Editor's Life: How to pitch your feature ideas

In this month's Editor's Life post, I am sharing some practical tips for anyone who is interested in becoming a 91 Magazine contributor, or would like to pitch an idea for a feature, but isn't sure how. All magazines work differently and all editor's will manage their contributors and submissions differently, so this is really a little bit of a guide to how we do it here at 91.... 

NOTE: This guide is for individuals wishing to contribute editorial content - writers, photographers, stylists, illustrators etc. It is not for brands or PR agencies. We do love working with brands though, but you are best to check out our WORKING WITH BRANDS page.

1. KNOW THE MAGAZINE - It may seem hard to believe, but I occasionally get emails from people who want to contribute, but have clearly never laid eyes on the magazine, apart from possibly spotting a pic of it on Instagram! Before even thinking of ideas to pitch, make sure you know the magazine really well. Most magazines will have a loose structure that they adhere to each issue, so you'll be able to see a pattern for the regular features, and for the types of topics and style of article they run. The majority of 91 Magazine focusses on spaces - homes, shops, cafes, restaurants, creative workspaces etc. - so for example, it is unlikely we will run a feature solely on an online business, although if the owner has a lovely home, this could work for a home tour. If you have a great idea but not sure it would fit in the magazine, then perhaps suggest it might suit our blog instead. (Again, make sure to get to know the blog content too!) 

2. PLAN AHEAD - All magazines work quite far in advance, most are putting together their Christmas editions in the summer. At 91, we publish two print editions a year - S/S and A/W. S/S publishes in April and A/W in October. That means, that we are planning each issue at least 6 months in advance. So for example, if you are interested in contributing to our S/S issue, then you would need to start thinking about submitting ideas for this in the Autumn, as we will have our editorial meeting to plan the content in October. 

3. JOIN OUR MAILING LISTS - We have a contributors mailing list, and this is how I contact our contributors as a group to let them know when we are looking for content, when we are looking for a contributor to cover an event or shoot something, and generally keep you abreast of the projects we are planning etc. If you are keen to be added to this, then please email me (caroline@91magazine.co.uk) and tell me a little bit about your work, with links to it ideally. It's also worth being on our general mailing list, as this goes out once a month and keeps you in the loop about what kind of content we are sharing on our blog, when our new issues arrive etc. You can register your email address for that here.

4. CONSIDER PITCHING FOR OUR OTHER PLATFORMS - As we only publish the print magazine twice a year, it is worth considering contributing to our other ongoing platforms, so that we can work together regularly. We currently post on the 91 Magazine blog twice a week, so there are lots of opportunities to write guest posts. We can only offer a minimal fee for blog posts, generally just to cover minor expenses, but it is a good idea to start with this, as it helps for us to get to know your work, and we are then more likely to be comfortable commissioning you for the magazine. We also publish a quarterly e-zine - Seek Inspire Create by 91 Magazine - which is a 12 page digital magazine, which is free for our mailing lists subscribers. (Another good reason to sign up!) This publishes in Aug, Nov, Feb and May. We do pay a small fee for print magazine features and a very small fee for the e-zine, but we are always striving to grow the magazine and increase fees over time. 

5. FOLLOW AND ENGAGE ON SOCIAL - It always helps to engage socially first as we will then potentially know of you and your work before you get in touch. This is absolutely not mandatory, and you certainly won't get priority this way, but it is definitely nice to engage and chat like this. You can find 91 on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

6. WRITE A SHORT SYNOPSIS / PROVIDE VISUALS - Once you are ready to submit your ideas, the first thing to do is find out who you are emailing and address them by name! This should be easy if you have done point no. 1 here! It's a small detail, but does make a difference. Then simply introduce yourself if you haven't already (including links to your work) and then write a short paragraph about the idea/s you've got. 

• Writers - you may have an idea but don't have professionally shot photographs. That is totally fine, but it is ideal if you can provide some kind of visuals, whether they are snapshots, a link to images online, or an Instagram page etc. Great photography is paramount for us, so it's worth considering whether it's a space that we might be able to arrange to shoot.

• Photographers - If you've got a shoot you'd like to share then low res files or a PDF initially is fine, along with some details of the space. If you'd like to pitch a space to shoot that is great, but again, it would be ideal if you can give us some visuals to look at to see if it will be suitable.

