Dear Different Leaf readers,

I never expected that an autocorrect error in a text message about dinner plans in Chicago would directly result in orchestrating a day-long photoshoot of a Broadway legend with some of the best fashion photographers, stylists and set decorators working in New York.

However, it is exactly the kind of thing I fantasized would happen when I decided to change the format of the magazine Different Leaf. If you are an existing reader, I’m sure that you are wondering how we went from covering the “vape of the quarter” to producing photo shoots with Broadway stars. And if you are new to this publication here is a little background: After five years of publishing the original version of the magazine, I started conversations with some of our regular writers and close friends inside and outside of the cannabis industry to sound out ways to mix things up for the next five years. One of our regular writers said to me, “I’m running out of adjectives to describe gummies.” It was at this moment that I realized reinvention was needed.

Aside from these industry opinions, personally, I was feeling a bit...bored with the formula I had created. When I launched the magazine, intelligent, non-judgemental coverage of cannabis by the mainstream press was pretty thin. However, as more states legalized — in particular New York, the homebase of so much media — that rapidly changed, and cannabis became a darling of mainstream journalism.

Alongside wanting to elevate the cultural phenomena of cannabis, the other thing that drives me is that I am a life-long print devotee. For this new version of Different Leaf, I decided to mix a few ideas from some of my favorite titles and my most personally inspirational magazines and blend them all together with a few new ones to create something that both reports and creates culture.

Many magazines occasionally bring in a guest-editor to mix things up. Visionaire followed this mode successfully with just about every issue, leading to its legendary status. The ever-gorgeous cannabis magazine Gossamer perfected creating something that you want to enjoy high...or not! Fantastic Man and their willingness to rethink the entire design of the magazine every few years keeps readers on their toes. I could go on.

So how have I taken my experience and merged it with these inspirations? This new Different Leaf starts with a guest curator for each issue (following cultural trends in art, music and fashion) who then chooses guest curators. Each issue will be unique stylistically and will have multiple formats, including a trade edition and a limited edition with special accessories.

With the world in chaos and creativity being farmed out to AI, now more than ever we need beautiful objects made by people! My hope is that Different Leaf can reinforce this, that it can celebrate all forms of culture while also inspiring, challenging, illuminating, and informing our lives.

To pull this off has been a group effort; it has been a complete honor to work with my dear friend Denise Markonish as curator, who asked legends Nick Cave and Bob Faust to serve as this first issue’s guest editors. In addition to them, the masthead contains the names of one amazing creative person after another who you will see working at the peak of their craft. I am thrilled they all said yes to being part of something I was wholly unable to describe at the start.

I cannot thank you all enough for helping with the vision.

Michael Kusek
Founder, Publisher, and Editor in Chief

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