You may call it an “arranged” friendship between Victoria and me. During a meeting with a friend she told me: “You have to meet Victoria. I think you would like each other”. And that’s what we did! On a rainy evening we met for a Blind date and since then Victoria has been a vital part of sisterMAG with many articles, interviews and ideas for our publication. The expert for fashion and crafts is always searching for new topics and notions – whether she talks to journalists in Greek or tries our tipps for Istanbul from sisterMAG N°2. And I can tell you one more thing: Victoria is the very best person to take with you on a party or event you are nervous about. With her you always have a friend at your side with whom you can talk and the evening will be fun and full of laughter!
Besides Victoria was the proud owner of the first sisterMAG email. If you want to contact her, you can email to victoria@sister-mag.com.
But read for yourself: Victoria’s answers to our questions. Eure Thea
What’s your name and blog’s or business’ name??
My name is Victoria Kau, I am doing my masters of cultural studies in Berlin and work as a freelancer in the field of fashion. There I do moderation and write for the internet radio detektor.fm
What’s your blog about? Is that your profession or hobby?
I do not blog (yet), however I am the only editor of detektor.fm’s fashion category, which is updated weekly. We do not only write and talk about fashion and aesthetics but also cover background stories from the textile world, innovative design or social aspects of fashion. These topics are part of my studies but I engage with them in my personal life as well.
What was your favourite book (or magazine) as a child?
All books from Astrid Lindgren! And “The Old House” from Wilhelm Matthießen. Magazine-wise: Wendy (a magazine about horses and girls). And the magazine Yps, which always had great gimmicks. By the way: that magazine will have a comeback soon!
What is your favourite magazine?
CUT. Die Zeit (German weekly newspaper).
What’s your home page when opening the browser?
That is quite boring, I am afraid: The startpage of my eMail address from the station I work for. Despite digital know-how I have not been able to redirect that to my normal eMail programme!
Your favourite Social Media Platform (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest…)?
Facebook.
One thing you love and one thing you hate!
I love my family, good food and bold people. I hate it when people think that the boundless freedom of the 21st century also frees them from having good manners
What did you contribute to sisterMAG so far?
I have written articles about knitting and done the interview with Ari Seth Cohen. In the third issue I talked with Christian Vierig from Styleograph. In the latest issue you find an interview with artist Menno Aden and an article about jewellery made out of hair.
What is your favourite feature of sisterMAG?
Probably the Istanbul feature from issue 2 because I could go to all the featured places in May of this year!
What is a suggestion you have for sisterMAG, whether it is a topic, feature or technology? Do you have a special wish?
This time we were surprised … about the incredibly positive feedback on our cover, the dress and the model. And I was also shocked by the number of great pictures, our photographer Ashley (Chasing Heartbeats) produced :). We could hardly decide which two images would end up being on the cover of our fourth (autumn) magazine.
Inspiration
You could already read a little about our dress in my editorial on page 9. It really is only a few months ago that my mother had the idea for the cover of our fourth issue. However, the first idea was that our model should wear one of the large coats (see them inside the magazine from page 80) and a wild wire frame with paper cranes floating around her head. Modeled entirely to the theme of “On Top”.
After a few sleepless nights (;) and the occasional stare on our cover series of the first three editions, we finally decided that it should be a dress again. Homemade, intricate and surprising! Again many ideas followed and were discarded. At one point I wanted to make something out of copper sheet, but I can warn you: copper sheet is incredibly expensive. The color of copper, however, didn’t let us go. So we decided to have a copper-colored cloud of organza. Head over to mcstoff.de, where you find fabric for really small prices!
Another inspiration was offered from the DIOR Couture Show from 2007. The Asian-inspired collection by John Galliano has enchanted me for years. The dresses are so elaborate and beautiful that you immediately want to buy an origami book and start folding. Especially the Grand Modèle - the wedding dress Look 45 – served as inspiration for our crane dress. Instead of folding orchids, I formed oversized and very small birds. The instructions for this can be found everywhere on the Internet, eg Origami Club.
The skirt was of course made by Evi! Thanks to her for the beautiful cloud :)
The location
Since I moved to Berlin, my old apartment in Leipzig stayed sad and empty for an entire month. But when we had moved out all my furniture and paper, computers and stuff, we were once again impressed by the vastness of space, the high ceilings and the light. So we decided to produce the new cover here. Meanwhile, the key was passed to the owner and probably the next tenant lives in the apartment …
Model & Stylist
Our model Anna has just finished her studies in Leipzig in cultural studies. Just a week after our shoot she had a positive interview and is currently on an internship in Dubai (!). However, we both know each other since school days. In class 11 and 12 we have so been through some German projects together, lectures and transformed our auditorium into a Kafka-maze :).
We were delighted with her as a model! With a lot of fun and beautiful, very tall (;) and straightforward, she danced in the crane dress and gave us an incredible Autumn Cover.
Stylist Denise Fickert you already know from the second cover. She does not just make-up and creates an angelic complexion, but has also helped us with her hair, which was done in a high bun and finished off with a hand-knitted headband. The headband you can soon buy in our sisterMAG shop. We have a lot in store for you for the upcoming festive season!
