In an era of newsletters, podcasts, and endless feeds, not many people are starting print magazines. Pooja Lucie Willmann, founder of Taara Magazine, did it anyway. For her, the logic was simple. The more time we spend online, the more we crave something tangible to hold.

Drawing from her own multicultural upbringing, Pooja uses Taara to bridge the gap between South Asian and European perspectives with a kind of insight that only lived experience can provide.

We spoke with her about building a magazine from intuition and the growing appetite for tactile experiences.

You're half Indian, half French, grew up in London. How does sitting between those worlds change what you notice?

It made me adaptable and a bit of a chameleon. Because these cultures are so different from each other but share a particular appreciation for beauty and art, I suppose I've always sought that somehow. Where Europe is seen as more constrained and India more opulent, for me, there is actually so much crossover and it mostly comes down to expression and feeling. I'm a visual person in general and built internal worlds through these cultures—2000s Bollywood movies sets were so mystical and transporting. Equally, reading Air France Magazine I'd be mesmerised by the magic of fashion campaigns, these were maybe forms of escapism, surrealism. I feel very moved by colours, like right now I can't stop looking at a specific shade of light cobalt turquoise oil pastel…

At what point did you look at what was out there and decide you needed to build your own thing?

It was very candid and instinctive. I had never made a publication in my life, I just had a visual direction and a perspective I knew was important. I think Taara is very fresh, and there's an open-mindedness that attracts people. What I felt was lacking was a print magazine that was authentic, accessible, interesting, with a critical approach to culture between South Asia and Europe, and a real foot in both doors. Belonging to a ‘third culture’, I really resonated with the notion of having the privilege but also the responsibility of telling that unique story. There’s so much out there and I'm scratching the surface, but it's the most exciting thing I've ever done.

It's 2026 and you're selling out print runs and reprinting. What is a physical magazine giving people that a screen isn't?

People want to be well-read, informed, interesting, forward-thinking. We’ve reached digital saturation but work, research, social connection, and convenience always bring us back to our screens.

There’s a logical thirst for tangible and in-person experiences.

The magazine is non-algorithm-driven and forces people to pause and read rather than quickly scroll. Taara also promotes cultural exchange, critical thinking, and representation which I think is more and more valuable today.

What does it actually take to produce an issue of Taara? Walk us through it.

With the last edition, it started as a really interesting notion that set a spark, after which I filed everything mentally until there was enough proof to make it a theme. Then the magic of word of mouth, research, and coincidence takes place… like when you notice something and then start seeing it everywhere. I then make a list of articles and begin the outreach. The content is either outsourced or created by me, usually going through two rounds of edits before it makes it to the Indesign file. I sit in on long meetings with my graphic designer, Pavitt Kaur, outlining the ideas for layout. The formatting and editing are the most tedious parts, as well as chasing up for content and approvals. I then receive paper and colour swatches, select the printing combination, and when it's been checked and re-read approximately 20 times, it goes to print. This process is usually delayed. Then the launch, distribution, and event planning journey begins.

Who are the South Asian creatives in Paris and London doing work right now that more people need to see?

You’ll see in our next edition! And more digital exclusives coming up too :)

If you had to commission people from your network for a dream project tomorrow, who are they and why?

My friends in the industry constantly inspire me and push my vision, I feel very grateful. It's hard to choose but I felt so drawn to Aaryan Sinha’s Jugaad series from the moment he described it through sketches and notes last year. In Hindi, it means an improvised or innovative solution to a problem at hand, and in India, it's also a state of mind and a way of living, fixing things with a temporary tool. I love the idea of photographing that and conveying this feeling of playfulness and inventiveness.

He's already done an iteration of the project named ‘Art of Balancing’ with Kartik Research, shown at Paris Fashion Week in January, but it would be amazing to push it further into other disciplines and feature Jugaad in Taara!

Your next issue is about craftsmanship?

I'd like to think we’re bringing together a worldview that feels timely and true. We want to platform next generation talent from South Asia, France, and the UK, up-to-date expert analyses on the state of craft today, established brands on their growth and process (as case studies), interviews with Indian embroidery houses and artisan collectives, as well as craft foundations in Europe. I really want to dig into the notion of preserving a specific craft in today’s economy, and craftsmanship being a force of empowerment in India, but also a source of inconsistency and contradiction. The next edition will definitely be more research-heavy, and we also plan to provide a guidebook at the end with some key actionable takeaways from all the articles.

You're putting together Issue 5 with bespoke fabric covers made from the materials of the artisans you're featuring. Could you share more about it?

Taara is a physical object but also an ever-evolving art form. It's fun to think of it as tactile, engaging, multilayered. I also want it to be collectible, something that people reference as representing a particular period in time. Going back to the craving for tactile experiences, it's the perfect way for audiences to experience the craft and materiality behind the interviews in the magazine, and hopefully inspire innovation and ideas from that.

What's on your nightstand right now? What are you reading, listening to, looking at?

I’m reading a book by Joan Didion and on rotation I have The Life of Forms by Alessandro Michele and Emanuele Coccia, a recently gifted A Dictionary of Color Combinations book, and a finished but amazing copy of The Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love listening to Saveria Mandella’s Les Gens de La Mode podcast, and I've picked up an obsession over the last month for coloured Japanese writing pens.

What are you most excited about for the rest of 2026?

Scaling the mag, and using all the knowledge and experience I've gained over the past year and a half to make the best version of Taara yet! And as always, meeting kind and passionate people along the way, learning new things about a specific topic, and expanding my worldview…

What's the one thing you wish existed for South Asian creatives in Europe that doesn't yet?

A space!! A cool cultural centre kind of like the Union de la Jeunesse Internationale in Paris, where workshops, exhibitions, panels, pop ups, events, screenings, readings all happen in one building.

What is Taara Mag ultimately trying to make possible?

A physical and metaphorical bridge between two parts of the world, a space where shared values are highlighted, ideas are exchanged, emotions are sparked. There's so much more that unites us than not.

Banner photo courtesy of @poojalucie

auster

Pooja Lucie Willmann, founder of Taara Magazine, thinks the more time we spend online, the more we crave something tangible to hold.

auster