Letter from the Publisher: Love Before Money. Passion and Purpose in Modern Publishing: EAT LOVE SAVOR, A True Luxury Love Story

Dear Loyal Readers, New Readers, Subscribers, Luxury Lovers, Partners and Friends,

My name is Angela Tunner. I am the Founder, Editor in Chief, Creative Director and Publisher of EAT LOVE SAVOR?. After nearly nine years of publishing our beautiful luxury lifestyle magazines unlike any other and designed for all the tiers of wealth, that have been to date, considered a ‘rare beauty’, ‘pure’ and a best kept secret; details about what inspired its founding and drives what we do and why, has never been shared. And so as we continue to evolve, begin to further emerge to growing numbers, and we reaffirm our mission, I felt now was a good time to share.

It all began over 30 years ago… The seeds for EAT LOVE SAVOR? were initially sown one sunny summer afternoon in the late 1980s, whilst sitting in the luxuriously appointed, lily-scented lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, as I drank in and assessed what it was about being in beautiful surroundings that made me feel so good and stirred my emotions, I began to reverse engineer the luxury environment and experience. It wasn’t until many years later, that the magazine you see today was nurtured and brought into being, launched online in 2010. I was inspired that day long ago to create a something with great passion, purpose and a new standard in mind for a luxury lifestyle magazine but knew it was a matter of waiting until the right time. I envisioned a magazine that explored the softer side of luxury and I wanted to do it much differently and create what I could not find.

For the love of true luxury

I love luxury. I am a woman who eats, sleeps, breathes and dreams of incredible opulent places, things and experiences so luxurious and felt on a deep level, the importance of preserving history, heritage, craft and creativity, every sumptuous moment created out of appreciation, where all the senses were stimulated and surrounded by great beauty, profound comfort and peace. My connection to the essence of luxury is something I was born with and nurtured over the years with reflection and study. I have always understood it, felt it, connected with it, like an ever tethered umbilical deeply embedded and feeding my soul; a voice calling to me, inspiring and enriching me. The birth of my son in the mid 2000’s inspired me to forge ahead and do something bold and brave.

Stories and love first, not commerce, because where there is love, transactions naturally follow. And luxury is all about love.

So in setting out to create the luxury lifestyle magazine of my dreams, I decided it was not going to be a commercially focused publication. Instead, wanted to focus on editorial only, Excellence and the Essence of Luxury and create an immersive luxury experience. Why? Because of my views on luxury and where it’s headed – that it is a complex concept, one not easily defined, and that it would benefit from feminine finesse because most titles seem to have a harder approach and feel. Also, so much about luxury needed to be felt to be understood, because luxury is at its heart a sensory experience, and because its not all about buying – true luxury goes well beyond acquisition.

interruption free by choice and with a purpose

It was in my view important to create a magazine that offered a a place of beauty that enveloped the reader, whisking them away into their imaginations that informed, enlightened and enchanted therefore we put forward a definitive editorial mission and vision in order to become more of an experience to read and a timeless resource of high quality, expert information and stories that you could read over and over, instead of losing its luster with content that quickly ended up discarded and dated. And upon those gorgeous pages was elegance, discernment, fascinating stories, beautiful photography and love first, not commerce, because where there is love, transactions naturally follow. And because luxury is, all about love.

Aesthetics, artistically and intentionally designed pages are valued, each one being created with heart, and upon which to pour out and express a passion for true luxury, beauty, living well, connoisseurship, craftsmanship, discovering interesting places, luxury services, interesting people, great features that inspire, about taking time to appreciate beauty, experiencing the joy of living luxuriously, and the love of things of value; all things that mattered to me and to those who have a shared mindset with a focus on the sophisticated sensibilities of true value and worth.

