The December 2026 edition of I Love North Shields Magazine will be our 19th and final printed issue. We have also made the decision to begin the process of dissolving I Love North Shields CIC. But I Love North Shields will never dissapear how can it?

I wanted to share how it all began, what we have achieved together and why I have decided to take a different direction.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

When I moved to North Shields in 2023, I started a personal Instagram account to share photographs of our beautiful town, I named the channel I Love North Shields.

I was fascinated by its history, architecture, independent businesses, streets and, most importantly, its people. I wanted to share what I was discovering and celebrate the everyday culture that makes North Shields special.

During a community meeting inviting ideas for the North Shields 800 celebrations, I suggested creating a local magazine.

The idea was simple: to give local people a platform to tell their own stories.

As a graphic designer, web designer and publisher, I already had the skills to create and produce a magazine. I could do much of the work myself, so rather than waiting for funding or permission, I decided to get started. This was a labour of love and a way for me to meet new people.

My neighbour, Claire Dodds, generously funded the first printed issues, helping turn an idea into something real.

Our first magazine was published in May 2024.

From there, writers, photographers, artists, businesses and volunteers began contributing. What started as a personal project grew into a collaborative community publication.

By December 2026, we will have published 19 editions.

That is something I am enormously proud of.

MORE THAN A MAGAZINE — A MOVEMENT

I Love North Shields has always stood for something bigger than a publication.

It stands for unity, connection, collaboration and pride in our town.

It is about bringing people together, championing those who make a difference and giving a platform and a voice to people whose stories deserve to be told.

Not just the people who make the headlines, but the everyday people who make North Shields what it is.

The independent shopkeeper, the artist, the musician, the volunteer, the person who has lived here for generations and the newcomer bringing fresh ideas.The writer who now has their work published.

We believe that everyone has a story worth telling.

We also believe that communities become stronger when people support one another, share ideas and take pride in where they live.

Over the past two and a half years, I Love North Shields has brought together people from different backgrounds, generations and walks of life.

Through our magazine, social media channels, photo walks, events and community activities, we have made so many wonderful connections and friendships.

People who might never otherwise have met have discovered shared interests, supported one another and become part of something bigger.

For me, that has been one of the greatest achievements of I Love North Shields.

We may all have different backgrounds, interests, skills and ideas, but we have one thing in common: we love North Shields.

That is what brings us together.

I Love North Shields is not defined by a magazine or a company structure. It is a movement of people who care about their town and want to celebrate the good things happening here.

And that will continue.

WHY I ESTABLISHED THE CIC

As the magazine grew, so did the number of contributors and the amount of work involved.

I Love North Shields Community Interest Company was established to explore funding opportunities and create a structure that could support the magazine and accommodate more local writers, photographers and contributors.I was recommended to this.

The aim was to make the publication sustainable, provide opportunities for local people to share their work and develop a community-led platform.

I Love North Shields was originally created by me independently, before the CIC existed. I retained ownership of the brand and licensed its use to the CIC for its activities.

We have spent considerable time exploring funding opportunities, but unfortunately have not been successful in securing the financial support needed.

Producing a community magazine requires considerable resources. Printing, production and distribution all come at a cost, and sustaining the magazine means continually seeking advertising, sponsorship and other financial support.

And this is where I have had to be realistic.

I love creating, designing, publishing, telling stories and bringing people together. But selling advertising, seeking sponsorship, fundraising and managing the administration of an organisation are not the things I set out to do.

Producing a 64-page magazine is already a substantial undertaking. Combining that with coordinating contributors and volunteers, managing finances, seeking funding and running a CIC has become increasingly difficult. The core group of writers have been aware of this for a long time and have tried to help but we have just not been able to make it work.

Much of this work has been done, alongside running my own business.

After considerable reflection, I have recognised that I can no longer commit the time and energy required to create a magazine.

The responsibility of managing people, coordinating projects and carrying much of the workload has taken its toll, and I need to make changes.

This is not a reflection on the wonderful people who have contributed to I Love North Shields. Their generosity, enthusiasm and commitment have made so much possible.

It is simply an acknowledgement that the current model is not sustainable for me.

For these reasons, we have made the decision to begin the process of dissolving I Love North Shields CIC.

MY INDEPENDENT WORK AND COMMON GROUND

Alongside I Love North Shields, I run my own business as a sole trader, working in design, publishing, communications and creative projects.