• Stylists - We use stylists for a few of our magazine features, either working on our brand collaborations, or producing a styled story shoot. You can either put yourself forward for these, or you can submit a story idea - this might be trend led, or diy/craft ideas etc.

• Illustrators - It's slightly different for illustrators as you are not generally pitching an idea. Please do just get in touch with a link to your work, and we will be in touch if your style suits one of the features that we commission illustration for. Let us know if you want to go on the contributors mailing list.

7. DON'T BE DISHEARTENED - Please don't get disheartened if your first idea is not accepted. Sometimes we may have already ran a similar feature, or it's just not the right fit. Do feel free to submit more ideas and hopefully we can find the right thing to work on together. 

I hope that is helpful to anyone who has perhaps been thinking of getting in touch about contributing but has been nervous or unsure how to go about it. If you have any questions about anything I haven't covered here, feel free to comment or drop me an email, I promise I am not a scary 'Devil Wears Prada' editor! :) 

Editor's Life: Behind the Scenes on photoshoot day

Through the series of Editor's Life posts, I want to give a little insight into my life as editor of 91 Magazine. You can catch up on the full story of how the magazine started and evolved here, but today I thought I'd give you a little look behind the scenes on one of our home tour photo shoots. 

Generally, I don't get to go on many of the shoots due to juggling childcare and my other work, but when I can, I do try to get to some. For our current issue we shot the home of Colleen Larmour, owner of Little Carousel, a children's toy and decor brand. I actually went to art college with Colleen many years ago, and she lives very close to where I grew up in Northern Ireland. 

I commissioned photographer Jemma Watts for the shoot, and we travelled over to Belfast back in March (nearly missing our flight as we nattered away in departures!) 

Jemma had viewed some snaps of Colleen's home before the shoot, but otherwise she had not seen the space before. So the first thing we did when we arrived early that morning was to have a walk around the house and work out what order to shoot the rooms in, dictated by where the light is throughout the day.

With the light at the front of the house, we started off in the bedroom. Generally, I prefer not to change too much about how the homeowner has styled the space, but because we have to consider when the issue will publish we have to think about the seasonality of the images. So for example, here Colleen had a fur coat hanging on the wall, which looked great - but we decided to swap it for this bright yellow vintage dress, which looked beautiful next to the daffodils and tulips - and much more suited for our S/S publication date. 

There's a lot of standing on chairs (sorry Colleen!) and squeezing into corners to get the angle of the shot just right, so there's often a lot of furniture moving involved. When it comes to styling, as I say, I like to keep this to a minimum, but it's sometimes just a case of a tiny tweak, like removing a cushion, or rotating a plant that makes all the difference to the shot. Before moving on to the next room, we'll have a check through the images that have been taken so far, to make sure we're happy we've got everything to represent that room. 

Occasionally problems arise which you need to solve quickly otherwise it will hold the whole shoot up. For example, in the snug area we had to adjust the height of this (amazing!) light fitting to get the composition just right for the shot. While something like this can look totally fine in 'real life', when you line up an image in the viewfinder on the camera it sometimes just doesn't work, so little tweaks like this make all the difference. 

Here's an example of the awkward positions photographers have to get into to get the shot... While in the background Colleen prepares the kitchen for it's close up!

After a quick refuel, we crack on shooting Colleen's studio and her portraits. Jemma positioned Colleen at her sewing desk next to the window so she could get some soft natural light on her face. There is often much hilarity while shooting portraits, as we try to make the subject laugh to get some natural smiling shots! I think Colleen and I were ribbing each other about old college day crushes!

I think sometimes the perception of a magazine photoshoot is that it's kind of glamourous and cool, but I'm sure even some of the top fashion models will agree, it is seriously hard work both physically and mentally. It is a long day and there is often a lot of pressure to make sure you get all the shots you need before the light fades. For me though, there is nothing that feeds my creative soul more than working alongside a great photographer, bringing together the images for a feature like this. It's so exciting to see the story take shape.

Photo by Colleen Larmour

If you haven't seen the mag with this lovely home tour in it yet, then make sure to order yours before they sell out. Do pop over and check out Colleen's colourful Instagram feed and shop too!

