Giving a name to the spirit of St. Petersburg was part of what entrepreneurship student Amelia Bartlett set out to do when she created St. Petian, a quarterly magazine, back in July. While she initially used the Kickstarter platform to try to launch her publication, Bartlett is now considering a new approach.
“Crowd-funding was a beautiful experience,” said Bartlett. “Kickstarter provided a safe place for us to really get the word out about St. Petian, learn about the pre-ordering process, get an idea of how many people were actually interested in this, and then work on and sharpen our business model.”
Moving forward, the magazine still plans to avoid printing advertisements, but will partner with local sponsors in the community to help support the creation of the physical publication. These sponsors are handpicked, and will be featured in a spotlight in upcoming issues of St. Petian.
“These people are supporters of the local community, and they are vigilantes of the local culture,” Bartlett said. “They want the local culture to survive and thrive and grow. We feature them because we want our audience to know that these businesses are out there and making a difference in the community.”
This theme of community seems central to the publication.
“People are getting confused and thinking St. Petian is just a magazine,” said Bartlett. “St. Petian is an identity. A St. Petian is a person who enjoys and participates in the culture of St. Petersburg. Not people who live here – people who love it here. People from Michigan love St. Pete; people from Texas love St. Pete. Anybody can be a St. Petian. That’s what’s special about our city – we don’t exclude anybody. Our culture is not exclusive.”
This inclusive ethos is evident in the theme of the first issue: St. Petian Magazine, Volume 1, is a travel guide focused on helping locals and newbies alike navigate the city.
“The Weekender edition of St. Petian is a travel guide to the downtown neighborhoods, sprawling from 28th Street N to Tampa Bay, between 18th Ave S and 30th Ave N,” wrote Bartlett on the magazine’s Kickstarter page.
“Inside, you’ll find places to eat, drink coffee, and (collaborate); excursions to take at any time of day, a few hidden gems, and the straightforward locals’ guide to some of the best spots in town. Each place, activity and recommendation is 100 percent St. Pete, by locals, for locals and for those who want to support local.”
The idea to create St. Petian stemmed from several different conversations Bartlett had with her friends. She and her best friend and fellow Bull, Alicia Geigel, often talked about publishing their own magazine. Now Bartlett, who serves as the founder, editor and creative director of St. Petian, works alongside Geigel, the magazine’s media director and editor’s assistant, as well as Leo Gomez, St. Petian’s branding and hand lettering designer.
When it comes to filling the pages of St. Petian with images, Bartlett, who is also a professional photographer, takes a community-based approach.
“I think that St. Petian meets locals where they’re at by featuring them, by taking their stories, by using their pictures,” she said.
“There’s more than 40 individual Instagram contributors whose photography is in the magazine. The people whose perspective of St. Pete we want to see are different people. They’re not the same five people, they’re not people who are inherently talented or the top photographers of St. Pete. They are people who, just like you, just like me, sometimes have their iPhone and capture something authentic about the city.”
To get this authentic aesthetic, Bartlett often scrolls deep into the archives of Instagram and other social media sites to find users that have what she calls “the eye.”
“Every morning, I get on Instagram and try to find 10 photos I want to put in my St. Petian bank,” she said. Using this process, Bartlett hand picks the photos for St. Petian, often reaching out directly to social media users to ask for permission to print their work and contact information in her publication. She even developed a special St. Petian hashtag that people can use to tag their photos.
“I wanted to create a new hashtag (for) people who were taking their perspective of St. Pete,” said Bartlett. “A lot of people are hashtagging St. Petian with pictures of their food, or pictures of going out to an excursion, or a business, or to the beach.”
In this way, the brand of St. Petian reaches beyond the pages of the physical publication, and into the larger surrounding community.
“In the short term, I want to grow St. Petian to be a platform for stories and perspectives, and the conservation and strengthening of culture,” said Bartlett.
“I would like to include multiple writers, multiple perspectives, many, many photographers and artists and include people of all types of all walks; from here, not from here. I want to have a sustainable business that puts out a quality quarterly publication that people are excited to read and excited to own a copy of, and they want to put on their coffee table. I want to be a voice that points people in the direction of how they can get involved in St. Petersburg culture.”
Bartlett plans to release the first volume of St. Petian in the fall. The magazine will be available for purchase via local stockists throughout the city, and online at their website, www.stpetian.com.
Photos Courtesy of Amelia Bartlett and Alicia Geigel
