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As Bailiwick Express's sister publication, Connect, celebrates its 100th edition... We take a look back at some of its most memorable cover stories.
'To stimulate, to challenge and to inform' - this was the original mission statement for Connect when we launched it in April 2011.
And that’s exactly what we have done intervening decade - one which has seen sectors (fulfilment) disappear, recessions recede (and reappear), and politicians react to circumstance (and sometimes a long-term vision) to shape the way we live our daily working lives.
That’s always been the touchstone for Connect – beneath the political speeches, and macro-economic trends, are we telling the stories from the working lives of islanders themselves?
In the foreword to that first edition, this is the task we set ourselves: “...[to bring] together the diverse stories of those many thousands of people who make working in Jersey the pleasure we all, at times, know it can be. We hope it will add real depth to our understanding of what it means to ‘do business’ in Jersey. Why? Because by looking closely in a balanced and measured way at what we do now, we may well understand the way the island needs to go forward.”
That remains true to this day.
"I’d like to thank all of the readers and advertisers who together have made Connect into the Channel Islands’ premier business publication," James Filleul, Editor, said.
"As we head into our second century of editions, there are of course challenges ahead – but there is also optimism and firm foundations on which to build. Enjoy Connect."
We've picked out some of our favourite covers from the last 10 years, with a brief summary of the stories they each tell...
As well as tell the stories of the big multi-nationals, Connect has also focused on the small, family-run businesses which together make up the fabric of the business community. This month’s cover was a great example.
In this edition, we profiled The Loving Chair Company, with Alex Luxo-Piazza and her daughter Brontey – theirs is a great story of how the creative industries are alive and well in Jersey, and providing alternative career options for islanders.
Connect has always picked up the issues which are real importance to the working lives of local people – in this edition, the opportunities and challenges experienced by working mums.
On the cover was Lucy Morris, a lady who moved on from a career in financial services to open Nude Food; she tells a story of the entrepreneurship, the courage to think (and act) differently, which fuels our economic success.
This month’s cover profiled a group of people who are all trying to put the mojo back into the farming sector.
Over the last decade, Connect has profiled every part our economy, but always looking for fresh perspectives – they are easy to find, if you look hard enough, and we believe part of our role is to encourage islanders to look at traditional sectors, such as agriculture, in new ways.
Connect has repeatedly highlighted the trials faced by the retail sector over the last decade – in some ways, the story of our high street tells the story of our wider economy. In this edition, we focused right in on the jewellery trade, and how one group of family businesses was navigating the changing market.
One of them, Colin Letto, is now no longer with us, and we would like to pay tribute to one of the most popular members of Jersey’s retail community. He was a true gentleman.
It was tourism which made the cover this month, and specifically how the knife and fork has replaced the bucket and spade as the everyday icons to denote the sector.
In the highly competitive battle for potential tourists, Jersey is appealing to the tastebuds – we profiled some of the chefs in the culinary front line.
Connect has always taken a very broad view of ‘business’ – we don’t see it as the domain of pinstripes and spreadsheets, we see it as something which links, funds, excites and unifies almost everyone in the island. So, we don’t exclude ‘news’ stories, particularly ones such as coronavirus, which have changed everything.
Three months after producing a special edition of the magazine in tribute to the island's frontline heroes, we zoomed in on the Corona King, Dr Ivan Muscat, in his pandemic eyrie.
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