A new special interest magazine will be available to the people of Bakersfield with a release date of Oct. 3.
BIC (Bakersfield’s Inked Culture) Magazine is a free publication primarily interested in the tattoo lifestyle in Bakersfield. Editions are to feature the local tattoo scene, including work by Bakersfield tattoo artists and the people around town who collect their work.
Ryan Tiede, the owner of BIC Magazine, says that after collecting tattoo magazines for over 12 years, he was struck with the idea to create a publication that will represent a part of the community that may otherwise go unrecognized.
“One day I was reading a nationally recognized tattoo magazine that I bought from a local bookstore and I saw a picture of a tattoo that an artist from Bakersfield had done,” began Tiede.
“Of course it was awesome, but it was the first time in a few years that I had seen one of our local artists recognized in any tattoo publication. Then the idea for BIC Magazine suddenly hit me.”
Both Tiede and Zach Grimsley (owner of BIC Magazine’s publishing company, ColorVision Media, and the magazine’s page designer) say that readers of BIC Magazine can expect a lot from the publication, including an award given to best local tattoo entry per issue.
“We plan on having people submit their photos each issue for a contest,” Tiede provided. “Each issue will have a different category like black and gray, Oriental, portraits and so on. There will be a $200 award, but it has to be done by a local artist.”
The award is to be divided equally between the artist and the person with the actual tattoo or the “collector.”
Grimsley said, “Readers can expect a full visual assault when they pick up their first issue of BIC Magazine. Our aim is to create a collector’s magazine, not just another coffee table coaster.”
Grimsley went on to say that this “reader-driven magazine” is of higher quality than most of the other “glossy cheap paper mags that you see around.”
With having over 20 local tattoo shops to choose from, reports Tiede, BIC Magazine will be able to provide readers with a sense of what tattoo artists in Bakersfield have to offer. The goal is to easily assist readers in making a more informed choice on which artist may suit their own tattoo preference.
Issues will be available at local tattoo shops, bookstores, motorcycle shops, hotrod shops, clothing and surf shops, cocktail lounges and even the Bakersfield College campus.
The magazine is funded exclusively by Tiede, for now, and has funding for the publication for up to a year.
Aside from finding the time to put the actual magazine together, as only Grimsley and Tiede were composing the whole issue initially, ad sales have been slow in coming due to the newness of the magazine.
Fortunately, more support has come through in terms of help from the tattoo community, in general, Grimsley said. BIC Magazine is open to reader photo submissions, feedback, article ideas or even people available to write the articles.
According to Tiede, there should be another edition out around December 2008 or January 2009. They hope to release six to eight issues in 2009 and, depending upon support shown from the Bakersfield community, will be publishing monthly in 2010.
“We are shining a light on an area of the art community that often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves,” said Grimsley.
Anyone interested in contacting BIC Magazine can do so at [email protected] or at www.myspace.com/bicmagazine.