It's been a whole year!
That’s right folks, Modern Hippie Mag, your online resource dedicated to promoting hip, healthy conscious living and environmental sustainability has been coming at ya for a whole year! Technically our anniversary was in February, because technically I started this eco-journey of discovery as a one person blog. The transition to a magazine layout didn’t happen until mid August, but who’s counting?!
Little did I know last year how much our little clan of eco-peeps would grow. Funny really because last year I didn’t even know what a blog was let alone how to go about growing one into a community of modern hippies who share a common desire to make our world a bit better, a little bit greener, and have some fun along the way.
Before podcast interviews and video features were even an inkling of an idea for Modern Hippie Mag, I actually did quite a bit of writing. Let’s take a visit down memory lane at our humble beginnings…
One of my favorite posts, (I wasn’t quite writing “articles” yet) was something that came to me as I realized I was trying to burn the candle at three ends! Be mindful, not wasteful…is a good reminder that I should probably reread several times a day!
It was somewhere around this time that I realized I could research just about anything! My first “investigative” article, Are “Greener” Fireworks Better? really helped me to appreciate just how much I enjoyed researching a product to find an eco/greener alternative. The power of Google became my friend!
Of course as I learned of ways that I could personally incorporate greener product alternatives into my life, it occurred to me that it would probably be a good idea to share my findings. My first product review was of Earth Science’s Amazing Natural Eye Makeup Remover!! It’s still one of my favorite products that I use today!
You may know that I used to design and hand-craft eco-conscious jewelry for which I maintained an Etsy store. Like so many designer/entrepreneurs I spent a lot of time on Etsy and met so many amazing artists. As I learned their stories, it struck me that another way to bring modern hippies together would be to share their stories. So I did my first “interview” feature, Spotlight on McFarland Designs with artist/eco-jewelry designer Tamara McFarland. I would still like to get my hands on one of her stunning ethical jewelry designs.
So who had the misfortune of being our very first guinea pig, video feature? Butterfly Effect – a Modern Hippie Mag Video Profile, takes a look at a holistic beauty boutique owned by our very own “Beauty Chick” Shayna Teicher. Since then I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all of Shayna’s in-depth eco-beauty articles. And just as a side note, this and many of our early videos were filmed with the iPhone camera! Talk about humble beginnings!
Of course none of our video features would be worth a hill of beans without the talent and skill of our Managing Editor and Executive Producer Steve McAllister. In addition to at times being the man behind the camera, Steve also does all the video editing and when I let him, directing. We’re glad to have Stephen McFadden join us as Chief Camera Guy so that Steve can better focus on video editing and dishing out daily inspirational and motivational quotes in Your Daily Groove.
We’ve also had the great privilege of chatting with eco-innovators making waves, industry leaders like REUSE Jeans CEO George Powell, eco-warrior Heather Rogers author of Green Gone Wrong, Grind for the Green co-founder and eco-activist Ambessa Cantave, and eco-model and Source4Style co-founder Summer Rayne Oakes just to name a few!
But our very first was with yours truly…me! We were testing the waters so to speak and thought that a great first run would be to capture my ramblings Why Modern Hippie Mag.
Whoa! We’ve been busy this last year! I’m looking forward to more opportunities to bring you really cool eco-fashion, beauty, news, tips, and other eco-stuff for some time to come.
Huge thanks to you, our readers, our contributors, sponsors, our family and friends who continue to support and encourage the vision I had to create a place where like-minds could share their eco-journey that has become Modern Hippie Mag!
In appreciation of your continuing to dig our vibe, we’re launching a month long celebration and you get all the gifts! Starting today we’ve got some whopper giveaways and reader appreciation what-knots coming your way so stay tuned! Hint, many of our super-duper giveaways and specials will be released exclusively to our Newsletter du jour subscribers, so if you haven’t already signed up…you might want to. Just sayin’.
Your Weekly Vibe!
Here’s to more good times to come! Modern Hippies…let’s ride!
Jaszy
Jaszy McAllister is the woman behind the curtain of Modern Hippie Mag. She is also the host for ModernHippieMag.com video and podcast interview profiles and a Green Guru for TheGreenGirls.com. Find her on Twitter, @msjaszy or connect with her on LinkedIn. Read more articles by Jaszy.
Wow! Has it been really been a whole year? Wowzers!! You're doing a great job, baby. Can't wait to see what the next year brings.
This is a belated CONGRATULATIONS for an amazing accomplishment! Modern Hippie Mag is more than just a source of information – it's a bustling community of really interesting people all striving to do good and provide superior goods and services. I always feel like I'm at home when I stop in after seeing something cool pop up in my RSS feed. TO ANOTHER INCREDIBLE YEAR </:)
You are so very kind Jellie, thank you so much for the kudos and well wishes!! We look forward to more great eco-stuff to come! Looking forward to more of your engaging articles as well!