LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Can you keep a secret? I, Eva, cannot, and neither can Jen.

Secrets, to us, aren’t just stories you keep to yourself. They’re hidden inside you, around you, budding and falling out of clumsy mouths into open ears. Unless they stay hidden, eating you up inside. Secrets spread, whether they’re whispered in the corner of a room or stuffed deep down to be forgotten. They come in all shapes and sizes as gossip, facts, or stories waiting to be found after you’ve slipped them under your pillow. Good or bad, everyone has them, no matter how much we pretend not to.

In our second issue, we weigh the odds of secrets. How to deal with them, where to put them, and whether or not they’re beneficial to us. This issue starts personal, with confessions. Some of our writers learned that secrets, when kept to yourself, can be used to your advantage, while others learned doing so may create false impressions. We then fall into Culture, where we explore underground music scenes and the hidden phenomenon of using flip phones. Then in Help!, we learn of the different ways secrets can take over our lives and give them direction. Lastly, our food section dives into the most controversial secret-keeping tactic of the Internet Age, gatekeeping. As you flip the pages, you’ll also find excerpts from our Secrets Inbox, where readers slipped in anonymous diary entries for us all to read, and a secrets-inspired Connections game.

For the cover shoot of this issue, we collaborated with local artist Biaggio Carnevale of Biaggio & Co. and brought his jewelry into the dreamscape of his greatest fears. His art brings secrets into a new light, letting us take a peek through the wrought-iron bars. The belt featured on our cover is called “Porte du paradis”. You can find more of his work and purchase his pieces on Instagram @biaggio.et.co.

Thank you to all the writers and artists that sacrificed their secrets to make this issue possible. We hope this issue opens your mind, and most importantly, gives you something to talk about.

& thank you to our sponsors of this issue: Babette Vintage, RonRon Club, Noah Elin Smith, Atelier Look & Listen

Eva & Jen