Le Scarf is a Cape Town brand that delivers local, authentic media creations and real-life experiences.
Captained by editor Mike Wright, Le Scarf’s first creative project is a 24-page printed booklet distributed across Cape Town in an effort to create a youthful community of readers who can consume its content without the interruption of an algorithm.
Le Scarf started as a university project for Stellenbosch University’s journalism degree. Having studied political science as an undergrad, Mike had the idea to create a South African satirical publication much like The Onion or The Betoota Advocate.
“Because of the ‘university project’ aspect, I chose the name randomly.” After looking around my room and laying my eyes on a black and yellow scarf that I liked, I decided on The Scarf. Then, inspired by the French newspaper Le Monde, I decided to adopt the ‘Le’ and call the project ‘Scarf’.”
Phase two came at the end of 2019 when Mike realised he would need to curate a portfolio of work if he wanted to get a job in journalism or copywriting.
“I started pushing out slapstick satire that made me chuckle alone in my room. The first few posts were fairly funny, and the feedback was positive (from those who actually read them).”
Phase three: 2020. Lockdown hits.
“Confined to our rooms, Le Scarf turned into an existential blog with slightly more meat.”
Mike was editing videos for a South African news website, so Le Scarf was purely a place for creative release, both in written and video form.
Phase four came after Mike acquired a job on the Expresso Show.
“Because of the early mornings and late evenings in a creative industry, extramural creativity is harder. Nevertheless, I still believed Le Scarf had potential. So I’d sit at Hazz or Starlings Locale whenever a free moment appeared and write some fairly subpar work.”
After two years in the TV industry, Mike decided to leave and start Le Scarf and the physical publication, Le Blogue.
Mike saw a window of opportunity to create a youthful community of readers.
“Looking back, 2022 was the perfect time to start the official push. We (the other writers and I) are still young enough to write in a youthful manner. We (the other writers and myself) have just enough maturity to write maturely. It’s a good mixture.”
Le Blogue, Le Scarf’s first creative project, is a 24-page printed booklet filled with original internet content. Each article chosen for Le Blogue is given the opportunity to experience the world without ever encountering a digital algorithm.
“I’ve always wanted to create a print publication. I worked on a few publications while at university, and the tactility appealed to me. I enjoyed that we could “launch” the publications with a physical presence (standing on campus while handing them out). In my eyes, this hand-to-hand exchange of content is important for a brand. More importantly, there is so much content on the internet at the moment that the printed format allows our content to breathe without fighting for air. It differentiates our content. It helps us stand out. It’s fun. Few people click on foreign URLs nowadays; however, 24 pages are easy to flip through.”
Mike selected the print’s design with a pursuit of simplicity and a goal to minimise confusion; the priority is to “respect the reader.”
“The font is the most basic font available: Minion Pro, essentially the new-age Times New Roman.” The format is simple. Readers don’t have to decipher anything visually; they can pick Le Blogue up, read, and finish.
The plan is to release them once a month. However, Mike is currently funding the project on his own, and due to the high printing costs, the prints may need to be spaced out a little “unless a headline sponsor that feels like Le Energy jumps on board.”
Mike is open to publishing any kind of content by any person who wishes to submit their work, but when reviewing submissions, intuition and the following criteria should be met: content should be light enough to breeze through while still prompting thoughts in the reader, and it needs to fit with the rest of the content.
“The creative pieces need to dance with each other. Not every single one needs to be a beast. Readers need time to think and breathe. This is another reason why the print works; some of the articles wouldn’t hold up on their own online, yet, when bundled together with a few other articles that also wouldn’t hold up on their own online, they form an orchestra.”
“The first two people I asked to contribute were Catherine Del Monte and Cher Petersen. I studied with both of them. Cath’s love for music has always inspired me, so I asked her to head up the music pages. Cher’s boldness is something I knew would benefit the publication. I said to her, ‘I need a Paula van der Lecq,’ who, if people don’t know, is a spicy columnist in 7de Laan.”
Then Zack Herberstein, a local artist, entered the mainframe.
“His artwork was exceptional, and, to this day, I still see it as the firecracker that elevated the rest of the layout, content, design and overall product.”
“I’m excited to see what the future holds. Whether it’s video, podcast or live events, I’m keen.”
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Picture: Supplied