The German word ‘Froh’ translates to happy, pleased, glad and so on … and it’s safe to say that this is one lifestyle magazine that well and truly does what it says on the tin – fulfilling readers’ every psychological need with beautiful images, interesting articles, sustainable living concepts and a touch of spirituality. The FROH! Magazine is released three times a year and every issue is based on a theme: such as ‘Light’, ‘On the road’ or ‘Luxury’ – which was the word of the latest issue. The magazine’s design is simple and it’s printed with vegetable based inks on ecological paper – so sensory overload is out of the question.
FROH! Magazine first saw the light of day in 2008 as a part of the Cologne-based motoki-collective’s ‘Merry Christmas’ initiative and offered 90 pages dedicated solely to the topic of Christmas. This concept was retained and every issue, both in terms of content and design, concentrates itself exclusively on one issue worthy of discussion in today’s society. Contributors for the ‘Luxury’ edition included famous authors like Frank Schätzing known for his book ‘Der Schwarm’ as well as young authors and new talented illustrators.
As this magazine makes us so ‘frolicsome’, we are especially pleased that Beyond’s very own Lena was involved in the creation of the last issue. She suggested which brands should be featured and did the styling for the fashion editorial piece ‘Anziehungskraft – Produkte zum Verlieben’ (attraction – products to fall in love with). The addition of Pat Manon’s inspired illustrations made it a 10-paged editorial to fall in love with. Maybe even love at first sight? Why not take a look and see for yourself!
At 10€ a piece, FROH! Magazine is not the cheapest on the shelf – but what it does offer is an authentic piece of work – one in which the publisher concentrates on content and in the main, steers away from advertising. With that said FROH! Magazine is rubbing shoulders with a number of other independent titles – a new string of German magazines, launched outside of the umbrella of a big publishing house or media group. Similar to ‘Dummy’, ‘Monopol’, ‘Sleek’ or ‘Enorm’ these relatively new magazines have collector’s value. They distinguish themselves with the courage to write about particular topics and with stunning imagery and layout design. What’s more, in each issue FROH! showcases a different project that does ‘good’ in come way and then 50 cents of every magazine sold goes towards the cause. The revenues of the last issue went to ‘Aktion Brotkorb’.
With: Studio Jux, EKN, OAT, Milch, Harolds, Kami, Studio Ecocentric, Camilla Norrback et al.