Welcome to Ciao’s 300th issue. After 12 years we have delighted in sharing with you the duds, deals and vibrant personalities found here in the Inner West.
When we first started back in 2005, Norton St was the go-to for all Europeans and lovers of European culture, brides would walk down to the Forum, sub-woofers would be cranked up with Italo-hi-energy and Ciao was distributed to four suburbs (Leichhardt, Annandale, Stanmore and Petersham).
Fast forward to 2017 and Ciao is distributed to 20 suburbs in the Inner West and covers everything from Newtown’s street fashion to Concord’s cannoli. We’ve seen Mayors come and go, ridden the highs and lows of small business, with shops opening, closing, moving on-line, popping up, popping down and popping around.
We’ve seen some of our contributors ascend to International stardom – our first stylist is now a fashion director at Zara worldwide, our old gigs writer is Triple J host, our old in house model and writer is a red carpet regular and Fox presenter, the list goes on (and on).
In 2005, we were rebellious, irreverent and bold. Our “I think I’m hot” page was sexist (or so we were told), our covers were sexy (or had too many big boobs) and we were honest about bad food. Then we started to get advertisers, which was great because then everyone got paid and we could get even more people to contribute their wonderful ideas. It also meant that we toned down our coarse language, contemporised our look and became more accessible to a wider readership – and not just appealing to a cynical bunch of pre-hipster hipsters.
As we grew, so did our community. King St blossomed into one of Sydney’s destination jewels, Rhodes became a International Pokemon must and Norton St Festa became one of the biggest festivals in the country. Some things didn’t change: the traffic on Parramatta Road, the sea breeze at Mort Park and the good coffee at Bar Rizzo’s Five Dock.
Whatever may change or not change, we here at Ciao are grateful to have provided commentary on the musings of our beloved Inner West.
As we move to a new monthly print format and weekly e-letter, we look forward to the next decade of Inner West life and thank you for supporting us as an independent local publication, produced in the Inner West, providing local jobs and delivering thought provoking content.
Respect.
Team Ciao
