March 1, 2016 - Daily Notes, From the Editor

We set out last year to create a new kind of magazine for women. One with no advertising that inspires and enlightens, gives voice to the heart, and celebrates true beauty.

Today we release Issue Two : Perfection and my ribcage can barely contain the thrumming of the big organ beneath it. I am proud.

I think perfectionism is the whole reason we need Lucia.

Women's magazines for decades have been made possible by advertising. You know the kind I'm talking about. It's slick and suggestive of a very dangerous idea: That you, beautiful you, are not perfect but you can be if you buy what they're selling. 

See that model? She's perfect. See that family running on the beach? They are too. See that girl whose body is five times tinier than her muscle-bound boyfriend? Her life is totally in order. What's wrong with you? Buy our stuff. It will solve your problems.

"As long as we are under the illusion that we're supposed to be perfect, our capacity for love is diminished," my friend Dani said during what has become our ritual Sunday night phone call. She was talking about love relationships, but it applies to every aspect of life. "Compassion comes from having made painful mistakes. I think we hold ourselves to too-high standards."

These standards...how many of them come from what we see in women's magazines today? I made the decision Perfection would be the theme for Issue Two, before Issue One : Inspiration was even finished.

Lucia is still fledgling. I don't know yet if we will survive this early-stage and grow the kind of wings that can fly onto newsstands all over the world. The path doesn't have perfect stair steps, one after the other. It winds around, there are dark spots, and big hurdles. My best friends encourage me, our readers say "please, keep going." This work feels meaningful and important. Each day I do more.

I am thrilled to share Issue Two with you. A limited number are available to order from our website today. You might catch a glimpse of Lucia in selected Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble stores. We even make an appearance in the Crate & Barrel 2016 Spring Catalog! {Don't mind the perfect bedroom scene...nobody's looks like that in real life and it is okay...messy is better anyway.}

xo
laura