New titles, new faces in SA magazine world

Attracting the German speaking market

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FeeL SA offers a special mix of current information on South African politics, economy, culture, social issues, environmental protection, renewable energy and lifestyle in both English and German to encourage its readers to live, work and invest in South Africa.

Led by two young German female entrepreneurs, the first issue shows why the powerhouse of the African continent is on the move, reports on the relationship between Bavaria and the Western Cape, the 13th Omega meeting and provides tips on how to minimise the taxation of foreign pension income. In addition, South Africa's immigration policy and "green consciousness" is illuminated.

The quarterly magazine is supplemented by the website www.feelsa.co.za and is available worldwide as a printed version or as a digital E-zine.

New parenting magazine

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Mom & Me is a family publication targeting parents of kids from birth to ten years with short bite size informative articles and fun activities for children. Produced by Toys R Us in partnership with Panorama Publications, the publication will be free to customers who spend R300 or more and on sale for R20 a copy in-store. It is aimed primarily at moms but also includes dedicated pages for kids and a section for dads.

Fashion offering to expand

With the appointment of Chris Viljoen as Sarie's fashion director, the new extended fashion department, which includes current fashion editor, Amaria Carstens, will see an expanded fashion offering, in both the magazine and the website, www.sarie.com.

With more than 16 years' experience in both the magazine and fashion retail industries, Viljoen has built a reputation for his approach to fashion, while remaining perfectly accessible to his market. Over the years, his contribution to fashion in South Africa has been acknowledged with awards, including two Picas and three Mondis.

Chris Viljoen

After a youthful stint in London as fashion shop-assistant, he started his career in Johannesburg as freelance-stylist for magazines and advertising clients. One of his first styling jobs was for Sarie in 1996. He went on to become fashion editor at De Kat, Indigo and Tribute, before joining the launch-team of FHM in 2000 as fashion director and later editing FHM Collections, a definitive yearly fashion supplement for men.

In 2006 he ventured into the corporate world as senior fashion consultant for Truworths, but was lured back to magazines in 2007 when he joined Elle SA as fashion director while also consulting for Woolworths.

Michélle van Breda, Sarie's editor says, "Bringing him back into the fold is very exciting for me as our working relationship goes back to my days as beauty editor and shooting covers. From first-hand experience I know he understands women, and particularly Afrikaans-speaking women, who are just waiting to be swept away by the exciting, but very real world of fashion. They deserve his brand of fashion inspiration."