Softgrit Magazine

Issue 01. Our print magazine explores culture through a highbrow-meets-lowbrow lens. Inside: archival deep-dives, schlocky quizzes, public polling on private matters, and a sharp, stylish look at the world we live in.

In our first issue we consider the figure of the loser — not the online type, but the original, charming, socially out-of-step figure — and ask where they’ve gone. We speak with Frances Shoemack, founder of natural fragrance house Abel, about constructing a scent around Parisian interiors and upcycled cherry. We examine the dramatic flair of orgasms in recorded music, the objects we’re currently coveting, and what’s climbing — or falling — in our Hot or Not index.

Softgrit also introduces a series of recurring columns. In Local Haunts, we visit The Scribe, a Toronto bookstore where the printed word still matters. Tastemaking offers recipes for the most fussy tea party imaginable — doilies encouraged. Throughout the issue, we highlight independent brands that are doing something different.

We also present a data-driven look at pubic hair: who’s waxing, trimming, growing it out, and what it all might suggest about sex, style, power, and how people are quietly negotiating intimacy in 2025. There are statistics. There is theory. There is a surprising amount of nuance.

8.5" x 11", 68 pages. 100% paper!