Femme power has never been stronger in the local music scene, as Florida gals Emma Hintz and Amanda Elman are ready to take it by storm – but not in the way you’d think.
A little while ago, an Instagram account appeared under the name of Small Talks Magazine with a message hinting for us to prepare for what’s to come. And on January 17, with a post of their logo designed by Elman, Small Talks was born. In their bio, Small Talks is described as a music publication “by fans, for fans.” I asked the pair more of what that means.
This is Amanda.
Positions: Co-founder and head of graphic design
Degree: IPRA major and art minor at the University of South Florida
Favorite artist atm: “One Direction,” she says with no hesitation.
This is Emma.
Positions: Co-founder and head of photography
Career: Photographer for Heart Eyes Magazine
Favorite artist atm: “COIN, Treis & Friends, The Forum…” and the list continues.
Brandalynn: So, why “Small Talks”?
Emma: “It actually comes from a song by Liza Anne. Like literally, around when the song came out, I was listening to Fine But Dying by her, and that was the soundtrack to my life for a while. I had a lot of trouble trying to come up with the name, and ‘Small Talks’ is one of my favorite songs from the album, and I thought it would be a cute name for a publication.”
B: What made you decide to do this together?
E: “Amanda and I decided we needed to do something with our creativity. She has the graphics; I have the photography; we’re the dream team.”
B: What is your main goal of Small Talks? Whose voices are you trying to make known?
E: “There are so many people in the local music scene, and we want to give them a platform, a place to share their art with the world. I feel like a lot of artists get overlooked because they don’t have the money or production design.”
Amanda: “Personalization. We want to spend as much time with each artist. We’re going out for coffee with Wanderwild and even thrifting with The Forum. We want to talk about the behind the scenes, not just the front man.”
B: Do you have an end goal? Some kind of big picture plan?
E: “We want to put out a festival. We don’t really have a plan for that, just hoping we can get to that point. I feel like it would be so cool to feature our favorite artists in Florida.”
A: “This isn’t something we see in the near future, but if we could make it happen this would definitely be our end-all.”
B: Anything else you feel is important to know about the magazine?
A: “We’re accessible. If you have something you want to share, email us! We’re just creatives supporting creatives. I feel like Small Talks isn’t just a publication, it’s a community. You could be shooting with a disposable – we’ll make it work.”
And with nearly 300 followers in just a month, this flexibility is truly helping the pair. The magazine plans on using Instagram as their main source of communication, but you can also catch them on Twitter.
With an article already released and a website up and running, Small Talks Magazine is moving fast and preparing to be the big talk of the music scene.
I hope you have your ticket because Small Talks is a show you don’t want to miss.