Downtown Phoenix Voices is an ongoing series of profiles on the many diverse and inspirational voices in the downtown Phoenix community. To read the previous installment in the series, click here.
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Night owl Kharli Mandeville typically goes to bed at 6 a.m. after working a late shift at Grand Avenue Pizza Company. When she’s not working, Mandeville might be found painting or writing.
Mandeville is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Tilt Magazine, a feminist zine compiled of multiple writers’ pieces and artistic compositions. After Mandeville had a dream about owning a magazine and sharing the idea with friends, the zine was founded in July 2013.
One of her favorite aspects of her zine is the writers. Most of the writers are not professionals, but their pieces continue to amaze Mandeville and her friends who put the zine together. She thinks writing about feminism is important because she thinks a lot of things need to change — the issues are stagnant, she said.
“I just love zines and it’s so awesome to self-publish and you can do whatever you want,” Mandeville said.
She said it’s important to empower other people and for other people to empower themselves. And people could find inspiration in Tilt.
Her mother is a teacher who says she’s writing a novel. Her brother writes poetry. Her father is a poet and songwriter. Mandeville’s early interest in art compliments her family’s overall creativity. As she got older, she became more interested in feminism, delving into politics concerning sexuality and gender issues in the area.
“I think (Phoenix) just needs something where people feel like it’s a safe place to talk about the things that they feel need to be talked about, like body image and sexuality,” Mandeville said.
She attended ASU and hasn’t graduated yet, but student loans became expensive and she wanted to take a break to save money. She doesn’t regret going to college, but she thought time away was beneficial in figuring out who she is as a person.
“I was always so busy that I didn’t get to really have time to experience other things or do creative things that I wanted to do,” Mandeville said. “It was always just homework, so it is really nice to wake up and go, ‘Do I want to do a project today?’”
Heather Maher, co-founder and managing editor of Tilt, says she stays up all night with Mandeville, eating Taco Bell and working on writing. The two women have been friends for 2 1/2 years. They were neighbors in an apartment complex but hung out more regularly as time grew, especially with Tilt.
Maher describes her friend and business partner as a joyful soul who is passionate and hardworking. She said they are also a good balance for Tilt because she knows about the business side and Mandeville knows the editing experience.
“I am consistently impressed with her ability to be positive even when life happens,” Maher said. “She’s extremely creative, too. I’ll get a text at like 4 a.m. when I’m dead asleep.”
Mandeville was one of the first people to interview Aaron Hopkins-Johnson, owner of Lawn Gnome Publishing, when he was first opening his bookstore. He said she got a first peek at the empty shelves, and Hopkins-Johnson said their similar backgrounds helped him relate to Mandeville.
“Months later, she volunteered and worked for me,” he said. “I really enjoy her outlook on life. It greatly enforces her creativity and activism.”
Mandeville worked at Lawn Gnome Publishing for about 1 1/2 years. Hopkins-Johnson assisted her when she launched her feminist zine, from teaching her how to mass produce a zine on a smaller scale, to learning how to publish them.
Tilt’s most recent publication was released in April, but Maher said she and Mandeville tentatively hope to publish again in November.
Between working at Grand Avenue Pizza Company and publishing a zine, Mandeville maintains a strong work ethic and owns her passion in whatever she pursues.
“Anything I care about, I care about it times 1,000. I don’t really like doing things or caring about things halfway,” Mandeville said.
Contact the reporter at Samantha.Incorvaia@asu.edu
