Sofa is the work of Azélie Pilon and Marie-Pier Bélanger, co-founders of the web media La Espace, whose mission is to promote the work of Quebec design professionals. They define their latest baby as a bookzine, or a magazine that is at the limit of the book. “It’s like a reference book, illustrates Azélie Pilon. We’re not going to recycle it after looking at it; we want to keep it because the content is durable and timeless. Everything in it can be used in the future, so if we reopen it in five years, what’s in it will still be true. »
In the digital age, you have to be daring to launch a new paper magazine, but the founders believe that there is an audience that is thirsty for this kind of reading. “We offer a different way to be inspired than on a cell phone. It allows you to sit down, take the time, and consult more timeless and lasting content than the one we consume on our screens. »
In this first volume, whose theme focuses on “returning to basics”, there are three different sections. First, the theoretical part gives tools to people who would like to embark on a project; for example, the stages of a new construction or the taboos concerning the renovation in a couple. Then, a section dwells on presenting projects “that have a story to tell”; finally, the third part is dotted with stories where anecdotes are told, but always related to design.
There will be two publications per year. The next issue, in October, will be themed “materials and textures”. “It’s very broad: we can talk about paint, wallpaper, wood, stone, but also patterns and colors,” lists Azelie Pilon.
This first issue is available online, on the La Pièce website or at some forty retailers in Quebec, most of which are decoration boutiques. And now that the magazine is launched, the number of resellers should only increase. “I think everyone is a bit of a fan of beauty: home, being at home… We still cast a wide net in terms of customers,” believes Azélie Pilon. To leaf through page by page, sitting quietly on his sofa.
