What we do

A constant fascination with the natural world paired with a deep love and respect for nature serve up ever-flowing inspiration for the things that become Honest Magazine.

Born on an island, now living in the mountains, exploring the magic and character of the mountains and ocean where I (Shannon Oslick, the magazine’s creator) live reminds me of the beauty around us. These places are full of food and memories of how we acquired our bounty before modern times. Old books on foraging, wild game, and the works of naturalists collect on shelves next to cookbooks. The garden is another source, proving a miracle with each seed that swells into a sturdy beet. Stacks of books ripe with collections of ingredients, combinations, and applications are filed away to pull from when the need strikes.

As the magazine begins to find it’s shape, patience is key. Themes surface over the year, slowly whittling their way down to the most promising. When the time comes, the subject is waiting.

Weaving these things into a cohesive whole is my favorite part. It’s intuitive, and listening to the content tells how best to put it together. What leads into what, which things to combine, and which to leave out to give the reader the best experience.

I believe these stories and recipes are everywhere, it simply takes a careful eye and mindful approach to find them. Using rich, expressive imagery and thoughtful prose will pull you in and take you to another place, striking the need for a deeper dive into the subject. Through exciting flavors, unexpected combinations, lost recipes, and ways of gathering our food, and each other, we can apply these things to our lives, enriching and reconnecting to the ways we once used our hands to gather wild foods, turn the soil in our garden, and knead our dough. The world is ever-moving, yet these are the things that bring us back to ourselves, our roots, and each other. My hope is you find a moment of pause to sink in deeper and feel closer to the natural world and all the wonderful things (food and other) that make it up.

Cheers,

Shannon