Meet Our New Brand: Esses Magazine

At first glance, you might wonder what a magazine about Formula 1 and motorsport would be doing in our eco-luxe gift shop. But, printed in Belgium, Esses is printed on 100% recycled paper solely obtained from sustainably-managed forests and produced in a renewable energy powered facility. Incredible!

Esses Issue 01

As someone with not one, but two woefully unused writing degrees, I found my love of indie magazines while I was attending uni, and it's about the only the that really stuck. I've noticed that they can be pretty hard to come by ~ you don't really see them in bookshops, they don't tend to be at newstands or at the airport. For the most part, unless you're deeply into a particular niche that the magazine serves, it's likely you've never heard of it.

Luckily for us all, this is my niche, and I'm aiming to make Green & Bean a place you can come to find some interesting reads. Our print selection thus far is tiny but mighty (much like myself), and Esses is going to make our lineup a whole lot punchier.

Esses is new. At the time of ordering, they had only one issue out, and were printing their second. It takes a deeper look, and from different angles, the world surrounding motoracing. This first edition includes a feature on one of F1's rookie drivers this season, a look back at the 1956 Les Mans disaster, and a spread featuring Giana Gyr's series of panting some of F1's most iconic moments in the past few years. That particular article is perhaps my favorite. The art itself is absolutely my style, and Gyr talks about the evolution of the paintings, and the response she's gotten from fans of the sport.

Magazines can be an incredibly rewarding form of media to consume. It's less commitment than a novel ~ it's certainly more of a visual experience, and photoseries aren't uncommon to find. They tend to be nonfiction, so it feels like you're learning something. Magazines like Esses and the other ones we carry also have a sort of staying power that a traditional magazine might not. They're produced less often, and I find that they are more unstuck in time. 20, 30 years from now, this 1st issue of Esses will be as relevant as whatever it is they're printing. They capture time, but are not bound by it.

From 1955, to 1976, to today and everywhere in-between, Esses' inaugural issue is a curated masterpiece any motorsport enthusiast would appreciate.