Nicola Hamilton

Owner of Issues Magazine Shop Championing Canadian Independent Publications

by Jericho Tadeo

Nicola Hamilton, an awardwinning editorial designer and art director, got her start in the magazine industry at The Grid, a weekly Toronto newspaper that ran from 2011 to 2014. It was here that she was exposed to the international magazine industry in a way that ultimately inspired her to open up Issues Magazine Shop. Located in Little Portugal in Toronto, Issues boasts a curated collection of independent magazines, covering an array of topics. Though it just opened in summer 2022, it is already taking on the singular challenge of reminding Canadian consumers that print is not, in fact, dead.

How did the idea for Issues Magazine Shop come to you?

[After The Grid,] I went on to do other things, still designing magazines and magazine-like objects. Whenever I travelled, I would seek out independent retailers because getting your hands on magazines can be challenging, especially the more interesting start-up publications. Here, in Canada, getting the first issues of something from Europe is really hard. Seeking out those magazine stores in other cities in the world was always fun: to see what’s new, to flip through something you’d only seen on the Internet, to have conversations with people who are more entrenched in those global communities. I always thought Toronto should have one of these, and no one else [had done] it.

Can you tell us the process of choosing your location and designing the overall look of the store?

My guiding principle is that [Issues] was something that I wanted to see in the city as a consumer of magazines, so “Where would I want to go to buy magazines?” was a question I would ask myself. Little Portugal was without a doubt the place. There’s a couple of interesting newsstands there already [Soop Soop and Blue Button], so knowing those were places that people were already making pilgrimages to for publications was really interesting.

worked in collaboration with Company Company, which is run by Rachelle LeBlanc. They’ve actually designed a ton of the businesses along Dundas West. The goal was to make [the space] look like an art gallery. I wanted the magazines to be presented with the same love, care, and attention that goes into making them, but I didn’t want it to feel like you couldn’t pick a magazine off the shelf and flip through it. I wanted it to feel like a record store, full and accessible.

What do you think makes your store different from others?

This kind of general independent magazine shop doesn’t exist in Canada. We’re topic-agnostic: food, environment sustainability, fashion — we’ve got it. Writing, literature, design, a magazine for redheads, a magazine all about sandwiches — the more niche, the better. I think that makes us different. And then, for a lot of the publications that we’re bringing in, we’re their first Canadian stockist, which is a pretty big deal. We’re bringing in a lot that you couldn’t actually get in Canada without paying the shipping fees to import them from where they’re made.

How are you hoping Issues Magazine Shop will evolve in the future?

My big overarching hope is that I want there to be more well-made Canadian independent publications. I want to see this part of our publishing landscape triple [or] quadruple. We’re seeing growth in Europe and the U.S., and we haven’t seen that here in Canada. There’s a whole bunch of reasons for that, but one of the things that Issues has struck on is exposure. The idea that print is dying was assumed true. Since that’s not true in other parts of the world, I think being exposed to a lot of these interesting publications that are doing really cool and important work helps inspire people to do and make more.

[I want Issues to] support that community. I want it to feel like a clubhouse. I want it to be a space where people run into each other, can share ideas or nerd out about mutual favourites, or give each other suggestions. We’re already seeing that in the shop all the time, and that’s really cool to see. Hopefully, that sparks some interesting projects, too. //

As a leader and entrepreneur, what advice would you give to others wanting to build their business and become successful?

Reputation is everything. I always say Toronto is a “big city, small town.” You want to make sure that your reputation is intact, and people say good things about you. Since starting my business four and a half years ago, I have done no paid advertising. Everything has come through my reputation and referrals.

It’s important to prioritize reliability. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. This comes back to reputation for delivering results and outcomes. The last thing is respect. I treat people as I want to be treated. If you want to be respected, then you have to show respect to others. That means listening, communicating, and talking to people respectfully.

It can be very hard, particularly when you're an entrepreneur, to outsource things or to delegate to others. I tell people, “Don't try to do everything. Figure out what it is that you can outsource. What is your time worth? Really put a value on it, and then you will see how much more you can accomplish.” Also, schedule time to relax. If you don't take a minute to take a breath, you're going to burn out, and you're not going to be any good to anybody.

Reflection is also valuable. I always take the last two months to reflect on the year: see what was working, throw out what wasn't, and keep what was good. Look ahead to the year that's coming. Examine your business plan and understand the direction of your business.