I opened Smoke Signals Newsstand 27 years ago in April of 1995. The idea was influenced by the experience of growing up in Beirut and from my travels to Europe, where every neighborhood had a newsagent in the UK, a tobacconist in France or a ‘librairie’ in Lebanon. These places were always my first stop on Sunday mornings, even before getting fresh croissants, I would get a bunch of newspapers and magazines to read with a fresh hot coffee.
Five years after landing in San Francisco and working for a big tobacco company, I decided to open an international newsstand. I started with about 200 different titles and built my inventory to over 2000 titles. Since cigars were the craze of the decade, I also added two humidor cabinets of fine cigars.
A variety of publications as such attracts a clientele of different generations. My regular customers vary from teenagers to octogenarians. Lately I’ve seen more and more young people interested in print and magazines. Over 30% of my inventory consists of architecture and design magazines, with hundreds of titles from all over the world. The interest in architecture and interior design magazines comes mostly from women, whether in their twenties or seventies, whether they are professional designers or designers wanna-be, whether it’s for inspiration or coffee table display, shelter magazines sell the most.
Openhouse Magazine is in the top 10 sellers of interior design magazines. I always include it when asked to curate a large number of magazines for a certain event. Openhouse has content that is very appealing to look at. The photography and the quality of the print is excellent. The consistency of the colors and tones are very engaging and elegant. When asked for a recommendation for a good magazine, I show Openhouse and I often quib that reading it “is like having a brain massage while mind traveling”.
A common comment I hear all the time is “I stopped reading magazines or newspapers digitally. It’s not the same as holding the magazine or the newspaper and flipping through it”. The way I see it, print is making a comeback. Lots of new titles were launched recently and that’s a very encouraging sign.
