Well hello Flavourmag readers. What an absolute pleasure it is to be able to adorn your laptop, tablet and smartphone screens, all the way from the beach in South Florida.
I am working, promise! In tune with the hectic nature of my life, I flew down yesterday at 10:30pm after a 12 hour work day in my home, New York City.
That city, New York City… she is my love, my best friend, and the biggest challenge of my life. I moved here three years ago to take a job with Vanity Fair. I will never forget when I was driving towards the city and entered the turnpike; that skyline was incredible, and that energy frightened the shit out of me, but gave me the biggest thrill. I was here. I lived in New York City.
It was a long time coming though, I had always wanted to move to America – ever since watching “Sweet Valley High” as a little girl. I was obsessed with lockers down High School hall ways, yellow school buses and surfers called “Todd”. This fascination grew into a love of their culture, the fashion, the utter and total American Dream.
I was here and I worked for arguably the biggest and well respected magazine in the world. This had been a little bit of a long road. I went to university to read Communications and whilst I was there I interned every second I could. I hustled and by God did I work hard. I said yes to every task, every project – no matter the hours. As a result I became known as a very hard worker. I also had a really stellar boss, Stephanie Rafanelli, who was my editor at Harper’s Bazaar. She coached me about how to produce content that reflects my own voice, not anyone else’s. She also gave me projects – big ones – that I was probably under qualified for. We made a good team.
So, I’m in New York, and I work for a huge magazine. I go to the parties, I meet a million people, and I make friends. My secret weapon is that I have always been able to talk to people. And, more importantly, when I talk to them, I give them my attention – real attention. In New York, that’s not common. Funnily enough, people became fond of me and wanted me about – which is why I managed to become a little bit of a networker. It worked for my job and it worked for my social life.
Then the production team came knocking. I wasn’t totally oblivious to the TV game – I had nearly appeared on screens for MTV’s The City way back when. TwoFour wanted to make a show about Brits in New York. And so, we shot the show “Taking New York”. It was such a lot of fun. I made some wonderful friends and had some great life learning experiences. I struggled to fit it in between my work and my social life (that took a total back seat) but it was worth it in the end. The finished product, we were all proud of. It was a great way to document highs and lows of New York City, too.
Anyway, now I am concentrating on all my projects, and traveling, and of course, TV.
Until next time…..
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