British youth culture captured perfectly in new mag Collection of Documentaries

“C.O.D is what it says on the tin,” says Lee Crichton, editor and creator of Collection of Documentaries – a weighty tome celebrating a gritty adoration of British culture. “The magazine started off as me thinking I wanted to recreate The Face, which obviously was impossible. I starting researching British-inspired magazines and thought there was a gap to create something new and fresh. I then got in touch with Sheryl Garrett of The Face for advice on how to put such a publication together.”

And what a publication. Sparsely designed and so heavy it flops about pleasantly in your arms like a big bag of chips, C.O.D really is unlike anything else on the magazine racks – maybe because it’s more like a book. The photo essays by some of the most exciting and up-and-coming photographers from all over the world are a lovely mix of homoerotic, violent and nostalgic, and are accompanied by beautiful, small passages of text by the contributors. Towards the rear end of the magazine, photographer Elizabeth Gregory writes: “I look out across London tonight, my sparkly ugly London, I think of everyone who has stood here before me. The politicians, the campaigners, the workers, the novelists, the poor, the mods, the rockers, and the punks. I am suddenly devoured by my insignificance: it’s all so much bigger than me. And then I am slightly comforted, because after all this, this is Britain.”

Refreshingly, London-based hairdresser Lee has made a solid decision not to get involved in any social media surrounding the publication. “C.O.D is keeping up to date with the Instagram way of life in creating an image-based publication. The online world is becoming a bit tiresome we believe, people want something to hold. This isn’t just a magazine, it’s a design piece so it should be something you’re proud to have in your home.”

C.O.D has been something of a journey for Lee, it’s his first printed publication and – as anyone who’s ever single-handedly tried to get a magazine off the ground will appreciate – it’s been a bit of a nightmare. Lee’s backer pulled out last minute and he had to cut people’s hair quicker than Edward Scissorhands to raise the money in time. Still, it hasn’t put him off – now C.O.D is appearing in shops and the feedback is coming in, he’s already planning his next issue. His advice to anyone else giving it a go? “Believe! Try and create something meaningful to you, because if you don’t believe in it no one else will. Get in touch with someone you admire who has made a publication, and if they don’t reply then pester them until they do. Getting advice from your idol will make you succeed, well it did for me…”

Collection of Documentaries will be on sale exclusively at Artwords until 15 February and also via the C.O.D site.