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Geekorating: Interior Decorating for Geeks

A new digital magazine debuting this fall

By Maria Shimizu ChristensenPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Mockup of a magazine cover

I was destined to be a geek, and I don't use that phrase lightly. When my father watched the debut of the original Star Trek series in 1966, I toddled my tiny two-year-old hiney into the den, plopped down and watched in rapt attention, and continued to show up every week for the next three years. Actually, I continued to show up every day of every week of every year for comics, sci-fi books and movies, and conventions. Now, this wasn't exactly normal for a girl, back in the day, but I was also destined to be unconventional.

"Animal Farm" and "The Hobbit" led to Asimov and Heinlein. I giddily showed up to the opening day of "Star Wars" and had an impressive collection of Wonder Woman comics. I now proudly wear my large collection of Star Trek t-shirts in open defiance of anyone who says women over 30-something shouldn't wear graphic T's, obsess over MCU movies and shows (Team Cap), collect an eclectic assortment of things, and own an entire library's worth of science fiction books. I'm not kidding about this.

Geekorating started with all of those books. It takes a lot of bookshelves to house a library, and it takes a geek to aesthetically organize by genre, author, reading order (which isn't always publishing order), and book size. There’s no color coding going on here – that’s for people who don’t actually read their books – but I do like things to look pretty.

Before we delve deeper into the world of geekorating, let’s talk a little bit about what a geek is. Dictionary.com defines it as, “a person who has excessive enthusiasm for and some expertise about a specialized subject or activity”. Luckily language evolves and the word is not only losing its past negative connotations, it’s being worn with pride by a wide variety of people. It no longer goes hand in hand with social ineptness, and geeks aren’t confined just to tech, video games, and comic books. With sufficient enthusiasm and a willingness to dive deep into any subject, anyone can be a geek. Including interior designers and decorators. Geek is chic.

I’m not an interior decorator, but I do very much like chic, so I styled my bookshelves, devoured design magazines, purchased beautiful frames for my art, and made rock gardens with my large collection of, well, rocks. I also managed to tastefully place a few Funko figures here and there. And yes, I’m aware that “tasteful” is subjective, but in the wide world of decorating there’s room for all sorts of tastes.

More mockup

Which leads directly to creating a digital magazine catering to all of those tastes, because my search for an existing magazine targeted to geeks interested in interior decorating produced a null result. So, since it doesn’t already exist, I’m going to make one. Creative people outside the mainstream are often inspired to create things because of a lack of representation, and as a woman of color, a woman over 50, and a self-professed geek, there’s little to nothing out there that represents all of the things that I am. I don’t think I’m alone.

130,000 people attend the San Diego Comic-Con every year. 75,000 show up to Dragon Con in Atlanta, and the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle pulls in 75,000 people. Hundreds of vendors hawk their wares at these cons. GeekCraft Expo is a curated market of handmade geek goods that’s held every year in cities across the country, from Honolulu to St. Louis. Think a geeky Etsy-type market that’s so popular you have to pre-order (free) tickets so they can regulate attendance, and that offers everything from art and action figures to blankets and barware. I never miss it when it comes to Seattle. Geek style is big business.

Home décor is also big business and so are the magazines that feature it, like House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, Dwell, Veranda, and Country Living. Think I can’t possibly put a geeky twist on country style? Think again. An antiqued white curio cabinet full of steampunk wonders would be right at home in a country house.

The possibilities are endless, which is a good thing for a monthly magazine. Each issue will come in at under 20 pages to keep the content and publishing schedule manageable. Potential articles have similarities with traditional home magazines but also include niche topics:

  • Embracing Maximalism
  • Statement Geek Pieces and Minimalism
  • Bookshelf Styling and Book Nooks
  • How to Create Gallery Walls
  • Beautiful Curio Cabinets
  • Color Trends
  • How to Display Movie Posters
  • Furniture Arrangement
  • Feng Shui
  • Where to Put Your Action Figures
  • Mid-Century Modern Decorating
  • Unconventional Wallpaper
  • Geeky Fabric for Drapes

Regular features of the magazine will include:

  • Over the Top – a look at home recreations of sci-fi settings
  • Marketplace – where to purchase geek goods
  • Interviews with interior designers and makers
  • Reader Photos
  • DIY
Mockup of the welcome page

Now, magazines, digital or otherwise, aren’t free. Or at least they shouldn’t be for the creators who are trying to make a living by their words and passions. Namely, me. Publishing is a tough business, as I learned working as the managing editor of an arts and culture website. It can be expensive. SEO is tricky. Luckily, technology has evolved and improved since my editor days, and the initial cost outlay won’t be out of my reach. Software for creating the magazine and graphics is accessible, as is web hosting, and I have some design skills. I’ll do most of the writing and photography for the first issues, with the occasional purchase of freelance material. I was an accountant in a day job for over 20 years, so the backend business of bookkeeping is covered. All that’s left is marketing, finding subscribers, and a method for billing subscribers.

I plan to offer two subscription tiers. One is for the magazine subscription alone. The second is a premium tier that will include the subscription, product discounts, DIY plans and instructions for an array of projects, and a forum.

I own an Etsy shop and will be able to offer my own patterns, and can connect with other makers to offer their patterns, projects, and products at a discount in exchange for free advertising. Those makers will also help spread the word about the magazine, and provide a source for interviews.

As I look at my ideas, work on my publishing calendar, create a marketing plan, and project into the future, I am a little awed by my ambitions. Many people at my stage of life are thinking ahead to retirement. I’m reinventing myself. But, this isn’t the first time I’ve done that and I’ve never aligned my passions and purpose so closely before.

This will work as a one-woman show. I think it could grow into something bigger and I know I’m capable of steering that ship, standing firmly at the helm, shouting, “I am a geek and proud of it!” I hope you’ll join me on the journey.

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About the Creator

Maria Shimizu Christensen

Writer living my dreams by day and dreaming up new ones by night

The Read Ink Scribbler

Bauble & Verve

Instagram

Also, History Major, Senior Accountant, Geek, Fan of cocktails and camping

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