It was the summer of 2009, June 28. As I walked into the ION magazine office, two men were staring at the ceiling trying to figure out something to do with what looked like a trap door or opening on the top. I was a little puzzled as I walked in trying to figure out if this was the right time or place. Vanessa Leigh walked out to greet me, arm outstretched to shake my hand. She had told me that the office had been broken into the night before. She was very calm and collected despite what had happened. Vanessa seemed like a lady who was able to keep focus on the task at hand despite what other things are happening around her. We had a bit of a chat about interests before I proceeded to ask her about how ION started. At work, she is a business woman. She knows exactly what she wants, is clear about direction of her magazine and the audience.
ION magazine was started by 4 men before Vanessa came into the picture. It was a primarily a men’s magazine with very male-skewed interviews and articles. The original content was full of bar stuff, car reviews, girls, drinks, parties making it a club magazine. The magazine lasted for 3 issues before it went under and it had gone under for a couple of months. Vanessa Leigh and two people bought the magazine and the lease. One of her partners left after two issues. The other partner left after one and a half years. Vanessa persevered. In 5 years, Vanessa Leigh had changed the image of ION magazine from nightclub to a magazine geared towards arts, culture and fashion. I asked her how she gets funding for her magazine. She had said at the beginning it was with her own savings that she bought the rights to the magazine. At the moment with circulation in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, she says she gets most of the money to run the magazine through Montreal and Toronto advertisers. As I asked her why that is so, she believes that there is no budget decisions or money in Vancouver. It’s sad to hear that there’s no support monetary-wise in Vancouver for people in Vancouver. Most believe they could do better somewhere else. Some local magazines support designers but designers don’t support them back. When she visits Toronto, she finds people in Toronto are from Vancouver. I was really curious to hear what her opinion was about Vancouver Fashion Week and BC Fashion Week but she was very smart to refuse to comment and just said that they had different business models.
During the time we talked, a parcel came in. She decided to open it. In it, there was clothing and jewelry from Ed Hardy. I thought I’d take a few snapshots of the products she received from Ed Hardy for their staff. I asked Vanessa what her taste in clothing was. She said that she is not into a lot of embellishment. Her style is subtle, simple and classic with a twist. No Uggs for her. She loves to wear sexy shoes and she likes heels. She likes directional fashion of up and coming designers. Vanessa says they do receive some promotional products from designers sometimes. Most of the time, these are kept and stored away until Christmas time when they are given to the Covenant House. She had said that this was the charity that they’ve given to every year. It’s nice to hear about her commitment. ION magazine is a youth-based magazine catering to 18-28 year-olds on up and coming trends in fashion, music and culture. Its content is urban, edgy and indie with a West coast voice.
I had a great time talking to this amazing lady. She is very private about her personal life. I admire her ability, drive and focus. Her ability to persevere and her vision has put ION magazine as one of the most well known indie arts, fashion and culture magazine in Vancouver. ION had its 6th year anniversary in April 2009 and with someone like Vanessa Leigh at the helm, I’m sure it’ll survive many more years to come.