If there is anything else about the magazine you'd like to hear about in these posts then do leave me a comment, I'd love to know what might be of interest! x

All photos: Caroline Rowland

Editor life: The Full 91 Magazine Story - Part III

The latest issue of 91 Magazine has just published this week - hurray! It's the third print edition and as always the team are super proud. We've also got an exciting collaboration alongside this issue. Illustrator Karolin Schnoor designed a set of two beautiful prints especially for 91 readers, which you can buy as a bundle with the magazine or individually. Do pop over to the shop to order your mag and check out the prints, they are really lovely! 

the brand new S/S 2017 issue & Karolin Schnoor exclusive screen prints

Anyway, as promised, this is the last instalment in the 91 Magazine story. (you can read Part I and Part II first if you like) In the last post, I was up to the start of 2016 when I was getting my little team together and recommencing publishing. Laura had joined me as my deputy editor and we had a lot of decisions to make. One of the main things was whether we were going to take the plunge and get the magazine into print. 

Ever since I created 91 back in 2011, independent magazines had been steadily on the rise. There were now so many on the market and there were even a few shops popping up that were solely selling indie mags. It absolutely seemed like the right time to launch ourselves into print. So we started researching printers and getting quotes and considering what kind of print run we could do. We decided that the idea to take pre-orders prior to doing the print run would help to finance it, and wouldalso give us an indication of how many copies we should print. We still do this now, and it is very much an important part of our business model, assisting in raising the cash to pay for printing. (so we very much appreciate all those folk who pre order their copy!) 

As we were relaunching, I also wanted the magazine to have a complete makeover. I designed a new logo and Lucy joined the team as our designer to create a fresh new look. We came up with a selection of new features and also introduced lots of elements of online interaction. Social media had come so far since I first started out, and it is now an integral part of both our content and how we communicate with our readers. We love to get our readers involved in creativity, so our hashtag projects encourage this, and we also feature some of our favourite Instagrammers each issue as well as including some fave images from the hashtags. 

The 91 Magazine blog has new content a couple of times a week. Images: top left - Holly Jolliffe; top right - Laura Pashby; bottom left - Catherine Frawley; bottom right: Holly Marder

The other thing we did with the relaunch was to create a brand new blog. Up until then I'd been sharing 91 news here on Patchwork Harmony, but we realised it was super important to continually create content and connect with our readers in-between issues, particularly as we had made the decision to publish just twice a year. It was such a great move; the blog is now filled with great features, with lots of guest posts from contributors too. I really hope people enjoy reading the blog as much as they enjoy the magazine. 

the first ever print issue - S/S 2016

Our first issue published in May 2016, and it really was a huge highlight in my career. I had always dreamed of this moment so I felt so proud to finally have got there. We were overwhelmed by how many lovely shop owners decided to stock the magazine too. It was also a dream come true to collaborate with Anthropologie on our first print issue. We worked with them on a feature, they hosted our fabulous launch event AND they stock the magazine in their stores! I was so thrilled to have their support as well as all of the amazing indie shops  - particularly when they committed to stocking it before they'd even seen it in the flesh! I still get a huge feeling of pride when I see the magazine on shop shelves - and always have to snap a few pics! 

our A/W 16 issue for sale in Selfridges!

Our first print run was 1300 copies - we wanted to be conservative as we didn't know how well it would go, but the first issue took less than three months to sell out. I think by then we had also build up a stockist list of around 50 shops, mainly in the UK, but some in Europe and even in Canada. It was quite a lot of work handling the distribution ourselves so as we started to work on the second issue, we made the decision to hand this over to a distributor. While it means less profit per copy for us, it takes a lot of work off our plate, and also means we could get the magazine stocked in many shops we wouldn't be able to reach on our own. In fact, we are excited to announce that you will be able to find the S/S 17 issue in WH Smith travel outlets - so at train stations and airports! For the latest issue, we have almost doubled the print run from the first edition, which I am super chuffed about!

