20 years ago ...

2026 marks our 20th anniversary. The magazine that inspired my love for magazines and for which I was lucky enough to work for at the end of the 90s, The Face made it to 24. So, excuse me while I bask in pride for a bit.

This was our first edition. We took it around to distributors and they were all unanimous: “a unisex, quarterly magazine will never sell.” Guess what? These distributors no longer exist.

We launched it in November 2026. YouTube had launched in March and everyone was predicting the end of print. Guess what? It still isn’t dead. 

Our first stockist was Tate Modern London who rang us on the telephone (yes, old school) after reading a press release that our friend Rachel had put together. They ordered 10 editions which, at the time, felt more like 1 million.

The theme was SPACE (launch, geddit?!) and its content plan was modelled after The Face’s one ie. pop culture but for kids. We had kids books reviews, things to do, games, stories, a space-special feature and tons of kids’ drawings. We also carried fashion spreads and games as H&M was a sponsor. (Thank you, Chloe).

We got our first bit of press in The Guardian (thank you, Rachel). Then Goop featured us and the sales exploded. As this was before the days I knew that there were amazing shipping companies like our friends Newsstand, I spent most of that time carrying huge bags of mags to the post office.

No complaints, though, it was encouraging to see that parents were welcoming an alternative to the throw-away plastic-tat mags out there. 

Want a copy? Well, a quick search has revealed that you can get one on eBay for £21.50. A bargain considering that a much later edition, the ART one, is now going for a jaw-dropping £854. Little did we know 20 years ago that investing in an Anorak issue would be just as good as a Bitcoin investment these days. <lol>.

A HUGE thank you to all the amazing people who have contributed to our Happy Mags now and throughout the last two decades. I am beyond grateful to all the artists, fans and even haters, you have all helped! 

Cathy x