I am currently working independently on behalf of the Beacon Centre to recruit and curate traders for Common Ground, the new indoor market being developed inside the former Wilko premises in North Shields.

This is my own professional work, separate from I Love North Shields and the CIC.

My role involves bringing together an eclectic mix of independent businesses, makers, creatives and specialist retailers, helping people find opportunities to establish and grow their businesses.

It is work I genuinely enjoy because it combines creativity, collaboration, supporting independent enterprise and bringing people together.

I Love North Shields is a media partner for Common Ground, sharing developments and telling the stories of the businesses involved, just as we do for other local businesses and community initiatives. We use our platform to share all local news from North Shields, share your stories, press releases etc.

As I develop my own professional work, I also need to be realistic about the commitments I can manage.

I cannot continue producing a magazine, running a CIC, managing volunteers, seeking funding and maintaining the platform alongside my independent work without making changes.

I want to focus on the things I do best and continue contributing to North Shields in a way that is positive, creative and sustainable.

THE FINAL PRINTED MAGAZINE

Our December 2026 edition will be the 19th and final printed issue of I Love North Shields Magazine.

It has been an extraordinary journey, and I am proud of every edition we have produced.

Together, we have created a collection of stories that captures the people, places, history and everyday culture of North Shields.

Those stories will remain available for everyone to enjoy.

You can read all our published issues online, free of charge:

https://fliphtml5.com/bookcase/afvlh

The December edition will complete the collection of 19 issues.

We also plan to make all previous printed copies available for people to browse at Common Ground in the Beacon Centre.

I hope that, in years to come, people will look back through these magazines and discover something about the town, its people and the times in which we lived.

WHAT WILL CONTINUE?

The printed magazine will come to an end, and the CIC will be dissolved, but the platform will continue independently under my ownership as a sole trader as the platform excisted before the magazine was ever published.

Our Instagram, Facebook and other social media channels will remain active, as will our website.

Our community photo walks will continue, bringing people together to explore North Shields, discover new perspectives, share their creativity and enjoy the town through photography.

And importantly, our writers, photographers and contributors are still part of the bigger vision.

We have built a wonderful network of people who share a passion for North Shields. That doesn’t disappear because we are no longer producing a printed magazine.

Our contributors will continue to have a platform for their work, and we will keep welcoming new voices and ideas.

We have made so many friends along the way. Friendships have formed through our photo walks, events, magazine projects and the simple act of bringing people together.

Those connections are worth more than any organisational structure.

We all bring something different, and that is what makes I Love North Shields special.

We don’t all have to do the same things, agree on everything or have the same interests. What connects us is our shared love for North Shields.

Moving forward, I want to return to the simplicity of what inspired me in the first place: discovering interesting people, sharing photographs, documenting everyday culture and celebrating our town.

Without the pressure of producing a printed magazine every three months or managing the responsibilities of a CIC, there will be more freedom to focus on the stories, connections and creative projects that matter.

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF OUR STORY

I want to thank everyone who has been part of I Love North Shields magazine.

To Claire Dodds, whose generosity helped fund our first magazines. To our editorial team, writers, photographers, artists, volunteers, advertisers, distribution partners and everyone who has shared a story or supported the publication.

And to everyone who has picked up a magazine, followed our social media channels, joined a photo walk, attended an event, visited our website or shared something we have published.

Thank you.

What began as a personal Instagram account has grown into a platform that has brought people together, celebrated countless local stories and created a lasting record of North Shields.

For me, the greatest reward has always been the people I have met, the friendships we have made, the stories we have discovered and the connections that have grown along the way.

I hope everyone who has contributed feels proud of what we have achieved together.

The magazine was one way of sharing our stories. The CIC was an attempt to make that work sustainable. But I Love North Shields has always been about something much bigger: people, unity, connection and a shared love for our town.

Our contributors, our friends and our community are still part of that bigger vision.

Those things do not end with a final printed issue or a change in organisational structure.

I will keep championing North Shields, celebrating everyday culture, supporting independent businesses, bringing people together and giving a voice to those whose stories deserve to be told.

We started with a shared love for North Shields. And that is what will keep us going.

Thank you for being part of our story.

Simmie Harper
Founder & Editor
I Love North Shields

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