Gosh, I could honestly talk about it forever! But I guess that is pretty much where we are up to now. I've actually found myself getting a tad choked up writing this post, as 91 is literally my baby, and I can't believe how far it has come since 2011. Of course, I have that thing that I think most people running a business get, where I'm always striving for more - more sales, more stockists, more opportunities - but I think writing the full story down here has made me appreciate the journey I've been on with it, and it proves that with a little bit of drive and determination you really can make your dream project come true. 

Image tagged with #my91magazine on Instagram, by @kelly_love_com whose home was the cover story in the A/W 6 issue. 

I often get asked what my favourite thing is about running the magazine. I absolutely love the process - bringing it all together and then seeing the finished product. But I think my absolute favourite aspect is seeing people enjoying it. I LOVE seeing people's images on Instagram when they tag #my91magazine and I get to see it in people's homes and hear what they've loved about it. I was recently in Anthropologie and I spotted a woman sitting on a sofa flicking through our A/W 16 issue. I'll admit, I did hover, watching to see whether she was enjoying it, although I didn't pluck up the courage to say anything! I didn't see whether she bought it or whether she was simply passing the time, but I still felt such joy to see someone taking in the pages of something myself, my team and our amazing contributors had created. That's definitely what it's all about...

All three print issues displayed in my office.

Hopefully that's given a bit of an insight into publishing an independent magazine! If you've got any questions just drop me a line, and of course, make sure to hot-foot it over to the website and bag yourself a copy of the new issue! www.91magazine.co.uk/buy

Editor Life: the full 91 magazine story - part II

Today I am continuing with the story of 91 Magazine - you can read the first post here. So, in 2014, I had finally made the decision that I had to find some new ways to monetise the magazine. I think the fact that I was pregnant with my first child probably spurred on this plan, as I was having to think a lot more about how to support my family in the coming years. So, in 2014 I started charging £2 to download the digital editions. I published 4 issues that year, and as we seemed to have a loyal readership, I felt hopeful that this small fee would not put people off. I'm not afraid to admit though that unfortunately this move did not work out how I had hoped.

the first digital issue to incur a fee to download.

I'm not sure if people had problems with the platform I used to sell the magazine through or whether they just did not want to pay for the content, but I was disappointed in the response over the course of that year. I got quite disheartened if I'm honest, I wasn't sure how I could continue without there being some kind of income from the magazine.  

Excitingly though, that same year, I was working with Mollie Makes magazine again as guest editor on their Mollie Makes Home bookazine. The team there were hugely supportive of what I was doing with 91, and offered to include a mini print version of 91 within the bookazine. It was a dream come true for me, to finally get the magazine into print, even if just in a condensed form. 

mini issue in print in collaboration with Mollie Makes

home tour feature from the mini print issue. (2014) 

I worked really hard on bringing both the bookazine and the mini issue together, while also preparing the digital issues for the rest of the year. Oh and did I mention I was also working on my first book?! it was a busy year, as I watched my baby bump grow, and in July my little girl arrived. It wasn't long after that that the Mollie Makes bookazine and the first ever printed version of 91 Magazine hit the shops! 

It was such a thrill to see the magazine in this format, and it made me want to get it into print properly more than ever! But after a tough year with the digital sales, and the realisation of looking after a newborn and trying to write my first book, I decided at the end of 2014 I need to take a break from 91 Magazine. It was a tough decision, but I knew I was just spreading myself too thinly, and I needed to focus on producing a great book. 

The book published in October 2015, (a huge career highlight!) so at that point, I realised it was time to mull over everything I'd learnt about publishing a magazine over the last few years and also look at the current market for independent publications. Firstly, I realised if I was to continue I needed help. It is such an important thing to do when running your own business; to actually admit that sometimes you can't do everything yourself. I knew if I were to continue with the magazine I wanted to do it properly and really go for it, but of course I needed to find people who were willing to be involved. I honestly came so close to giving up on the magazine entirely, until I spoke to Laura. I asked her if she'd be interested in being deputy editor and her excitement and enthusiasm to work together was what saved the magazine. We promptly met up one January morning in a London cafe, and made our master plan! 

the changing face of 91 Magazine

In the last of this series of posts, I will tell you about how, as a team, we've got to where we are now with the magazine plus my hopes and dreams for it's future.... 

Read part III of the story.

