Woman of Culture
It hasn't escaped our notice that it can get a little... bachelor pad-ish around here. (After all, did you see where the "dat ass" thread in the forums started to go? Yeesh!) Some of the sisters might want to take a break by clicking onto ymib.com, a site that coincidentally launched about a week before our little rag over on this side of the 'net. ymib is the brainchild of editor-in-chief Ericka Taylor along with executive editor Sety Bes, and stands for "you make it beautiful." They've been up and running as a multi-topic webzine since August 1st, and first caught our eye with their interview of Portland artist Damali Ayo.
Ericka tells us the site is devoted to the "woman of culture," a coinage she adopted to emphasize how women of color are often the most attuned to culture and the ways in which it moves through families and communities. The "you" in ymib of course refers to the readers and hits on Ericka's idea that women take charge of their own creative energies by focusing on 3 main areas: inspiration, health and holistics, and everyday creativity. All of ymib's features are designed to create a community in which women can not only explore these areas, but trade knowledge with other women who vibe the same way.
In addition to its strictly online features, ymib has its eye on promoting offline activities such as a book club and lesson plans for stay-at-home mothers. We hear they even have their eye on a print version. We know what it takes to run a website and judging by what Ericka and company have put together can only say: hats off.
12 September 2006