Offering a weekly dose of modernization for the global citizen, Air Mail moves closer to its readers
A Break From the Ordinary
There are airplanes for transporting citizens of the world, then there’s Air Mail for keeping them updated. Launched in 2019, the founders Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanely wanted to offer readers a weekly news publication breaking free from predictability, boring, and unimaginative journalism. A group of editors came together and set out to provide faithful readers with amusing, relevant, and refined designed digital journals to be delivered to inboxes around the world, at 6am every Saturday morning. Ranging from domestic and foreign literature about a variety of topics, Air Mail features stories and angles unable to be found elsewhere. Focusing on years of savior faire, the Chief Marketing Officer Emily Davis explained the publication aims to offer news always taking a historical angle. Recently, Air Mail is offering a physical edition and they cemented a partnership with newsstands in Chiltern Street in London and Largo Treves in Milan.
Two Women On the Move
Emily Davis and Anjali Lewis are responsible for designating news into two specific categories on their site for their team of writers and editors. Ms. Davis noted that Air Mail currently consists of a team that has grown into over forty-five people. Like clockwork, every Sunday morning at 6, the digital weekly dishes on a well-curated mixture of articles formatted like a newsletter. Working with Davis is Anjali Lewis, the General Manager of Air Supply and Head of Strategic Partnerships, along with Angela Panichi, the Design Director. Ms. Davis stated that Air Mail’s growth over time has been wholesome, organic, and with a specific purpose in mind.
«Over time, Air Mail’s organization grew in size. We needed more team members to assist in the expansion; as a digital weekly that can be accessible by crowds across the globe», explains Davis. Further developing the idea of repetition of reputation has permitted for the growth of the weekly news outlet to become what it is today. Breaking free from normality was Carter’s hope and various decisions were made as an editor across the various roles present in Air Mail. It was Carter who created the vision and mission that now has an opportunity for growth and modernization.
Growing Air Mail to Become Physical
Panichi explained that there’s been an interesting relationship between the digital world concerning journalism and printed entities. Air Mail exists somewhere in the middle between those two realms. By using the always evolving digital experience of the Air Mail daily user, Panichi and Davis explained that the brand has created a set of manners of functions that bring forth their user experience into the physical spaces.
The inclusion of visual language and signages in Air Mail flowed across their digital and physical realms. What they consider human-touch, the Air Mail design and language offers something truly different to its dedicated readers. This has allowed them to have a fellowship of readers that faithfully open their inboxes every Saturday morning. «The intent to approach our Saturday morning newsletter with an allure of levity has played into the success of the brand. This approach was then carried forth into the tangible items that we are offering to our readers and subscribers», shares Davis.
Air Mail Express Mobile Coffee Cart aka Jet Fuel
Starting out with shorter articles, Air Mail became intertwined with the presence of long-form journalism to its readers. Also, the digital weekly has updated their online presence to become more tangible, introducing coffee on wheels, Air Main Express. This new venture was created into a Piaggio Ape across New York City. Intended to stand out amongst the rest from being just your average, run-in-the-mill coffee stop, Air Mail offered its readers and people walking by Air Mail’s very own coffee, Jet Fuel and a small number of papers titled Printed Matter.
Tucked away in a small brownstone in Greenwich Village, the interior of the building was purposely left the same to help create a unique aesthetic that reflected the Air Mail tone of voice and identity. Architect Basil Walter assisted with the design; Carter wanted to stay far away from a corporate aesthetic. Here, the office spaces were designed and operated to evoke the traveler in everyone. The conference room hosts an actual airplane, with Air Mail’s logo featured on the body of it. Crown molding accents the ceiling, offering a bit of 20’s New York architecture. From its primary store, original wooden floors and gilded mirrors were left in the office. The furniture was hand-picked by Walker and his business partner, Brenda Bello, as a mid-century styled interior that enhances the charm of Air Mail and its identity.
Spreading Information, Culture, and Printed Materia
Air Mail isn’t stopping with just two physical locations across Milan and London. First, by collaborating with Shreeji Newsagents in Chiltern Street in 2020 and renovating the interior of the newsstand, with the helping hand of architect Gabriel Chipperfield, Air Mail then partnered up with classic Milanese Newsstand Edicola in Largo Treves. The Milan newsstand was in limbo for a couple of years, but is now back as a functioning entity. It was revisited by Walter and his business partner Brenda Bello from their form BWArchitectis, along with the creative hand of Milanese Street Artist Luca DiMaggio, the Air Mail partnered newsstand has been up and running since September 1st 2021.
Sticking to its roots, Air Mail will always be a digital weekly, but the brand is extending themselves through various ways to their readers. Lewis stated that the team hosts a large number of suppliers covering their multitudes of genres. The team has painstakingly curated an interest for selecting items that are relevant for their readers. “For instance, the intent derived from the mission of Air Mail”, Davis then states that the introduction of Air Supply, their online shop, with items selected and curated by their team of editors has been crucial to their growth. Alongside selling Air Mail merchandise, editors’ source and shine a spotlight on items that are uncommon in everyday life to appeal to their readers.
The Arts Say
While offering dedicated readers reliable newsstands and a special experience, stamped coffee cups, bookmarks, etc. offer a peek into Air Mail’s digital issues through Wi-Fi, «Having come from years of experience in printed media, while existing as a digital platform, Air Mail aspired to put its efforts into spaces that shared an ardor for the curation and preservation of periodicals». Air Mail’s desire to spread culture is venturing further into physical spaces through its efforts in their Arts Intel Report.
Combining events with the topics of Arts, Films, and Television, Music and Stage, Air Mail has now entered the market acting as a concierge for their readers, recommending places to go, where to eat, etc. By grouping together events into categories on the basis of locations worldwide, the Arts Intel Team suggests events that are taking place nearby. But, the best events are yet to come. Lewis, Panichi and Davis said that the interface of the Arts Intel Reports are working to bring their audience closer to arts and culture, little by little.
Air Mail, New York City
Founded in 2019, originally serving as digital only Air Mail was launched as a weekly newsletter, under the direction of Graydon Carter. Based in New York City, it offers articles from around the world and has since partnered with newsstands across the globe to become closer to their readers.