Editor Life: the full 91 Magazine story - Part I

It has been a little over five and a half years since I had the idea to start up 91 Magazine. It has come SO far since that tiny seed of an idea! So I thought it would be nice to share a bit more insight about what goes on behind the scenes and what it's like to be the editor of an independent magazine - I hope that sounds vaguely interesting! :) 

To kick it off, I'm beginning with the full story of 91 Magazine - I'm often asked about where the idea came from, how I set it up and the journey it's been on - so this series of posts should give a good overview of the past five or so years. 

Back in 2011, I was working full time as a picture editor for the Financial Times Weekend newspaper. I'd been in the job around three years at that point, and I was learning so much about publishing. I was part of a small team putting together the House & Home supplement, and this gave me the opportunity to understand the process involved in making a publication. From commissioning writers, photographers and illustrators, to the sub-editing and design process, to understanding the job of an editor - curating the pages and making the publication cohesive as a whole. I soaked up as much as I could from this working environment, but it was never my plan to start a magazine - I wasn't squirrelling away knowledge as part of my master plan! 

But at some point in the summer of 2011, an idea came to me. I'd always loved magazines, and had a particular penchant for interiors mags, but I'd started to feel disappointed by my monthly subscriptions, the magazines just didn't seem to speak to me anymore... I felt sure I could create something better - my perfect magazine - filled with interiors that were attainable but not boring, DIY ideas that were modern not twee, as well as speaking to my creative entrepreneur side - advice to help me grow my business and connect with my creativity. BUT, at that time, while I understood the process of putting together a publication, I knew nothing about printing or distribution. I assumed (and may well have been right at that time) that printers would never do small print runs, and I didn't have the cash or guts to print thousands of copies of a brand new magazine! That's when I discovered online magazines. At the time, there were a few American and Australian online interiors mags - Lonny and Adore for example, but no UK focussed ones. That was my lightbulb moment, I'd give it a go as an online magazine and see where we went from there. 

The first digital edition (2011) next to the most recent print edition (AW 2016). 

I must admit there was some level of naivety, I think I thought that I could do the whole thing myself at first! I already wrote my blog, so I thought it would be like bringing my blog posts together but in a more 'designed' format. I look back on that and LOL! Luckily, I didn't proceed with that plan. I put a call out for contributors on Twitter one day on my way to work - I remember distinctly standing on the train platform and reading lots of replies from people who wanted to get involved and that really spurred me on. A couple of friends from work were also massively encouraging and agreed to help out on the words side of things, as my strengths were mainly on the visual side. 

We set to work, and in October 2011, we published the first 54 page edition on issuu.com. I even managed to sell advertising in this first issue, which was amazing considering it was an unknown, and I am still thankful to those brands who supported me back then. I must say, I cringe massively when I look through that first issue! But at the same time, you have to start somewhere, and I am a big advocate of just going for it and giving an idea a try - so of course your first attempts will be less than perfect. Amazingly that first issue to date has had over 16,000 'reads' on issuu! The difference between the first and second issues is huge though - we had lots more original content in issue 2, as well as more pages, and suddenly I had lots more people interested in contributing and our readership was growing. 

home tour with Tif Fussell - spread from issue 2

Style feature spread from issue 6

From there, I continued to publish an issue online approximately every quarter. In 2013, I took voluntary redundancy from my job. It felt like the right time for me, I'd been building lots of contacts and I'd even already had discussions about a book deal, so I was ready to try and be my own boss. By the end of that year, I'd also got married and was pregnant, and that book deal had come to fruition! In 2014, I published a 'special' craft edition of the magazine - it had also had a redesign, and the response to that issue was amazing. To date, it has had over 83,000 'reads' and over 3 million impressions! 

Up until this point the magazine had been free to read, and I now felt that I needed to step things up, and look at how I could start generating some more revenue from the magazine, so I decided to start charging for downloads. I will tell you more about that, and where I went from there in the next instalment! 

Read part II and part III of the story. 

Pre order 91 Magazine print edition

I have 'bloggers guilt' at the moment! I am working at a rate of knots every moment I can, but I still can't manage to find much time to dedicate to my first and original little blog space! :( 

I imagine once we move house I will start sharing a lot more on here about the transformations we will be doing there, but for now, please do bear with me as I wrangle with my other work commitments. 

