“This is where we are going to write all our big ideas," said my editor-in-chief as she pulled an oversized whiteboard from behind her cardboard box of vinyl records, dusted off the grimy writing surface and propped it between a stack of CDs, a pile of dog-eared paperback books and a drowning potted plant. “And this, this is just leaking, it has not been loved for a long time,” she added, dumping what was left of her coffee into its terracotta base.
During my four months in the UK, I served as the personal and editorial assistant to Kirsty Allison, editor-in-chief of the literary and fashion magazine COLD LIPS. I received press passes to participate in events such as London Fashion Week and London Book Fair, along with taking part in the publishing process, from the original stack of unorganized papers to the last bound booklet. We built the issue from the ground up, out of an old warehouse, a swanky members club, a movie theatre cafe and a shed where we tacked photographs on wooden walls. Together, we did things the old-fashioned way, physically piecing pages together on the living room floor. I redesigned the website, updated the blog and posted on social media. I made calls, wrote emails, transcribed interviews, ran errands, fetched countless cups of coffee and papered the city with flyers. Finally, we planned a launch party where we sold out of copies and the bar was bled dry.
Please scroll through the photos below to get a feel of my time spent there...
I visited the designer show rooms during London Fashion Week, discussing art and fashion with countless designers as potential subjects and leads for later COLD LIPS editions. In addition, I had the privilege of attending the private event of the International Fashion Showcase presented by Mercedes Benz. The event was held at the Somerset House in London displaying installations from up-and-coming artists with individual stories from around the world.
I also attended London Book Fair just weeks before the magazine launch. There, I was able to see big-time publishers in comparison to the many small presses I worked with while in the U.K.
Finally, along with attending major corporate events, I participated in the COLD LIPS sister project: The Sylvia Plath Fan Club. Kirsty Allison organized this event for several years, bringing in poets from all around London, and sometimes around the world. I helped to organize the sixth and final meeting, which doubled as a COLD LIPS II pre-launch. A video of my performance can be viewed below:
no one drinks sarsaparilla, The Union Club, 20 March 2017