This is a first for me: Interviewing the same person within six months from the first interview.  But, Ray Seebeck’s (28 years) love and dedication to print and magazines is unlike any I have seen among this age group, with regard to passion and zeal for the printed product.

Ray is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Magazine TM.  The first issue of the magazine (to refresh your memory, I am reprinting the first interview at the end of this interview) was amazing both in size, content , and binding.  The second issue promises to be a state-of-the-art curation of more than 50 writers and artists plus five in depth interviews.

Magazine TM is a testament of Ray’s desire to create a curated permanent display for artists and writers that makes flipping every page of the 230 pages second issue a walk in museum fresh with ideas and art.

So please join me in this conversation with Ray Seebeck about issue 2 of Magazine TM, but first few soundbites:

On the reason to reduce the size of the magazine: “It was just a little bulky to bring around… to bring it on a train and read on the train, and it was just too big to read.”

On why print?: “What I feel print does, print is not trying to necessarily count your views, it’s more of a read at your own pace, it is a different type of experience.”

On the goal of the second issue: ‘Something I really wanted to make sure that I kept up that excitement with the second issue.”

On the creation of issue 2: “Magazine TM has 50 artists and writers, and it was designed and curated over a two year process.”

And now for the lightly edited conversation with Ray Seebeck, founder, publisher and editor-in-chief, Magazine TM:

Samir Husni: From an oversized magazine to a digest size magazine. Why did you do that?

Ray Seebeck: So the reason for the change of size was mainly because of the feedback of the first issue.

One of the people who got it, who’s an artist, mentioned it was just a little bulky to bring around. She wanted to bring it on a train and read on the train, and it was just too big for her to read. That was the main reason why I made it smaller, for readability and for people to bring it places. It makes more easy to read. Another reason is the cost to print. It costs a lot to print 11 by 17.

Samir Husni: You are 28, the question begs itself, why a person your age is interested in print?

 Ray Seebeck: I remember last time you asked me why print? And I don’t feel like I really had a good answer. But related to this question, why is someone my age interested in print? Just reflecting about a little more, I feel in today’s age, we have everything digital, right?

We have social media companies, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and publishing companies like The New York Times, they all monitor how long we read, how long we view videos, they try to get us to read, to watch their content for as long as possible. What I feel print does, print is not trying to necessarily count your views, it’s more of a read at your own pace, it is a different type of experience.

That’s something that I’m interested in, if that makes sense.

Samir Husni: It has been a year plus since the first issue came out. What was the reaction?

Ray Seebeck: I received a lot of very positive reactions to the first issue. People were really excited about the accordion bind, about the size of it, and just the design of it. So that was something I really wanted to make sure that I kept up that excitement with the second issue.

Despite a lot of challenges, I wanted to make sure it is as much of a success as the first one. So I’ve been trying to do a lot of things to do that. Another piece of feedback was people wanted to learn more about artists and their process.

And because of that, I did two things: One is I started interviewing artists. I interviewed five artists to provide more of an insight of their process, what they make and why they make that has gone into the magazine.

If you remember the first one, it was mostly just the artwork and poetry. It didn’t have much content from the artist. So that was one thing is interviewing people and putting that into the magazine.

Two: we started asking artists to basically write on note cards about the story behind their art process or the pieces they made, just to make it even more interesting to read. There’s probably like five or six of those note cards in the release.

Samir Husni: Is the second issue going to use accordion binding or it’s going to be perfect bound?

Ray Seebeck: It’s going to be perfect bound.

Samir Husni: Give me the elevator pitch for Magazine TM.

Ray Seebeck: Magazine TM has 50 artists and writers, and it was designed and curated over a two year process. It’s very thoughtfully curated, very thoughtfully designed. Magazine TM is supposed to give you more of an insight into artists and writers process and their work.

Also it tells you the story behind their art (through curator notes) because people care about the story. That’s what matters to people. The story about an art piece, not necessarily just the art piece by itself.

People want to learn more about it. And that’s what I’ve tried to put into the magazine. It is telling you how it was made, telling you the unique techniques that artists use. And hopefully, it’s a place where people can discover artists that they could collect their work.

Samir Husni: If you and I are having this conversation a year from now, what would you tell me about Magazine TM?

