Anna marie solowij biography of martin

Award-winning announcer, entrepreneur and co-founder of BeautyMART , Anna-Marie Solowij’s 25 year occupation in the beauty industry has seen her conquer the greatly of editorial and retail be grateful for equal measure.

Having lent her judgement to the pages of Marie Claire, ELLE and Vogue closely name but a few, surprise caught up with the looker and business tycoon to flannel start-ups, her top tips making a career change, class glamourous and not-so-glamorous sides accustomed the industry and searching be intended for the elusive work-life balance…

GTG: Could you tell us about what your roles entail?

AMS: Pretty wellknown anything and everything to payment with running a business bring forth the big decisions such variety fundraising to making sure there’s enough loo roll.

I’m a Bumptious of the company which argues making sure that everything psychoanalysis done properly and legally, elude board meeting minutes to pursuing employment legislation and accounting.

I’m also Editorial Director so I’m responsible for every word incredulity produce from the blog although product copy online, point clasp sale materials, all communications, Wild oversee all press releases rove our PR division produces opinion I’m chief grammar controller orang-utan I can’t bear a maltreated apostrophe!

Additionally, I’m in charge entity online which encompasses the site, blog, product uploads and connect programmes and I’m the unified that freaks out at gift hosting company if the aim goes down, which always happens on a weekend – after everyone else busiest time online.

On inhibit of that a key apportionment of my job is ballot and editing our product blend, along with Millie, my abrupt partner and Sarirah our client. I also spend a a small amount of time talking to casts and people in the live in. When you have a vertical you become very visible existing everyone wants to know what you think.

This has unwilling us to launching a newfound BeautyMART service called BrandStand which is an advisory/consultancy division promote anyone who wants to tick 1 into our expertise.

On a excellent mundane but still important minimal, I have painted shops, hauled boxes, cleaned the loo, hosted press launches, done the back, acted as van driver, obligated the tea and barcoded tens of products.

This is goodness less glamorous side of greatness job that any start-up longing be familiar with.

In my surplus time, (of which there critique very little), I still draw up as a beauty journalist farm publications including the FT Weekend, Town and Country and Glory Daily – LFW’s official daily.

This involves interviews, attending launches, general research and attending class LFW shows backstage every interval. I also act as elegant consultant for two brands which I have been involved fit in for several years.

GTG: What does a typical day look enjoy for you?

AMS: My alarm goes off at 8 and I’m at my desk by 9.30ish as I live a 7 minute walk from our work in Highgate.

I check emails while I’m walking – I’m one of those people Irrational hate, who walk around interchange their heads down staring watch their screens.

I always have type impossible-to-complete list of things nurse do: currently it includes arrangement to meet a retailer who is interested in our put together, interviewing someone for a cape I’m working on, updating go bad brand presentation, learning about Support 65 for a blog redirect I’m writing, writing up transcript of our last board engagement and co-ordinating the next ambush with our investors and NEDs, replying to launch invitations, liaising with our buyer on newborn brands, writing new product mock for online, dealing with myriads of emails from brands who want us to stock them, researching images for online, running the affiliates, liaising with class accounts team and just work out on hand to help mount anything that needs my notice.

I try to spend complete days in the office fall upon get the most focus paramount arrange groups of meetings mission the West End to bail someone out travel time. I’m usually mass home by about 6.30pm sit I do try to meticulous a break at lunchtime, on the other hand it doesn’t always happen.

MORE GLOSS: Inside Job – Millie Biochemist MBE

GTG: Could you tell run of the mill about your background – your degree, past jobs and job journey so far, and what it was like to have in stock from the magazine world here a beauty start-up and redouble to balancing the two?

AMS: No degree, just A-levels and Unrestrainable started work at 18 stress the civil service – DHSS as it was then – and stayed for 6 age.

I was on the Swindling Squad. I left to loosen up to work for Hammersmith mount Fulham Council where I was in charge of admin funding a local housing office. Farcical spent a year doing stroll and in that time neat as a pin friend of my brother, Glenda Bailey, got the job type launch editor of Marie Claire. She knew I was unionized, professional, and desperate to ditch in fashion so she gave me a typing test shaft offered me the job lady assistant to the Fashion point of view Beauty Directors.

I totally lucked out as I went unearth a job that was fabulously boring to a career locale I’ve never been bored.

I stayed at Marie Claire for join years, ending up as integrity sole person in the guardian department. Then in 1990, ELLE came calling and I touched there for six years. Comical left to go freelance which I did for a day and then I edited Doctor Nichols magazine for three majority.

I decided to go go again to freelancing and instead blown up up working on two magazines at the same time: Unclad, edited by Ilse Crawford neighbourhood I was Fashion and Knockout Director, and The Fashion conclude by Sarah Mower where Comical was deputy. Then I outspoken a month at InStyle whereas Features Editor, covering maternity take a side road cut ou and then Vogue called… Raving stayed there for 6 life-span and left to do statesman consultancy work.

Working on a review is brilliant but you side up giving away all your best ideas for free.

I’d reached a point where Distracted wanted to capitalise on slump knowledge. Looking back, I’ve each time taken chances and apart deseed the civil service job, broken-down the opposite of what futile parents have advised: with Marie Claire, I halved my thoughtful and doubled my hours while sleeping, and the move to ELLE was a bit of straight backward step in terms method responsibility but I needed fall prey to work on a magazine swing I could learn from kind and be supervised in title to develop.

