Meredith Williams
Arts & Entertainment Editor
In an era dominated by digital media, the resurgence of handmade journals and magazines among students is a testament to the desire for tangible, authentic experiences. “Sticks” is a newly-created student-made magazine that documents current fashions, trends, and art on Sewanee’s campus.
Emmi Williams (C‘26) and Savannah Amelie (C‘26) are the founders of this student-created magazine. Williams and Amelie met during FYP, and they bonded over their love of fashion and music. Amelie has a passion for writing while Williams has a love for scrapbooking, so they figured they could come together to create something that Sewanee hasn’t seen before.
Williams explained, “A couple of months ago I realized that a lot of colleges have magazines about fashion and pop culture, and I realized that our campus doesn’t have something like that.” And so the idea of this magazine was born.
But finding a name that stuck was hard, until they realized, “…how Sewanee is so special because it is in the sticks, and after you graduate, the memories, the people you meet, and the things you learn stick with you,” and so the name “Sticks” stuck.
The idea of a homemade magazine spread rapidly throughout the student body. Once the initial meeting was set up, Williams and Amelie realized that Sticks magazine grew a large following of fellow artistic students searching for an outlet to express their creativity through. Many students showed up during the first official Sticks meeting, and Amelie explained, “I just think it’s so beautiful to see students all coming together that are passionate about this idea.”
On February 5, 2024, Sticks Magazine released their first issue. The first issue included a 2024 “ins” and “outs” page, with trends, foods, and music that will be popular this year and those that should be left in 2023. There was also a Sewanee wrapped page, inspired by Spotify’s “Spotify Wrapped”, a page dedicated to the fashion of Sewanee’s students, New Year’s resolutions, and an interview with The Tilts, a band created by three Sewanee students.
In a way, Sticks is meant to act as a time capsule, “We want to document the current art, fashion, and culture, so each issue comes out at the end of the month, so it’s kind of like a rewind,” Williams explained. “This will give a chance for students to look back, almost like a time capsule that documents student life.”
One of the many things that makes Sticks special is how the words on the magazine itself are all handwritten. “Handwriting is really telling of an individual, we want to keep it as human as possible,” Williams explained.
Each of the pages are collages created from magazine scraps, printed pictures, and small artwork created by students solely to help the collaging process. “I have this big scrapbook, and everyone brings in small pieces of art they’ve made and things like that,” Williams explained. “I mean, it was made by college students and we want it to look like it.”
Sticks Magazine is such an amazing opportunity to showcase the incredible creativity and imagination that thrives within our community and Sewanee’s student body. A new issue of the magazine is released at the end of each month, so make sure to grab a hold of one and immerse yourself into the stunning creativity that our campus has to offer.
For more information, follow the Sticks Magazine Instagram @stickssewanee