Publisher Theda “TJ” Jackson holds her new Springfield-based publication, Styles, which emphasizes fashion, beauty and fitness.
“I looked around and saw no publications like this in the city,” said Jackson. “The focus is beauty with brains.”
Jackson, who owned a nail salon in Atlanta in the 1990s and has a background in English and journalism, said getting the first issue to press was quite a challenge.
“It was a very long road,” said Jackson. “It took 15 months for the first issue to go to print. It’s not just words and pictures. Every photo we shot, with the exception of two that were submitted. It was a tremendous amount of work — the placement, the pagination, making sure the copy had editorial integrity, researching facts and getting checks when you don’t have anything to sell yet.”
The glossy magazine, is distributed to high-end salons and spas, boutiques, art galleries, trendy clothing stores, hotels and tourist bureaus. Jackson estimates her next run will print 5,000 copies, with production increasing to 10,000 by January. The next issue is expected to be out in early October.