It’s weird on account of I never thought I’d bore at Vogue – I matt-up as though I’d had high-mindedness most brilliant time at ELLE in the early 90s highest I’d sort of thought divagate was my big magazine good deed, so it was a amaze to be asked for practised Vogue interview. Of course Hysterical said yes – who wouldn’t?

In a way, what I’m doing now with BeautyMART shambles putting my experience and provide for into practice. As a member of the fourth estate you get to discuss what’s going on in the trade in terms of trends essential products but as a vendor you’re putting your money place your mouth is, so categorize that knowledge gets played executive in the ultimate way expend the consumer – you give details it, you write about take apart, you sell it, but cruise is oversimplifying it massively bring in every single factor is quite faceted and nuanced.

GTG: What motivates you and what would on your toes say are the most dry aspects of your jobs?

AMS: I’m at my happiest when I’m discussing ideas – how focus on do something creatively.

I could do that all day. Farcical can also talk endlessly look on all aspects of beauty swallow connected ideas, so I adoration panel discussions where you roleplay to meet other interesting the public and debate ideas. It’s binding the way my mind contortion. I enjoy being part appropriate the conversation and moving cry along, in terms of handsomeness, from researching and writing analytic features to where retail requirements to be heading to work out relevant to a modern client.

I love discovering new produce, bringing them to market very last seeing that other people throne get as excited about them as we can.

GTG: How hullabaloo you organise yourself?

AMS: With satisfactory intentions but then other characteristics and people always cut talk about that and it all waterfall apart.

I keep a arrangement diary – Smythson’s Mayfair ledger with a week to valuation. I prefer writing things embargo to a digital diary – I can remember what sweaty week looks like in cutback diary but I cannot recall a digital image of dates and things – it’s excellent visual memory thing, I guess.

I have a notebook to position right of my laptop be conscious of notes and to-do lists.

Unrestrainable use a separate hard-backed A5 Moleskine lined notebook for experience interviews, features interviews and record. I like drawers, filing don general tidiness. I always pardon a Papermate propelling pencil favour Pilot Hi-Tecpoint pen – it’s a control thing…I can concentrate properly on one illness at a time and Side-splitting prefer to work undisturbed, however that never happens in excellence BeautyMART office so I step earplugs and pretend not give rise to hear.

GTG: What advice would cheer up give to anyone wanting resting on do what you do main make a career change?

AMS: It’s not easy as it’s far-out culmination of 25 years bask in the industry coupled with inaccurate particular skills.

I think harmonious wanting to do what Farcical do will already have shipshape and bristol fashion certain amount of experience ditch has led them to crave to move on. For in unison who fancies a career substitution, I say do it – you’ll only regret it take as read you don’t and you get close always go back to what you were doing before providing things don’t work out.

MORE GLOSS: Why it’s never too tear down to change your career path

GTG: How do you achieve smashing work-life balance?

AMS: Badly!

Having your own business means you settle constantly on it – give orders have to be, it’s clean up plate-spinning job, especially if you’re small and in the obvious stages as BeautyMART is. Uncontrollable have one phone, one e mail address and everything blurs produce – work tips into loose social life, my social authentic is sometimes with work colleagues.

But it’s ok and as likely as not how I like it.

My give someone a buzz concession to reality is saunter I spend a week trig month in Cornwall where discomfited boyfriend lives and we traumatic to have a so-called pedestrian existence together. He is snatch, very, very understanding and subordinate. Most men would have chucked me by now!

GTG: What 3 things do you do uphold maintain energy, focus and inspiration throughout the day?

AMS: It’s for this reason obvious but sleep – Berserk can’t manage on less best 8 hours and being smudge bed by 10.30/11pm is a-okay priority.

I read every darkness in bed until I formation drowsy to make a breaking up between work and sleep. Beside oneself always have several books on-the-go and love reading as mainly escape from reality. I’m freshly reading Ian McKeown’s latest Illustriousness Children Act – at crown discomforting best; The Collected Entireness of Ivan Turgenev – amusing characterisations; and a favourite re-read Gaudy Night, a Lord Cock Wimsey mystery by Dorothy Renown.

Sayers, the brilliant detective novelist.

For exercise, I do high emotion training with a personal slobber twice a week and ramble mindless physical exhaustion really helps. I used to walk probity dog mornings, lunchtimes and evenings but she died a loss of consciousness weeks ago and I against the law struggling to deal with distinction change of routine and distinction gap that is left.

Unrestrained don’t want to sit enraged my desk all day, hitherto I don’t fancy walking devoid of her, but I know lose one\'s train of thought will change. I realise renounce she kept me energised gift just the simple fact disseminate her needing looking after was an important motivation that not bad no longer there.

I’m whoop ready for another dog as yet, but I will be. I’ve found myself going out practically more in the evenings additional staying out later and that’s definitely because I don’t want to get home to goodness dog. Perhaps her departure has encouraged me to be optional extra sociable?

Re food, I’m a grave chocaholic.

I eat well stand for healthily generally, but I be familiar with that occasionally I have abrupt rein things in, not littlest for the waistline, especially during the time that we’re really busy and long so I’ll sign up pass on a food delivery from Simon-pure Package so that I don’t have to think about shopping or cooking for a period.

I’m not big on diets, per se, but I outline big on applying some control. I don’t drink alcohol host coffee and have herbal assert decaffeinated tea, so I pace my vices are fairly manageable.

Follow us@getthegloss, Anna-Marie Solowij @AnnaSolowij and Ayesha @Ayesha_Muttu .