Understanding the complex concept of luxury

To understand ‘luxury’, is to understand that it is a word, concept and mindset that is both simple and complex. Luxury at its core is not a marketing terminology or strategy. Luxury, true luxury simply ‘is’’. Think and ‘be luxurious’; it’s a state of mind, an approach to living, a sensibility in how you approach life and live with luxuriousness in mind – the fine art of creation, the fine art of appreciation, the value of time, innovation, sustainability, an unyielding, passionate pursuit of excellence; all of which are a personal, cultural and lifestyle mindset. To feel luxury, is a human experience where emotion, purpose and key pillars are paramount.

Patience, persistence and timing

And awaiting the right time for its launch brought with it unique opportunities afforded by technology. With the digital age came the ability to bring the magazine direct to our readers more readily and outside the traditional means of mass production and traditional distribution channels. And where its production is concerned, I funded its creation and production myself, overseeing and having a hand in all aspects, bringing to it my eclectic and highly skilled background in multiple creative and corporate disciplines and took advantage of many digital tools, the Cloud and remote operations, negating the need for a bricks and mortar office, so operations are unencumbered by geographic location, eliminating expensive overhead and without physical limitations, ever gathering a collective of wonderful luxury experts and supporters, and freeing all of our creative spirits so they can soar. Our corporate motto is, “we believe in building creative powers not office towers”. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and digital infrastructure, our print issues reach our desired, targeted and growing readership all around the world directly and in captive and luxurious settings. The digital versions of our print issues are distributed internationally by the wonderful people at Media Carrier based in Germany and NewsInFlight in New York, (who we met and they fell in love with us, thanks to social media), and our titles are found in select 4 and 5 star hotels around the world and in first and business class on select airlines.

Taking interruption out of the picture

While the primary function of a magazine is to get readers to look at the ads, I always felt that a modern magazine could be so much more than a place to be sold to. I felt that magazines and media outlets with their power to reach and captivate could seize the opportunity to aim for greater depth and purpose. But most, simply follow the old model to be about selling and make money for doing so; understandably as a means to survive and because it has always been done the way. But, as ad sales dip and more titles continue to fold or get bought out, I believe there is no better time than now to do something more meaningful and relevant in magazine media, to meet and exceed the needs of today’s sophisticated readers who are looking for more human to human connection – especially in this digital age and where niche titles are concerned. And this was the path I wanted to explore.

A respite and pleasurable reading experience

While advertising is largely tolerated as a means to free content, there is growing dissatisfaction with advertising and rising use of ad blockers. Ad sales in magazines and in media generally speaking are a struggle to compete. Many long running magazines have ceased to exist unable to survive the dip in ad sales. Many readers today pay premiums to avoid advertising. In the face of declining print ads, felt unmotivated to be another title seeking ad share and remained resolute to remain ad free. Many just flip past ad pages anyway, simply tired of the interruptions. Here is more indication of people’s feeling of overwhelm with advertising today: eMarketer expected three in 10 internet users would be using blockers by the end of 2018; 91% of people say ads are more intrusive today than two years ago – (HubSpot); 85% of people feel a negative opinion about websites with obnoxious or intrusive ads – (HubSpot); There have been 500 million downloads worldwide of AdBlockPlus, and it’s estimated that ad-blocking cost publishers $22 billion in 2015 alone (and will increase to a loss of $35 billion per year by 2020) – (DigiDay). What is this saying? Today’s readers I believe are craving more humanity and less ‘marketing’.

EAT LOVE SAVOR? creates a print publication and an online platform, the print is a different magazine to the online, where you can escape advertising interruption and simply enjoy the act of discovering.

The old ad and selling focused model also continues to send the message of constant consumerism, but that message and way of living is tearing away at the fabric of society and presents a lifestyle that is all too superficial. Things have changed. We live in a time where we need much more beauty, humanity, sustainability and positivity. Kindness was our natural manner, but now it makes the news. Quality was the way, (look at how antique items still survive), but now in our mass manufacturing and constant consumer world, things are generally not made to last adding to the burden of discarded items on the planet. We used to enjoy more leisure time, but many now think if they’re not actively doing something productive all the time, they are being lazy. Negativity and provocative messaging is pervasive. Advertising is everywhere, reaching us all the time, even more so because of our digital devices. How can one escape pressures and interruption, find solace, excellent content and enjoy reading a great publication?