One of them of course being 91 Magazine! Our team has been beavering away for the last few months, and now we don't have long to go until our deadline, so with the issue nearing completion, we have opened up pre-orders. As it's our first issue, we need to have a rough guide on the size of print run we will do, so while we will order more than we need, ideally it is best to pre-order if you would like one, as our stock will be limited post print run. 

The first 200 pre orders we receive will get a gorgeous Lollipop Designs notebook free, although these are nearly all gone, so do be quick! 

The first 200 pre orders of 91 Magazine print issue will receive one notebook. 

While things are quiet over here on Patchwork Harmony, the 91 Magazine blog is busy, where we are posting a couple of times a week, so do follow us over there and on Instagram for regular updates. I've also set up a new Patchwork Harmony Instagram account, which will continue to be my personal feed, with the 91 feed being more focussed on the magazine. 

I do hope you might like to support our little indie magazine and pre order a copy, it means so much to see people getting excited to see it, and our team are so proud of how it is looking! It really is a treat for the eyes, that I promise you will want on your coffee table, but also snuggled in your lap with a cuppa! 

Pre order 91 Magazine print edition now. 

91 Magazine relaunch

As I mentioned in my plans for 2016 post recently, there are lots of exciting things happening this year, and the first thing I can now officially share is the new look 91 Magazine website! woohoo! 

We have also created a brand new blog dedicated to all things 91, and will be posting on this a couple of times a week. Our first post is live and reveals the brand new team who I will be working alongside, all fabulously talented, creative people, who I am honoured to have as part of the team. So do pop over and find out who they are.

Also, I have just created a brand new Facebook page for 91 Magazine, so we need your likes! Please stop by, share and give us your FB support! And of course we are regular users of Instagram and Twitter too. 

We are ESPECIALLY excited about the plans to publish a print version of 91, which you will be able to pre-order soon! If you'd like to keep updated on this, as well as receiving some special content and offers we'd love you to sign up to our mailing list. (don't worry, we don't share your info with ANYONE!) 

That's it for now folks, I do hope you like what you see! xxx

91 Magazine news - work with us!

As 2015 comes to a close, I am very excited about what 2016 has in store! As promised, I am resuming publication of 91 Magazine, although it will be biannually instead of quarterly. There will be LOTS of changes including a new website and a new look, but I will keep you updated on everything as it progresses. 

Photo by Aileen Allen

In the meantime I wanted to share the news that I am looking for some lovely creative folk to work alongside us (I have a new deputy editor, whose identity I will reveal soon! She is super talented!) so I have posted the openings we are looking to fill on the website. All the positions are part time, and can be done from home, fitting around other work and commitments. We are looking for a magazine designer, a sub editor and a brand & advertising manager. You can download the full job specs over on the 91 Magazine website. Closing date is 5th Jan 2016 for all positions.

In addition, we are always looking for talented creative people to contribute , so if you are a photographer, stylist, maker, writer or blogger and think your work with fit with the 91 Magazine aesthetic then please do get in touch. Email me at info@91magazine.co.uk with any submissions. 

I look forward to hearing from you! :) 

my book: special issue of 91 Magazine

With just over two weeks until the official release of my book, and the blog tour just around the corner, I wanted to take this opportunity to give you the first sneaky peek inside the book! I've decided to share this in the format of a special mini edition of 91 Magazine! It includes images and extracts of text from the book to give you a little flavour of what to expect. Just pop over to my issuu page to have a look! 

Don't forget, you can go straight on over to Amazon and pre-order your copy of the book now so you get it as soon as it publishes! :) 

Please vote in the Interior Blog Awards!

Patchwork Harmony has been nominated again this year in the Amara Interior Blog Awards! woohoo! Same as last year, I have some stiff competition, but this year I feel even more dwarfed by the other nominees as I am in the 'Interior Magazine Blog' category. Some of the others in this category are the blogs from Red Magazine, Ideal Home, Living Etc, Wallpaper and Country Home and Interiors - so we are talking the BIG boys!! 

