SEVENTY

Seventy boxes of WOTHs by the side of the road next to Milan Central Station. Seventy boxes chock-full of magazines. They were – as you can imagine – rather heavy. We were lucky that it didn’t rain.The magazines had arrived a day late – the carrier hadn’t been able to guarantee their delivery. And then the van we’d hired to further distribute them over Milan was ‘unfortunately no longer available’ either. So what could we do? Phone calls got us nowhere, because – understandably – everybody was extremely busy the Monday before the opening of the Salone. Right in front of the pallets that blocked the sidewalk, a Lee Broom employee was busy sticking things onto an outsized title sign. The Broom person looked at us dubiously as we scrambled around our boxes. To tempt fate a little, I’d donned a pretty dress and shoes to match in our Airbnb to be ready for the launch of WOTH No 4 later that afternoon. The apartment owner’s car wasn’t available either, unfortunately.

There was a taxi stand on the corner, however. ‘What would you say if I asked you to drive me to Central Station, pick up a few boxes and drive me and them around the city?’ ‘Fine,’ answered a cheerful-looking taxi driver. His English was quite good, too, another plus. Now, the first taxi in line is not automatically the biggest, but the man didn’t bat an eyelid as we parked next to the stacks of boxes a little later. 'How many do we have to take?’ ‘Twenty,’ I softly squeaked. When the boot was full, he enthusiastically proposed to put more in the passenger seat. I wanted to kiss him! 

A little later he helpfully arranged for a colleague to take Toon on a second route through Milan. By then I’d methodically distributed the addresses on the city map. And the fun started. Past the Palazzo Clerici, the Palazzo Turati, the Zona Tortona; committing multiple double parking offences; parking in the tram lane; unloading boxes like crazy. If you really want something, you have to go all the way! Besides, we had previews everywhere: at Envisions, FormaFantasma, Social Label, Dutch Invertuals, Rossana Orlandi. 

Our box tour turned into a triumphal procession. This victory over a setback really illustrates why it's so much fun to make your own magazine: the joy of all those lovely people that helped us out, looking for solutions in the moment and on the spot, not allowing anything to stop you no matter what happens. It was a beautiful day, perhaps the most beautiful of our week in Milan. The sun was shining and the satisfaction was huge. And the icing on the cake followed that evening, a wonderful party at e15 where we launched No 4. That yellow dress sure came in handy. Designer Stefan Diez was happy and pleased to be in the magazine and we had the prospect of a week of beautiful interview appointments and special parties. Sometimes, life is good. 

— Foreword founding editor
Mary Hessing