The Idle Class Magazine Plans Publishing Unit

The Idle Class, a relatively new publication based in Fayetteville and headed by Editor Kody Ford, recently discussed several new initiatives.

The big plans for the future include:

• A new publishing endeavor, the Idle Class Press, devoted to short story collections, poetry and art books featuring writers and other creative types from around Arkansas.

• The Arkansas Arts Awards, a partnership between the Idle Class and Art Amiss, a Fayetteville nonprofit that supports visual artists, writers, musicians and fashion designers through grants. The Arkansas Arts Awards will recognize outstanding work not just in the visual artists but in film, the culinary arts and more. The “branding partner” is BLKBOX Labs, a digital branding agency in Fayetteville. It’s planned to take place early next year.

• Merchandise. “Our goal is to expand our revenue stream to include not only advertising but merchandise as well,” Ford said. “I see The Idle Class as being a lifestyle brand. We are going to team up with local artists to create T-shirts, tote bags, art prints and more.” A tote bag collection, designed by artist Phillip Rex Huddleston of Little Rock, is the first offering.

The quarterly magazine itself is just 18 months old, having published its first issue in February 2013.

Ford is the only employee so far of the Idle Class, serving not only as editor but as ad salesman, circulation director, designer and everything in between. The magazine, which focuses on the creative class in Arkansas, is currently free and can be found at businesses throughout northwest Arkansas, Conway, Little Rock, Hot Springs, El Dorado and Jonesboro.

Ford, who has just launched the magazine’s subscription service, declined to share revenue figures but said the magazine was “getting by.

“I do this pretty much full time, but the way I do it is by working other jobs,” said Ford, like a true publishing junkie.

“It’s a slow-going process, but it’s one I believe in. I’m hoping that within the next year we will have investors backing us and we can take it to the next level.”