Remember your first big crush? Seeing them set off butterflies in your tummy; you’d hang off their every word at daylight and dream of them at night. This month Est fell for the Manifesto of Kinfolk magazine in a big way.
A guide for small gatherings, Kinfolk is all about community, good company and strengthening friendships through simple, natural, unpretentious entertaining.
It’s hard to tell you where Kinfolk came from – like Est, the mag is a global collaboration with over 40 artists contributing from all over the world - but we would guess it started around a dinner table, with good food, great surroundings and even better conversation.
Surprisingly they didn’t know one another before Kinfolk. Editor Nathan Williams said, “ The inaugural first issue felt like a climactic reunion of friends across the globe, all mingling on the same bound pages.”
“It really is something special.” Nathan studied Peace Building at school, there’s the recurring community sensibility, and hopes the experience of reading Kinfolk reflects the way you feel during an evening meal with friends: relaxed, welcome, accepted and worry free.
The mag achieves this. Stunning photography reveals an organic, earthy quality to every scene. Words are personal, emotional and witty. And then there is that sense of community: recipes from a foodie friend, decorations from a crafty mate, and the perfect playlist from the muso in the group. “We’ve succeeded if you’re planning a simple dinner party in your head by the time you’ve finished reading,” says Nathan.
Kinfolk will start shipping internationally next month. Until then enjoy the digital manifesto, watch the manifesto on repeat (like we do) and start making plans to catch up with your kinfolk, because your simple gatherings are about to get lovelier.
WORDS Chauntelle Roelandts
