You Say You Want a Beauty Revolution
While we were reporting on Project Red Dress, we got a chance to schmooze with Seattle chapter of Fashion Group International board members Susan (Regional Director-Elect and Treasurer) and Janaea (Programs Chair), also the founders of Beauty Revolution magazine, Seattle's online beauty and fashion magazine. We caught up with them again online and conducted a Google Talk interview, because we're cool like that.
What can a fan/viewer expect to read about in your magazine?
Well...we would say all things fashion, beauty, and lifestyle...with an emphasis on an eco-conscious lifestyle.
So like, features on green living, beauty-wise, of course...like organic beauty products, natural fibers, etc?
Oh! Tons! In our Spring issue, coming mid-April, we have so much--it is amazing! It also features a Vogue award-winning designer and her couture wedding gowns.
Have you been involved in the green community for awhile?
(Susan) I helped manufacture organic makeup for some time. I actually hand-colorized and ground it. That is what really got me looking toward green beauty, which led me toward green fashion, textiles, and interiors. Our staff team members [BR employs 29] have also been heavily involved in the movement toward a more eco-conscious lifestyle before it was even considered a movement. For most of us it is a lifestyle and not a trend. Some of us are learning as we go along, but that is what BR is about, bridging the "gap" between living the life of not being aware and becoming aware.
What made you want to take your magazine online, and in the particular form that you did?
(Susan) All of the research that I had done pointed to online being the way of the future, with print publishing going out of business. The fact that our world is going more green every day, too, really made being on the Internet an issue. Janaea and I searched high and low for a great company that did animation and interactive e-flip to be ahead of everyone else--there are tons of e-magazines but very few animated, interactive e-flip magazines which (we believe) are the wave of the future.
What do you think is the future of conventional beauty magazines--will they follow suit?
Considering who has been looking at us and who we have heard through the grapevine that is looking at us, we really feel that the animated interactive e-flip newspapers and e-flip magazines are the wave of the future. Look at the Kindle and the Sony Reader and all the downloadable books and newspapers. Look at all the media this is getting. E-publishing is really it.
Do you think Seattleites will respond to your "revolution"?
Yes, because the Northwest region helped pioneer the eco-aware culture in the U.S. (though now it's worldwide--our statistics show that our largest site traffic comes from New York, followed by L.A., San Francisco, and London), and we do cover many Seattle designers and students.
