How can I learn from Tyler Brulé?

July 9, 2008 12:12 PM

I want to learn more about how Tyler Brulé got Wallpaper and then Monocle going. I read the great dialog on City of Sound about the design of Monocle online. But I am really interested in Brulé's move into publishing business and being a hands-on editor and taste-maker. Are there books, documentaries, or interview with him or his conspirators that explain how he made it in business? I am especially interested in the pivotal first year of Wallpaper and the first year after Time Warner bought him out.
posted by parmanparman to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

Best answer: Long profile of Tyler Brulé from a May 1998 cover article of Shift Magazine. It covers how he got Wallpaper going in some detail. In short, he already had a lot of friends in the design, fashion, travel, and advertising worlds so he just went to them and pitched the crap out of his magazine idea.

From the beginning, Brûlé realized that he’d need a great deal of money and the best connections to bring his concept to life. Most people start magazines in a basement with a few tiny backers. Brûlé got on a plane and proceeded to pitch every big-time contact he had. First he flew to San Francisco to meet friends at the Gap. Surprised by and impressed with his idea for a glossy aimed at Generation-X jet-setters and wannabes, a niche others had not exploited because they feared it didn’t exist, Gap executives heard that smooth Tyler talk and were quickly sold. Hundreds of phone calls and many flights later, Versace, Gucci, British Airways and fellow U.K.-based Canadian phenom Patrick Cox, the shoe couturier, were among the many wealthy clients signed up for gorgeous ads at up to 5,000 pounds a crack.
posted by junesix at 1:49 PM on July 9, 2008