Ever since I was a little girl I have been slightly obsessed with stationary, the perfect ballpoint pen or finding that good pencil (you know the one I’m talking about). I have always loved writing stories and putting them together in a “newsletter” to deliver to my mom or simply keep in a folder for myself. I was always so excited on the those special occasions I would actually be able to buy the latest issue of seventeen magazine or one of the other myriad of teen magazines at the grocery store checkout. I always wanted to be a part of creating one of these but honestly I’ve never really had the opportunity where I live.

While brainstorming recently it dawned on me that the skills I have in photography, marketing, branding and web design are really well suited for a magazine so why not start my own? Aside from the fact I’ve never been part of a magazine before, never mind run one, I knew I would have a lot to do in the business side as well as the creative side. I met a lovely woman named Sarah Hartley who just launched the first issue of her magazine Holl & Lane and has been a huge help by answering questions and letting me bounce ideas off of her.

After a lot of thought and back and forth I am so excited to introduce you to Willow House Magazine! Our first issue will be launching in September and I am very excited about the team I am building to help make this what I know it can be. I am still building my team so if you are interested in joining in the fun check out our website here.

Following this dream has been super intimidating, especially after my first meeting with the Small Business Development Center to discuss my business plan and learning about what a “burn rate” is. I know if I can just keep going it will be worth it. It’s all very exciting and scary but someone tweeted at me recently and said “Anything worth doing is always found outside of your comfort zone!”. I couldn’t agree more…