Dear frankie

CARE TO TELL US WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

Dear frankie, I’m a recent addition to your reading set, and an avid magazine reader, and I think you are second to none. I’ve never felt so seen as a woman. Your variety of voices is a salve to the soul. It’s not often I feel represented when reading media, but frankie handles this with flair. I walk away from an issue assured of the woman I am, never doubting my choices. Your “Class of 2021” article in issue 104 has also inspired me to create a plan for my upcycling/vintage business and, for that, I am so grateful. Thank you for being such a positive publication. You probably don’t know quite how much you mean to your readers, but you’re incredible. Tamara

Dear frankie, The debate about dogs on the bed resonated with me as my husband and I have become first-time dog owners. While I’ve had dogs since I was a child, his hesitation to get one resulted in years of arguing. “I won’t get a small dog!” he says. Our big girl is three kilos. “I won’t dress it up in silly costumes!” he says. She wears a fancy dress to the park for most walks. The final argument was having the dog on the bed. He held out for months, citing OH&S as though we were being audited monthly. However, after a recent bout of illness, he relented and spent many a day cuddling the dog on forbidden land. She may have her own bed, but ‘the big bed’ is now her favourite. This article gave us a very good laugh and perhaps a slight reality check as to how spoilt our dog truly is. Love, Jess

Dearest frankie, It’s been almost a year to the day that I lost my little one, but reading the ‘Strange Bedfellows’ debate in issue 104 gave me a well-needed laugh. Thank you for reminding me how wonderful it was to have a little being around with no concept of personal space and a lotta love to give. Mon x

What a joy to open your Nov/dec edition and see our beautiful little town of Alice Springs shown off for all to see! I have faithfully bought your magazine for two years since I moved from England to the Northern Territory and have longed for more representation of our beautiful Territory and all it has to offer. We may be small in population but we are mighty in art, culture and landscape! I hope this article on Alice Springs (which was a wonderful representation) is just the beginning of even more NT features. A very happy Alice Springs girl, Sarah

Dearest frankie, I have been collecting your beautiful magazine since issue 81. It has given me so much joy to pop into my local newsagent on the first Monday of every second month to grab a new issue. But as I recently started going to boarding school, I’ve found it more and more difficult to grab an issue, which unfortunately led to me missing issue 103! There has been no other time in my life where I’ve felt more disappointed in myself. Thank you, frankie, or providing an awesome magazine that made me beg my librarian for a copy of issue 103. So much love, Liv xx

Dear frankie, A few months ago I walked down to my local newsagency to pick up a copy of frankie. The lady at the register

smiled and said, “You know, the man only gives me two of these, and you’re the first to buy one of them.” I told her I haven’t missed an issue since I was 14, which is true. I don’t live at home anymore – I live in Wollongong for university – so I get homesick quite a lot. Every time I pick up a new issue of frankie, I feel a little bit more at ease. I had a collection of every issue from 2014–2019 in my childhood home, but since the house burnt down in the bushfires in 2019, I have had to begin anew. Thank you for being consistent throughout my life and for being the reason why I always get compliments on my wall art. If my friends could describe my aesthetic in one word, it would be frankie. Love, Sarah

Dear Emily Naismith, I too handle objects with care, as though they have feelings. Maybe we don’t know everything there is to know about science yet, but we do know that microbial consciousness is potentially a thing, and that humans are more microbial than we once thought. Maybe such microbes are also part of food. I have no background on this topic, but I do have an anxious imagination. I fear my microbes will still be aware after my body dies, and that they will be trapped, or bored, or otherwise uncomfy! Your article helped me feel less alone in analysing objects’ feelings. Caroline :)

Dear frankie, You’re the first magazine I bought when I was 17. I was on a six-hour road trip for my cousin’s wedding and I read my copy front to back and back to front, periodically looking out the window to see where we were. I then used the 2018 wall calendar to cross off each day until I moved from New Zealand to England in December of that year. Once I had made the move and settled in, I searched everywhere to find a frankie magazine to no avail. I would check the same magazine rack every couple of months just to see if one magically appeared. After two years of looking, I FINALLY found somewhere I could buy frankie! When I had a new issue in my hands, I felt like I was back on that road trip, in the back of the car and looking out at my wonderful country. Thank you for bringing that feeling back every time I get a copy. Love, Hannah x

THE LETTER OF THE ISSUE WINS A PAIR OF TEVA’S WOMEN’S ORIGINAL UNIVERSAL SANDALS IN ORION BLUE MULTI, RRP $99.95, FROM AU.TEVA.COM

Dearest darling frankie, You’ve been in my life for over a decade now. And almost every time I pick you up, I’m moved to tears (sometimes they’re happy tears and sometimes I’m just so incredibly moved that I can’t help but weep). I’ve just turned 30, and I’ve also just been diagnosed with ADHD. When I read Leta Keens’s piece ‘What it’s like to be diagnosed with ADHD at age 48’ (issue 104), tears silently streamed down my face. I’ve never felt as seen, or as understood, as I do now that I’ve read about, and talked to, other people who were diagnosed later in life. I’ve also never been as kind to myself as I am now. I think that’s been the biggest lesson. I loved Leta’s piece and I love you, too. Love always, GG xoxo