The photographer
About Ashley Ludäscher (Chasing Heartbeats) I probably won’t have to tell you too much. The American-born now lives in Germany for several years and since the beginning of the year she is a real Berliner. Meanwhile, she has become our third sister (I am only waiting that she turns blonde sooon ;) and is always on call when it comes to our photo shoots. Trademarks: red lipstick and big Ray-Ban-glasses plus a great laugh and always in a good mood when making pictures!
The English issue is ALMOST done, but needs a bit of polishing up and a lot of linking to do! Stay tuned when we reveal the new English version later today!
In the meantime you can read and watch the interview, Paper.li did about digital magazines (and us ;)) here.
Starting immediately we are looking for 2 interns working in the areas of “Design and Production” and “Marketing” in Berlin. Also applications from afar are welcome for working together via eMail and Skype or international applicants who would like to spend 1-3 months in Berlin.
sisterMAG is an online-only magazine targeted at lively, intelligent and interested women, who want to be inspired by great pictures, recipes and tutorials, but also want to read about the newest trends in technology, business and culture. sisterMAG thrives to create content which is unique and new not only for the online magazine but also in the print market by highlighting topics such as technology, mobile, career, startups etc. We offer extensive articles, in-depth views and technology insights but also claim high standards in design and aesthetics.
sisterMAG works in a small editorial team with a large pool of external contributors (journalists, photographers, stylists, authors, bloggers etc.) to create each issue.
Design and Production
Responsibilities include:
Graphic design and layout for the production of the digital magazine (including link-adding)
Support of sisterMAG blog
Assisting with organisation and production of photo shootings
Assist sales team in pre- and post-sale activities
Specific Skills
Good knowledge of Adobe Suite including InDesign nd Photoshop
Basic knowledge in HTML and CSS
Interest in photography is a plus
How To Apply
Please send your application to mail@sister-mag.com. Please submit a resume, short cover letter and links to portfolio or any other online reference to reflect your aesthetics (Pinterest, blog, portfolio site, Flickr, …).
Marketing Responsibilities include:
Help with the research of cooperation partners
Planning and realization of marketing activities like the Blogger Preview Kit
Support with sisterMAG events
Preparation of conferences
Support of sisterMAG blog and other social media channels
Proofreading
Previous knowledge
Active usage of social media channels: Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter, Pinterest etc.
Interest in blogs and blogging
Very good English
How To Apply
Please send your CV and a short cover letter to mail@sister-mag.com. Don’t forget to include your Social Media profiles!
Happy Birthday to you, Katharina!! Katharina Rose is one of sisterMAG’s dearest friends and a fabulous photographer, who is right now studying to be a videographer as well (with real TV cameras). Today on her birthday she is far far away in L.A., but the whole sisterMAG team wishes her the best for her special day and hopes she has an awesome time.
As a little present not only for her but also for you, dear readers, we prepared the “Behind the scenes” of our souvenir shooting with Ashley as model, Katharina as photographer and many of our favourite places in Berlin. As of this weekend, sisterMAG has officially moved to the capital and is now purely “Made in Berlin” and the world – because of all of our lovely contributors whom we meet every day in real life and in the digital world.
The idea
The idea behind this shooting came to me, when my parents returned from a vacation in Marocco. With them they brought two “Fez”, the iconic cone-shaped hat which is usually worn with a tassle. I remembered the time when we went to Paris in grade 12 and bought little Eiffel tower earrings, which were rarely worn afterwards. From all trips you usually end up buying a souvenir and although it seems so cool and chic in your holiday destination, it usually ends up in a corner and gets dusty.
The Shooting
In the middle of July, Katharina, Ashley and I met up in the middle of Berlin and started with our adventure. Our first stop – Boxhagener Platz – proved to be the perfect setting for the Maroccan Fez. We met some lovely people along the way – Claudia on the steps of a little church just taking a break from flat-hunting in Berlin or the owner of this little flower shop “Je länger je lieber” in Lychener Straße 52 / Berlin.
Quickly we ran to our next location, which is also a favourite spot of sisterMAG team: Wonderpots in Georgenstraße (Frozen Yogurt). There we had asked Victoria and Cris to meet us, because Frozen Yogurt is best enjoyed in company! Victoria and Cris are such awesome supporters of sisterMAG, however as author/journalist and photographer they usually stay behind the scenes. Big thanks to both of you!
And off we were again to “Toast and Jam” – a vintage fashion fair during Berlin Fashion Week, which you should definitely visit next year. Many of the shop owners and salespeople were incredibly nice and helpful and we had great fun with them before it was time to hit the road again and drive to the museum isle. Our British part of the day began with a nifty dress made by Neu4bauer (the fabric of this dress is actually striped but sewn together to create this diamond shape). Pouring rain had stopped us for a bit and when the sun came out again, the light was amazing!
A special thanks goes to our model Ashley (Chasing Heartbeats), who is much more comfortable behind the camera, but who also looked adorable in front of it! And I will never ask her again to wear 10 cm stilettos which are 2 sizes too small and make her jump in front of the Old National Gallery :)
Special Thanks
… goes to Regine from nelou.de who helped us connecting to some wonderful designers of her platform (read our startup spotlight about nelou here).
It is up to you
Many of you might return home from their summer vacation these weeks. What is inside your suitcase? Maybe we can inspire you to turn it into something new and if you want to send us a picture, we’d love to share it via Pinterest (Board).
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