It is an absolute honour to have 91 Magazine/Patchwork Harmony even put into this category next to all of these others, so even if I am not shortlisted I will still be super proud, BUT of course, it would be WONDERFUL to be shortlisted and to attend the awards! 

If you are a fan of the magazine and blog, I would love it SO much if you could take two minutes to cast your vote for me. You just have to enter your name & email address here: http://www.interiorblogawards.com/vote/patchwork-harmony/ - and you can opt out of email updates if you wish. 

I'm sure I cannot compete with the other titles huge readerships and mailing lists, but hey we can only give it a go! THANK YOU again for your support everyone! lots of love. C x

Issue 11 of 91 Magazine is now online!

Thursday seen the brand new issue of 91 Magazine go live online. It is the last issue for 2014 and is full of lovely features that I hope will inspire you not only for the festive period but for the new year ahead.

The cover image comes from our Winter Pastels feature which demonstrates some gorgeous style ideas for creating an alternative colour theme for the festive season. The lovely thing is you can carry this look through into the new year...

Photography Jemma Watts, Styling Laura Sawyer for 91 Magazine

In our Style Notes feature we chat to three industry experts about trends for the coming year. Stylist Emily Chalmers talks about the Modern Vintage Home, journalist Charlotte Abrahams gives her tips for the Design Led Home and TV host Kirstie Allsopp shares her favourite crafts for the Handmade Home.

Image: Urban Outfitters

Three gorgeous abodes grace our pages this issue. Katy Orme, blogger at Apartment Apothecary, Stacy Sirk, a visual merchandiser and Melanie Barnes, blogger and maker of Geoffrey and Grace all open their doors to let us peek inside their vintage homes. All very different in style, but each equally as inspiring.

Photo: Katharine Peachey for 91 Magazine

Photo: Holly Jolliffe

Photos: Leigh Metcalf for 91 Magazine

If you fancy getting crafty for Christmas, we share how to make this beautiful patched cushion and we have some free printables to create your own calligraphy gift tags and cards...

Photo: Chris Middleton

Photography: Siobhan Watts, Styling: Catherine Sprunt for 91 Magazine

There is lots more besides,, but you'll have to download a copy to see more of these features and what else is in store! So go grab yourself a cuppa and have a flick through! 

View a preview or download the full issue. 

And don't forget you can now purchase the special edition print issue of 91 Magazine which published with Mollie Makes Home in August. Get your copy here for just £2.95 (inc. UK p&p) 

Enjoy! 

Buy 91 Magazine in print

You may remember the recent collaboration I did with Mollie Makes magazine where we had a mini edition of 91 Magazine included in the most recent Mollie Makes Home bookazine?  

Well I'm excited to share that you can now buy the special issue of 91 that we produced on its own for £2.95. This includes UK postage and packaging, there is an extra p&p charge if you are outside of the UK. 

It was the realisation of a dream for me to see 91 in print, so I really hope you might be excited to see it too and order your very own copy! 

You can order on the website here! http://91magazine.co.uk/shop/

If there are any shop owners out there who would be interested in stocking a few issues, please just drop me a line - info@91magazine.co.uk 

Favourite home tours

If you haven't picked up a copy of the new Mollie Makes Home bookazine yet, which includes our first print issue of 91 Magazine, then maybe this little sneak peek of my 2 fave home tours will have you popping out to the shops now so you can pore over all those pages of loveliness! 

Obviously I love ALL the home tours that are in there (I picked them after all!) but I especially love the home of Studio Meez designer Karolien van de Gaer, as writer Laura Pashby points out, it is... 'full of greenery, light and vintage treasures.'

In the 91 Magazine section, I featured the home of designer Petra Boase - 'retro chic mixed effortlessly with handmade touches and the quirkiest of vintage finds.' Photographer Michael Sinclair shot some really beautiful images... here's a taster: 

Both are lovely homes aren't they?! And there's plenty more where that came from inside the mag! :) 

You can buy the bookazine in WH Smiths and other selected newsagents or order online.

Issue 10 of 91 Magazine is online!

I knew it was going to be the trickiest issue this year, being the first one I'd publish after Ruby was born, but luckily I planned ahead and managed to get most of the magazine ready before she came along! So here it is, issue 10 is online! 

