We made a magazine!
Introducing: Camille Styles EDIT
Once there was a girl who loved fashion magazines more than anything. It started with American Girl (core memory: winning AG's national short story contest, officially peaked), then became an obsession when her mom finally let her buy a copy of YM. Makeup, fashion, the prom? Next level. She'd find a quiet corner in her small town’s library where she’d sit for hours reading the free copies of Seventeen and Cosmo. This was also where she discovered Martha Stewart, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet—and through them, a whole new universe of cooking, traveling, and decorating.
She'd save up money to buy her own copies, then carefully cut out the images that spoke to her and spend hours creating collages and mood boards that covered the walls of her bedroom. (She went through a lot of Modpodge.)
When it was time to start thinking about college, she decided to study journalism at the University of Missouri. It was 2002, and the internet hadn’t upended the magazine world quite yet. People had their newspapers delivered, and the September issue of Vogue was still incredibly heavy. But still—things were changing, and she decided that instead of putting all her eggs in the magazine basket, she’d major in "strategic communications." Multiple viewings of What Women Want had impressed upon her the glamorous world of advertising (lol).
And so her path began—it was a winding one that included a short stint in fashion PR, an internship at an ad agency, and then falling rather randomly into event planning. This was the time when “lifestyle blogs” were just starting to be a thing. It was an exciting place to create, though it would be years before most people saw writing online as a "real job" and not just a hobby.
She started a blog, and threw herself into this new way of sharing her inspiration and ideas, posting the beautiful spaces and delicious recipes that made her heart beat faster. And it wasn’t until years later that she realized she'd been living out her childhood dreams of creating a magazine all along. It didn't look like what she’d imagined, but turns out, she'd stepped into her editor-in-chief shoes long ago.
Today, it feels very full circle to announce that we're launching an actual magazine this season. One with a cover story, a table of contents, and the most incredibly inspiring content that our team has been working on for months. We're starting as a quarterly digital magazine, and I hope that you love reading this first issue as much as our team loved creating it.
You can grab your copy here (we’re giving away the first issue for free!).
And of course, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments. Drop a note and let me know what you think!
xo,
Camille
Thank you for generously letting readers see your magazine for free at first. Great recipes. Can hardly wait to make the onion chutney and garlic mushroom chicken thighs!
What an exciting extension of Camille Styles! I can't wait to read it.