Limestone Post launching new chapter with first-ever print edition

June 1, 2018
A Sense of Place cover illustration featuring downtown Bloomington

The phrase “from page to screen” is probably a cliché at this point. Either it’s a bestselling book being adapted into a series, or the liberties a movie took with an age-old character. But it could easily apply to the trajectory of print journalism as well.

More newspapers and magazines are going web-only, and it’s understandable why. There’s the benefit of more flexibility and the addition of multimedia. And in more depressing terms, it allows publications on shoestring budgets the opportunity to downsize.

And yet, plenty of people still advocate for physical media. There’s something about the tangibility of holding a newspaper with your morning coffee or the smell of a new book that an iPad can’t provide.

Bloomington web magazine Limestone Post is taking that leap into readers’ hands with their first ever print edition, A Sense of Place.

“We wanted the stories to last for a while,” said Limestone Post Editorial Director Lynae Sowinski. “We’re kind of intending for it to be a coffee table book, so people can pick it up any time and it’s still relevant.”

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The team behind Limestone Post, Ron Eid, Lynae Sowinski and Emily Winters. The Limestone Post team. (From left) Publisher Ron Eid, Editorial Director Lynae Sowinski and Marketing and Advertising Director Emily Winters. Photo: Chaz Mottinger

Sowinski and Emily Winters, the online publication’s marketing and advertising director, said they began thinking seriously about doing a print edition about a year ago, and they knew they wanted it to coincide with Bloomington’s bicentennial celebration. They just needed a direction.

That came with Sarah Gordon’s piece for the Post, “Are Market Forces Ruining B-town’s ‘Sense of Place?’” The article grappled with the tug-of-war between a community’s sense of place and its economic needs. At the center was the demolition of the iconic Chocolate Moose building in favor of a new apartment complex.

“The building itself didn’t really have any historic value – it was falling apart – but the sense of place about it was really what had people so upset,” Sowinski said.

The response to the piece was the impetus for the Limestone Post team to set the first print edition around Bloomington’s identity, its local history and what makes it special to its residents.

Those residents are cordially invited to a launch event Friday, as part of the Fourth & Rogers Block Party. But A Sense of Place’s unveiling is just one event of many.

“Because all these things were happening on this corner, we all sat down together and were like, ‘Why don’t we just have a party and take it to the streets?’” Winters said.

The magazine’s release will be accompanied by a gallery show at I FELL showcasing work from about 15 different local artists across a handful of media: oil paintings, illustrations, photography, ceramics, sculpture and more.

We've installed the work of 15+ artists and are so excited about the variety of art at this show! Hope to see you at the I FELL a community of artists tonight!

Posted by Limestone Post on Friday, June 1, 2018

There’s quite a bit of art to see Friday, with more at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts and Pictura Gallery, Rainbow Bakery and a new mural at the Secretly Group offices by Chicago-based artist Ryan Travis Christian. And like any block party worth its salt, plenty of food and music.

While A Sense of Place is a big new step for the Limestone Post, it isn’t a rebranding effort. The brand of long form storytelling the site has specialized in since its launch in 2015 isn’t going anywhere.

“We really wanted the online publication to be a real centerpiece for the local palette: writers, photographers, illustrators,” Sowinski said. “We want them to be able to tell the type of stories they want to tell.”

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As the online publication continues, future print editions are on the horizon, but Sowinski and Winters say it’s up in the air as to what the focus will be. But upcoming physical copies will keep the arts emphasis of A Sense of Place.

Sowinski and Winters said that while a couple of people on the small team behind Limestone Post had experience with print publishing in the past, A Sense of Place brought plenty of surprises. Whatever the next magazine will be will no doubt follow that pattern, but to the people of the magazine, it’s an exciting one.

Header image: Cover illustration from A Sense of Place; painting by Mark Ratzlaff, courtesy of Lynae Sowinski. Photos of gallery setup courtesy of Emily Winters.

For more Bloomington history, check out Beautiful By Design: The Indiana University Bloomington Campus Saturday, June 2 at 7 p.m. on WTIU.