Inside we've got gorgeous creative spaces such as the home of Norwegian blogger Inger Lill Skagen (as seen on the cover). We chat to the designer behind Red Hand Gang in our Folksy Seller Spotlight, and we've been busy stitching with our tutorial for some beautiful embroidered napkins, plus lots more!

Pop over to Magzter to download your copy. Do let us know what you think, we love to hear what you loved/hated. Email us, tweet, facebook or even instagram your pics of you reading the lastest issue! 

Don't forget you can now experience 91 Magazine in print too in our collaboration with Mollie Makes. It's now in the shops! All the info here. 

www.91magazine.co.uk

Collaboration with Mollie Makes - 91 Mag in print!

You may remember last year I guest edited the Mollie Makes Home bookazine? Well, I was so chuffed to be asked to edit this year's issue as well. I absolutely love doing these projects, and love working with the team at Mollie Makes. They are so supportive of what I do with 91 Magazine also, so much so that with this bookazine we have collaborated to bring you the FIRST EVER print issue of 91 Magazine!

I can't tell you how excited I am about this. It's always been a dream to get 91 into print, and to be working with one of my favourite magazines on it is just fabulous. 

Here are the covers of both the bookazine and this special edition of 91 Magazine: 

It is a mini 32 page special of 91 Magazine and it will come inside the Mollie Makes Home bookazine, so essentially you are getting two magazines for the price of one! Both magazines are packed full of gorgeous homes, craft projects and interviews with some of my favourite creative people. 

It will be available on 28 August from all good newsagents, supermarkets online at myfavouritemagazines.co.uk and on Apple Newsstand, priced £7.99. Don't miss out on the latest news from Mollie Makes. Sign up to the newsletter here: www.molliemakes.com

I know a lot of you who are fans of 91 are also Mollie Makes readers so it really is £7.99 well spent, and I may be biased, but I honestly think you will love the content!

I haven't actually seen the print copy myself yet, I shall be waiting with baited breath for the postman this week now! And who knows, this could be a very exciting new beginning for 91 Magazine! 

Thanks again to Lara and the rest of the Mollie Makes team for making this happen! #dreamcometrue

xxx

A Floral Feast

So what does everyone have planned for the long Easter weekend?! We're going to a BBQ on Friday followed by more decorating in the new kitchen and a bit of shopping for the nursery! If you are entertaining, then I suggest you have a little peek at the lovely feature we have in the current issue of 91 Magazine. The recipes all use edible flowers and will look, as well as taste, delicious, giving a proper summer vibe to your gathering.

Lovely drinks such as cloudy clover cordial and a violet martini, a tasty fresh chicken and cous cous with nasturtiums dish and an AMAZING lilac cream chocolate cake are just a few of the recipes.

Issue 8 of 91 Magazine can be read online here.

Happy Easter all!
xxx

Images by Emelie Ekborg

91 Magazine craft special is online!

It's that dreary month of January, I'm sure it's most people's least favourite month of the year. Everyone's broke after Christmas and it's cold and dark outside. Well! We've decided to try and remedy this problem with our brand new issue of 91 Magazine! It is our first ever Craft Special, as we thought it's the perfect time to stay indoors and get making and also with the new year, it's time to try out some new things!

If you've never tried crochet, then maybe have a go at Emma Lamb's simple crochet pin cushion or try a bit of cross-stitching with Peas and Needles blogger Lucy Davidson perhaps? We've got 9 craft tutorials for you to try, all different disciplines and levels of difficulty, so hopefully something to suit everyone!

We also report back on some recent craft and handmade events we've visited, such as Renegade Craft Fair, where we met some talented makers, and we peek inside the home of crafty bloggerLeigh Metcalf, as well as checking out the colourful garden studio of screen printer Megan Alice England.

Lots to keep you busy until Spring appears! We'd love to see if you have a go at any of our tutorials, so please share your photos on Instagram or Twitter and tag with #91craftspecial.

Also, you may have spotted we have a little bit of a new look! We'd love to hear your feedback on this so do let us know, via commenting here or on social media. And of course please let all your friends, family and colleagues know that our latest issue is available and free to read for all!  

Below is a little peek inside, but why not head straight to the 91 Magazine website and get reading!