Editor’s Letter: February 2016

I have always been in love with the idea of love. It’s why I relish the promise of a first date, read Jane Austen novels, karaoke almost exclusively to Patsy Cline songs, and watched Steel Magnolias so much growing up that my parents had to replace the tape. And, of course, I am not alone. Love, in one form or another, has been the muse of many, and was our single source of inspiration for the February issue.

When we began conceptualizing this year’s Love Issue, it was with an understanding that love stories come in many forms. While you will still find our trademark “Real Weddings” feature (page 50), we also had some fun celebrating the universal things that everyone loves about our city in “I Love You So Much” (page 64). Former editor Lauren Smith Ford returns to the pages of TRIBEZA to share her own love story and show us the splendid and wondrous wilds of Colorado’s Dunton Hot Springs in “Romance at 11,000 Feet” (page 76). We also pay visits to a wedding photographer, chocolate maker and the women of buzzed about dating app Bumble.

But perhaps the most timely meditation happened in Dan Gentile’s piece, “Love Now” (page 42). As we all know, when the Love Issue was released last year, gay marriage was not legal in Texas. We wanted to honor the Supreme Court’s momentous decision by profiling three couples and asking them what that historic moment back in June meant to them, both as individuals and as partners.

When we return in March for our annual Music + Film issue, TRIBEZA will look a little different. In honor of our 15th anniversary, Art Director Ashley Horsley has been hard at work on a redesign that looks fresh, thoughtful and utterly TRIBEZA. Expect new departments, new ways of storytelling (both in print and digital) and even a new cover design. We can’t wait to share it with you.