Ray Seebeck: I’m going back closer to the first issue format with the next one.

That’s my plan is to do accordion binding again. So I’m going to go backwards in a way, go backwards to go forwards, if that makes sense. And another way I’m looking at the magazine is I’m trying to almost make it more of an art, a document of events and conversations with artists.

Through different video content and different collaborations with artists, the magazine hopefully is going to become more like a document of those experiences. This is how I’m thinking about it now.

Samir Husni: Anything I didn’t ask you about issue two you’d like to add?

Ray Seebeck: Yes. In the last question, I was telling you I want the next one to be almost more like a an archive or a document of different events or different conversations.

I’m trying to keep up that excitement from the first issue because it was like large format, accordion bind, and it was pretty successful. I’m working on an installation with one artist named Chelsea Bighorn, who  makes these really big textile pieces inspired by her Native American heritage that are canvas and really colorful. They use traditional dye techniques and have beading in them.

I went to her studio recently, and she’s making six new banners that are dyed with canvas and really beautiful with beading in them. Two really large pieces that are going to be at the release party in March. So we’re going to have her pieces there.

Our goal is selling her work. It’s like a show to sell her work and make it an exciting release party.

The two big pieces are going to be interactive. So basically, when you walk through the elevators, you’ll have her two pieces there.

You’ll actually walk through her artwork, the canvas. Hopefully that will create some excitement. Then a document of that will go into the next release.

Samir Husni: How can people get issue 2 of Magazine TM?

Ray Seebeck: It’s on my website and it’s available for sale through February 28, which is the last day to buy it.. It’s available for $35  until February 28. It has 50 artists and writers, almost 230 pages, and five interviews.  To reserve yourself a copy of Magazine TM issue 2 click here.

Samir Husni: Thank you.

And for those who want to know more about Ray Seebeck and Magazine TM, here is an encore of my first interview with Ray:

Ray Seebeck , The Twenty Something Young Person* Behind The Unique Print Magazine “Magazine TM” The Mr. Magazine™ Interview

September 28, 2024

“There’s something different about holding something in your hand and looking at it to actually create that experience that we want to create.” Ray Seebeck, Founder and Editor

They say Gen Z is the digital generation, and print is their parents and grandparents’ medium.  However, one twenty something young person from Chicago begs to differ from that adage. They are the founder and editor of  the print “Magazine TM” which they launched last year. 

The oversized, accordion bound magazine, is a beauty to view and a delight to flip through its pages. Ray wants the magazine to be an experience for artists and the audience. An experience it is. It is a very pleasant experience that ends with a series of pages that looks like a wall mural.

To say Ray is passionate about print, would be an understatement, but they are also very digitally oriented.  They use online for their research and searches for anything and everything beautiful. They hope to invest in that passion to create a profitable magazine that will hopefully make a living for them and those who work with them.

So please enjoy my conversation with a print fanatic, Ray Seebeck, founder and editor of “Magazine TM,” but first the soundbites:

On the role of print in a digital age: “For me the end solution is print. Part of what I’m trying to do is make that finished product.”

On the binding method for Magazine TM: “I wanted to do something that was memorable, that was unique for the first issue. We settled at the accordion bound method.”

On the magazine audience: “Right now, it’s mostly people in the art community is who I want to reach.”

On their vision of the magazine: “It’s more an experience of actually viewing art through how it’s designed.”

On their goal for the magazine: “I’m trying to make a model where it’s positive for the artists. It’s building community for the artists.”

On their aim to help artists: “It’s really important for the artists to have their work published. It’s huge. And then just to be doing something that I love is hopefully showing people and inspiring them in a small way.”

On the TM in Magazine: “The answer is no. It’s a play on letters… it’s not actually a trademark, but what it means is TM stands for The Magazine. So it’s basically Magazine, The Magazine is what it stands for.  And TM is like abbreviation.”

On what keeps them up at night: “It’s just the idea of the keeping the magazine running. That’s a big one.”

And now for the lightly edited conversation with Ray Seebeck, the founder and editor of Magazine TM:

Samir Husni: My first question to you is, you’re a young man in his 20s, and you launched and produced a print magazine unlike any other print magazine that I’ve seen in a long time. What’s your fascination with print?

