocky hills (above), and an illustration of fur trapper Hugh Glass by Jes Hunt are particularly atmospheric (below).
Sloppy gastronomic photos of recipes by the Anarchist Chef make a nice change to conventional magazine food imagery (above).
An immersive, field guide-style inventory also features plenty of eye-candy for folk who love to build fires or who might be looking to buy a home brew kit or wooden earphones.
Whilst the team are on their third bi-annual print issue, iPad issue five of Ernest has also just been released. Their digital platform has garnered much praise for its immersive, beautifully crafted user experience, but it might not be as sensible for taking along on woodland adventures as the print version.