Reagan Clare, Homesick
We begin our week with Reagan Clare, founder of Homesick, the free magazine that examines pop culture through archives and collections. Reagan will be sharing exxciting plans for issue three of her magazine at ModMag in a few weeks time; ahead of that, we catch up with her as she completes the issue.
Tell us about your typical Monday journey to work
I’m a freelancer and work from home mostly - home is a converted victorian school building in Deptford (we live in the boys quarter!). I wake up at 8am most days to catch signs of life, meaning my housemates, before they leave for work. Then I’ll walk around drinking tea for a while and set up a work station. Every Monday I’ll write a list of objectives for the week and will plan my diary. Once order is restored, I’ll get to work.
Describe the state of your desk and what you can see in your office
My work space (wherever it is that day) will include: my laptop, my diary, my notebook, my hard drives and something to play music out of. I’m tidy (to a fault) and set things up in a grid-like formation! But I’m always pulling books and magazines for reference so these inevitably start piling up next to me. I love an organised mess.
Which magazine do you first remember?
I wish this was cooler but the first magazine I got into was Vogue. The first issue I got was a Kylie cover from early 2000’s shot by Nick Knight. She’s wearing a corset and is sitting in a big champagne glass designed by Simon Costin. I didn’t take in the names at the time but no wonder I found the image striking, given the creators behind it. Other than that, my dad was all about Empire mag… so film was always in the peripherary.
Which magazine matters to you the most right now?
I’m a big fan of Space - the interiors and culture magazine. I buy every issue of that and it’s the only magazine I’ll read front to back. I love the nosey-ness of it and always walk away feeling I’ve learnt something new.
Can you describe your magazine in three words?
Nostalgic. Curious. Eclectic.
There’s an assumption everything is available online, but your magazine is a neat reminder that's not the case. How do you source your material?
Definitely not anything and everything. Some stuff isn’t on the internet for a reason… because there isn’t genuine demand for it. It’s looking for those black holes in pop culture and digging around in unusual places. I’ve got a hit-list of names that I’ll go through, or I might just be watching a film and think, this costume’s cool let’s message them, see if they’ll take part. Reaching out to people is my favourite part of doing the magazine!
As you plan your first paid-for edition, is there anything you’re changing about the magazine?
Yes, the mag is changing format and will be doing some running features - getting some museums and culture spots involved, hopefully. I’m also working with more people on it - writers, photographers etc to create new imagery, so it feels much more collaborative.
What are you looking forward to sharing with the audience at ModMag?
We have some exciting features confirmed for Homesick issue three so I will be sharing some of those. And I’ll be showing some mock-up pages of the new issue. It’s been in the making for a while now, so I’ll be excited to share it.
Who are you most looking forward to hearing speak alongside you at Modmag on 1 November?
I’m excited to hear Maxine Leonard of Beauty Papers talk... I like that mag!
What’s going to be the highlight of the week for you?
I’ve just come back from a holiday in Greece, so this week is all about readjusting. I’m helping out on a shoot, have some fun meetings planned and will hopefully get to work on Homesick issue three a lot.
What will you be doing after this chat?
I’m visiting my Mum in Essex for her birthday, so I'll be hanging out with all my siblings and drinking a lot of prosecco.
Instagram: @homesickmagazine
Reagan Clare will be speaking at this year’s ModMag London conference on Thursday 1 November.
Book your ticket now.