Ray Seebeck: It probably started when I was a young kid. I did collect some magazines. I collected National Geographic, and we had Life Magazine running around the house, and Sports Illustrated.

I was a big Sports Illustrated fan, but I really got into print as an art form in college at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I had some really great experiences there where I learned from teachers screen printing, lithography, and letterpress as well. So I really just developed. It was a great opportunity where I was able to chart my own education, and so I studied in the print media department at SAIC, where you were able to take the classes you want to take, and I was able to take a lot of classes related to printmaking and try to develop a lot of skills in that field.

Samir Husni: People will tell you we live in a digital age. What makes print so attractive to you? You’re so passionate about print, you produced a magazine called Magazine. What’s in you that makes you feel print is essential today as it was yesterday?

Ray Seebeck: It’s kind of a tough question to answer, but I feel print is just the answer, it’s the solution.

There’s no other solution for me. There’s no other possible route, like the end product. For me the end solution is print. Part of what I’m trying to do is make that finished product. There’s something different about holding something in your hand and looking at it to actually create that experience that we want to create. So printing is sort of a solution for that.

Samir Husni: Why did you choose this format for magazine? It opens up like an accordion and it becomes like a mural.

Ray Seebeck: I worked with, I worked with a few people to make it.

We had five meetings as we were preparing to make the magazine and as I was gathering submissions. And so one friend from New York, one of my classmates from college, and a friend’s friend from college. We had a few Zoom meetings.

My friend Christiaan, who’s a designer, the print designer, who works with me to design print, put together this like Pinterest board with different print and different binding ideas. We talked through what were the design details we wanted to have for the magazine. We discussed different binding formats.

We all kind of came to a decision together. I wanted to do something that was memorable, that was unique for the first issue. We settled at the accordion bound method. That opened up so many possibilities for the actual design of it, which was really exciting.

Then one of the people who I was working with asked what size we wanted to make it and we decided large format would also be very memorable. We went by the 11X17 size. Those are the two key elements as we decided accordion bound and large format.

Christiaan and I  had some book binding skills from our college days, so we were able to figure out how to do that.

I definitely want to turn it into a business and hopefully make a living off it and help other people make a living off it.

Samir Husni: Who’s your audience? Who do you want to reach with this magazine?

Ray Seebeck: Right now, it’s mostly people in the art community is who I want to reach.

I would love to reach art collectors. It is an audience I want to grow to. Anyone who’s like interested in art and artists. So I’m hoping to expand the audience. But right now it’s mostly people in our community.

Samir Husni: Give me the elevator pitch the magazine?

Ray Seebeck: I would say there’s a few things that are really important: I’m really trying to create a different kind of publication, something that’s different than what most people have seen before. A magazine that’s more an art experience. It’s a simple magazine. It’s more an experience of actually viewing art through how it’s designed. That’s one huge aspect is trying to do something really creative.

The second aspect is that I’m trying to create a better experience for the artists. So there are a few art magazines they make artists pay them to get involved in their magazine. I’m trying to make a model where it’s positive for the artists. It’s building community for the artists. And it’s something that artists want to be a part of and they can themselves grow through being involved in it. So those are the two key probably aspects, I would say.

Samir Husni: Is the magazine a mirror reflection of you? Are you the magazine?

Ray Seebeck: I would say yes and no. I put so much of myself into it. So in one way, it’s a lot of the artists in the magazine are artists, that I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing at art shows or events. I’m kind of reinterpreting the art that I’ve taken in through the magazine. So in that way, it’s sort of a reflection of me. And then also, I would say, being it’s not meant to be super loud. It’s not meant to be super loud and showy.

It’s meant to be reserved. Once you start looking at it, it’s kind of an amazing experience. In that way, it’s maybe a reflection of my personality maybe kind of a reach. I definitely put a lot of myself into it. But at the same time, I feel like it is something totally different. Just like an end product of a lot of hours of work.

Samir Husni: It sounds like you have a love affair with this publication. Do you ever or would you consider it to be also a business? Is your dream to make money from this or just to do a magazine and say, hey, I have a magazine?

Ray Seebeck: No, I definitely want to turn it into a business and hopefully make a living off it and help other people make a living off it.

That’s the dream. So I’m trying to take small steps every month to achieve that. So in terms of  producing the magazine, I have to figure out how much each issue costs and how much I’m selling each issue.