In the world of EAT LOVE SAVOR, we see our magazines as a place to ‘be’, to surround yourself with beauty, to celebrate life

A place of positivity, love, and the Act of Discovery

I wanted to create an alternative to the ordinary luxury lifestyle magazine; something with great distinction that appealed to all the tiers of wealth. A publication and platform where you can truly escape – escape into a highly selective luxurious world, escape purchase pressure and just simply enjoy the Act of Discovering. A place to spend time to enjoy an elegantly presented good read, that flows from article to article, cover to cover, inspires, uplifts and makes you feel good. One that in reading it, enriches your mind and entertains you, learning through interesting, informative and timeless articles – ‘edutainment’, as I call it.

To explore EAT LOVE SAVOR? is to surround yourself with intelligence and beauty, to enjoy an enchanting environment on the page, a publication designed to enlighten and inform. Beauty is very important and in the world of EAT LOVE SAVOR?, we see our magazines as a place to ‘be’, to surround yourself with beauty, to celebrate life and the world needs much more beauty.

Of course, there is more to life than being a consumer and to acquire. There is living, loving, luxuriating, discovering, exploring, reading, eating, experiencing, lounging, laughing, sharing, relaxing, feeling and appreciating to do… In the world of EAT LOVE SAVOR?, we see our magazines as a perfect place to escape, to celebrate life every day, to embrace ‘joie de vivre’ and to be able to go to disconnect, relax and unwind regularly.

EAT LOVE SAVOR? offers sophisticated individuals of discerning taste both an online magazine and a great coffee table magazine (a separate magazine with different content than online), designed like a soft cover book, with high quality, glare-free paper. EAT LOVE SAVOR is a great print magazine that is a luxury item, and to read it, is a luxury moment, one that inspires, in which to lose yourself in a deliciously immersive, rich experience at your fingertips and beautiful enough to keep on display so that others may enjoy it. Just the way I love to live with my favorite books and publications that are like good friends you joyfully spend time visiting with and enjoy their company.

Imagine curling up on a plush lounger or chair, or on a yacht, or while jetting off to somewhere fabulous, or sprawled out on your most comfortable sofa or bed at home or in a sumptous hotel room, with a favorite beverage, something to nibble, surrounded by soft blankets, pillows, and dive in! Lose yourself in the fascinating stories, discovering interesting people, places, experiences and things; ideas and passions to embrace. Articles that flow, without having to jump to another part of the magazine to finish them and each issue is filled with a lot of big, magnificent photography and pleasing layouts. To read EAT LOVE SAVOR? is to be both soothed and intellectually stimulated, whilst being indulged with great beauty to behold. It is a wonderful thing, to be uninterrupted and inspired whilst rediscovering luxury and the love of simply, being. It gives me great pride and satisfaction to labor and create each and every issue and to build on the online platform and PDF version of print, for the digital experience.

Discover what we have to offer and enjoy

EAT LOVE SAVOR? is much more than our name, it’s a mantra – we see a luxurious life as being all about the beautiful essence of simply being – the joys and pleasure of that which to eat, to love and things and moments to savor.

Part of our ongoing mission and vision is to continue to be one of the great distinctive luxury lifestyle magazines. We are on a never-ending pursuit to showcase and celebrate excellence and promote better understanding of the true luxury lexicon; to be a connector of connoisseurs to craftsmen, a seeker of quality, great beauty and a place where lovers of true luxury and luxury living can to come to discover and truly indulge.

Won’t you join the other discerning individuals who have already discovered us?

For more information about EAT LOVE SAVOR?, or editorial coverage for your luxury brand or luxury brand client, about luxury expert contributing editor opportunities, media and business partnerships, how to order print issues personally or corporately for your clientele, and get access to our private online newsstand, or simply to enjoy the online magazine, visit eatlovesavor.com or contact us directly