Sok Song, founder of Creased magazine has issued the following statement;

“Unfortunately, Issue #12 will be our final one for the magazine. We knew from the beginning that the road would be a tough one for a niche magazine with no advertising and corporate sponsorship, and that it would probably be a short-term project and doesn’t really make any business sense from a financial standpoint. The magazine was started and survived until this point, all thanks to a generous fiscal donor who agreed from the beginning to help finance operating costs of maintaining an office in Manhattan, as well as printing and shipping expenses. We hoped that the subscription numbers would improve as we entered the second and third year, but we just don’t have the resources to make that possible with the limited number of people working on the magazine.”

Whilst perhaps not surprising in the current economic climate, this is a huge shame. The standards Sok and his team applied to this project has been exemplary – every issue has been a treasure trove of beautiful content and design. If you have’t seen the magazine, go to their site – I urge you to buy back-copies while you can.

This is a sad example for other would-be private publishers of origami content. Even with the advantages of the Internet, you’d have to be a brave (or rich) entrepreneur to launch the same kind of project again. Maybe a look at costs and production standards may help (find an office outside Manhattan?). However, without a quality product, you’ll struggle for income – the “4 Esquinas” magazine is professional and completely free, for example.

Sok ends on a higher note;

“Don’t be disheartened by this news, because Creased will be pursuing other publishing opportunities from individual booklets and collections as well as full books and ebooks from your favorite authors and creators.”

I look forward to seeing what he does next!