Zmywak Magazine /
Zmywak #01
Zmywak is a magazine with personality, which not only describes the mundane reality around us, but also presents it in its own subjective and colourful way. It was important to us that, without foregoing the essential informational function, we encourage our readers to discover something more than merely their daily way to work or their local pub’s offer.
— so said the press release. But first of all, it was fun. A lotta fun!
Started originally as a joke - sitting over a cup of coffee on one of those gloomy Scottish evenings we were wondering what we could do to take over the world (and no, failure was not an option!) Then came the idea of publishing an independant magazine for Polish immigrants in Scotland.
All jokes aside.
The results of market research only reinforced our conviction that there was a gap in the market. Many Poles expressed the need for a Polish-language publication which would offer its readers a wide spectrum of themes and a fresh, alternative approach.
So the sleeves were rolled up, couple of months of sweat and tears (and coffee) passed by, spent on gathering team with experience in journalism, planning, meeting, talking (with even more coffee), learning about the publishing industry, making contacts, creating layouts, writing articles, putting it all together... Already sick of coffee as you probably can guess, finally we got there - the first issue hit the shelves!
We put a lot of effort in making Zmywak different.
The publication aimed to create a new quality amongsts UK-based Polish opinion magazines. “Emigration - not altogether serious” - this strapline best sums up the content of the magazine. And we succeeded flawlessly.
Zmywak very quickly made its way to the hearts of Polish community, becoming one of the most popular Polish magazines in Scotland.
A unique, high standard, glossy publication, in a pocket-book format, being both a useful source of information and good entertainment, accompanied by dynamic online portal, Zmywak became the essential accessory for both visitors and immigrants from Poland as well as for the UK citizens of Polish origin.
We put a lot of love into it.
And we got a lot of love back. Just on a slightly different level.
What remained of the original magazine are just few PDFs floating out there, and few printed issues reminding Scottish folks of our former glory...