And then packaging and mailing is a huge thing I’m working on trying to reduce the cost of. Then just trying to create more revenue by expanding to new areas such as a podcast I started, which is basically just interviews for the next issue of the magazine.

I’m trying to create new ways to maybe make money off it. I have some like possible goals for the future. But right now it’s a passion project.

So I work on it whenever I can. A lot of times late nights and things like that. But my dream is to definitely turn into business.

Samir Husni: Good luck on that.

Ray Seebeck: Thank you.

Samir Husni: What are you looking for to work in print?

Ray Seebeck: I’m really looking to just to keep the magazine going. That’s the main goal.

So if I can keep it afloat, and not losing money on it. At the end of the day, if I’m what’s most important to me, is to put something out into the world and to have it mean something to people. That’s a big part of it.

It’s really important for the artists to have their work published. It’s huge. And then just to be doing something that I love is hopefully showing people and inspiring them in a small way.

Samir Husni: So Because you have limited distribution, how can people get the magazine?

Ray Seebeck: So I did, with the first issue and also will do with the second issue coming out next March, a presale for them, probably the month of February. I’ll have a presale online and that determines how big the edition is going to be for the next issue. Basically print however many copies we sell for the limited edition.

Samir Husni: And your website is?

Ray Seebeck: It’s rayseebeck.com backslash magazine dash tm.

Samir Husni: Okay. Were you able to register magazine as a trademark?

Ray Seebeck: That’s a good question. The answer is no. It’s a play on letters.  So it’s slightly misleading, which I understand because it’s not actually a trademark, but what it means is TM stands for The Magazine. So it’s basically Magazine, The Magazine is what it stands for.  And TM is like abbreviation.

Samir Husni: Is there any question that I should ask you that I didn’t ask you? Or anything you would like to add.Ray Seebeck: I would say I have done a lot of market research, not necessarily market research, but read research on different publications and podcasts that has really informed me in the evolution of the magazine, the design evolution for especially for this next issue. So I could talk about that a little bit, if you wanted me to.

So have you ever heard of Esopus magazine? It’s no longer published.

There was a show at the Colby College Museum of Art about Esopus magazine. I learned about it because of that show. I actually found a copy at a bookstore in Chicago. That was really cool to see that magazine because they do a lot of similar things in terms of creatively, making creative layouts, interviewing artists, and having different formats in the magazine. That was pretty cool. It’s something to look up to.

But it’s definitely not the perfect model of what I’m trying to do. But it was cool to see. I’ve gained a lot of research by going to libraries and looking through old magazines, or print design inspirations.

I also have gotten a lot of inspiration from different art books, too. I just wanted to share that I’ve done a lot of research of looking through magazines and also art podcasts. I’ve been listening to a lot of art podcasts in the last year or so.

Samir Husni:  Let me ask you my typical last questions. If I come uninvited to visit you one evening at your home or apartment, what do I catch Ray doing? Watching TV, cooking, having a glass of wine?

Ray Seebeck: So to be honest, most nights, what I’m doing is after I’ve done everything I need to do that day, I’m generally pretty busy.

I generally will like take a shower, change into like a comfortable t-shirt and shorts and make dinner. I will turn on the TV basically every night. I watch a lot of different television shows.

Right now I’m watching like the Great British Bake Show. And RuPaul’s Drag Race is a big show that I like.  I watch a lot of TV shows. I’m currently watching Only Murders in the Building.

I like to decompress. I know the  magazine is very print oriented, but I’m also a very digitally oriented person. So I do a lot of online research and look through a lot of photographs all the time. That’s generally what I’m doing at night.

Sometimes I’ll… If I have something to work on for the magazine, I will work on that at night. That’s kind of my exception is that because I love doing it. If I have like if I have a submission from an artist, I will like organize all the content or work on the design layout at night.

Samir Husni: My typical last question is what keeps you up at night these days?

Ray Seebeck: I’m worried about the magazine falling apart. I would say that keeps me up. It’s just the idea of the keeping the magazine running. That’s a big one. There’s a lot of things that goes into that. Making money for the magazine also sometimes will keep me up. And just like diversifying.

Samir Husni:  Thank you and good luck.

• Ray is a non-binary and they use they/them pronouns.