Apartamento Magazine is “an everyday life interiors magazine” from Spain. I first heard of this magazine via Sight Unseen which published an excerpt from Apartamento #04 showcasing a collection of objects, designer & artist, Geoff McFetridge created for his daughter. It’s an inspiring story in which Geoff writes: “There’s nothing I like better than to build things for my 6-year-old daughter Frances. As an artist and designer, I spend much of my time making things, or helping other people make things. In making these things for her, I feel like I’m putting these skills to good use.” Sight Unseen published the article in its entirety but I liked the story so much that I wanted a hard copy and ordered a copy of Apartamento Magazine.

The first thing I noticed is the format, at 6.75″ x 9.5″ on uncoated paper, looks decidedly more like an independent arts journal than an interior design magazine. The photography and writing is documentarian in nature somewhat akin to The Selby. Generally shelter magazines showcase a “pretty” aesthetic even if the editorial direction is marketed as relaxed and casual. In Apartamento #04, however, you get sneak peeks with unmade beds, snapshots of style-less Beijing apartments and a tour of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon & Thurston Moore’s pack-ratty home, making The Selby look like Better Homes & Gardens in comparison.

Apartmento #04 also includes a 32 page kids-oriented supplement called “Kinder” which features a coloring book by Andy Rementer, an interview with kids-design legend Enzo Mari and a story about Jordi Ferreiro’s “Impossible Furniture Workshop”.

Much has been written about the collapse of the print publishing industry with the shelter magazine genre hit especially hard. Fan favorites like “Domino” and “Blueprint” have vanished into the ether. In the aftermath, though, we’re seeing independent voices filling in the void with strong creative direction, niche audiences, fresh graphic design and more experimental sensibilities.

You could say printed magazines are like vinyl records now: collectible, tangible, warm and only for the aficionado. If so, mags like Apartamento, Anthology and Spaces are the indie stars of the shelter genre. Rawk on!

While they say that “opposites attract” there’s also something to be said about partnering with someone who innately shares, values, nurtures and understands your passions. A partner who can be a collaborator, critic, confidant and best friend. Creative couples inspire us by their ability to blend together life, love, work and play. This list consists of creative legends as well as contemporary talent. It didn’t work out for all the couples listed below, though. Even so, their synergistic unions resulted in, arguably, their greatest life work.

Charles & Ray Eames.
Rudy Vanderlans & Zuzana Licko.
John Lennon & Yoko Ono.
Bjork & Matthew Barney.
Josef & Anni Albers.¹
Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera.¹
Alvin & Elaine Lustig.
Jackson Pollock & Lee Krasner.¹
Pablo Picasso & Dora Maar.¹
Elaine & Willem de Kooning.¹
Jasper Johns & Robert Rauschenberg.¹
Christo & Jeanne-Claude.
Gilbert & George.¹
Alvar Aalto & Aino Marsio Aalto.
Tibor & Maira Kalman.
Beyoncé & Jay-Z.¹
Barry McGee & Margaret Kilgallen.²
Nathan Strandberg & Katie Kirk aka Eight Hour Day.
Inge Grognard & Ronald Stoops.
Siegfried & Roy.
Tim Biskup & Seonna Hong.³
Steven Heller & Louise Fili.⁴
Paula Scher & Seymour Chwast.⁴
Mira Calix & Sean Booth (Autechre).
Ted Vadakan & Angie Myung aka Poketo.
Darrell & Julia Gibbs aka Sukie.
George Sand & Frederic Chopin.⁵
Mike Simonian & Maaike Evers.
Valentino Garavani & Giancarlo Giammetti.⁶
Aaron & Carla Osborn aka Osborn Shoes.
Mary Matson & Matt Even aka Chocolate Editions.
Jason Kottke & Meg Hourihan.
Marie & Pierre Curie.
Kim Gordon & Thurston Moore.
Jack Conte & Nataly Dawn aka Pomplamoose.

Thanks to tweeps: ¹ Shilo Byrd, ² Stephen Beck, ³ Jason Landry, ⁴ Cory Ripley, ⁵ desole and ⁶ Mark Shieh for contributing to the list. If you know of a creative couple not listed send us a note or leave a comment.

Yeah! We finally got our first issue of Anthology Magazine in the mail today. We’ve been so excited about this magazine so it’s awesome to finally have it. Luna seems really excited too as she kept on wanting to grab it while I was taking the photos. What I like about it is that it’s not just nice photos of homes and furniture. It’s about stories of people, who they are, where they come from, what they do. And, there are a few recipes in the back I might want to try! I love getting magazines in the mail. It feels more like an event to receive a special delivery than it is to buy a magazine off the rack. Anthology will be arriving quarterly and I’ll be looking forward to the next issue delivered by Mr. Postman, or Ms. Postwoman as it is in our case.

Mia, an old friend from art school, and her husband, Brent, graced us with a visit this afternoon. A month ago they were vacationing in France and brought back a lovely souvenir for us – Eucalyptus Soap. Coincidentally, we have a big Eucalyptus tree on our backyard. Three years ago we, actually, had four Eucalyptus trees but three of the more spiry ones couldn’t survive the wind and the winters. Also, as an ode to art school, I snapped an image with Sonic Youth’s “A Thousand Leaves” inner sleeve in the background with Kim Gordon peeking through some Eucalyptus branches.