So, we have some updates over here at EHD – the last we left you, we announced our site relaunch and that we were looking to fill a handful of spots on the team (Editorial Director, Social Media Manager and House/Family Manager to name a few). We’ve made some moves and have welcomed a new Editorial Director to the team as of this week (say hi to Arlyn Hernandez, who was previously the Design Editor at Apartment Therapy). Brady, who was previously the Editorial Director quit to be the Design Editor for Apartment Therapy, JUST JOKING HE WOULD TOTALLY GET FIRED IF HE DID THAT. Seriously, he was basically doing 2+ jobs – Design Producer, Editorial Director, Creative Director, Art Director, and often writer, so after we realized what we really needed, we searched for the perfect person with a ton of experience to help run this blog. We are all so excited for what Arlyn brings to the table, and hopefully, I’ll have some time to breathe in the coming months. YAY! She and Jess will be heading up the execution of all our content and would obviously continue to love suggestions from you.
Next up, to really ramp up for EHD 2.0, we are in need of contributing writers with strong, compelling voices.
If you are told that you are FUNNY all the time and you like design/style, then this could be you.
Obviously an experienced writer with a long resume would be GREAT and of course we’d love you to have Photoshop skills to help execute the post, whatever it may be. But I can’t stress how important it is that you have a voice that I look forward to reading. Ideal candidates will have previous writing experience and be able to pitch sharp, original story ideas on a continuous basis, as well as be able to fully execute the production of posts from start to finish. It’s a hard ask, but surely someone out there knows someone who writes hilarious yet poignant Instagram and Facebook posts and loves talking about design and style (if you do, send them our way – if that’s YOU, send yourself our way).
These would be remote freelance positions, with a pay-per-article structure – also we might potentially even need another staff writer/editor soon in LA. Contributors should be familiar with WordPress, have excellent copywriting/editing skills as well as have a good sense of what is happening in the design and lifestyle worlds. But if you are the David Sedaris of design (wait, that’s Orlando) and have never touched WordPress, that’s okay, we still want you.
We are open to other lifestyle subjects, too. If you can write about motherhood in an addictive and clever way, please submit. Same goes for fashion, pop culture, culture and politics, etc. We aren’t trying to do everything, but if we can take a unique spin a few of our favorite subjects outside of design, then we might if we can find the right writers.
If you think this sounds like you and you’re getting ants in your undypants from the excitement of contributing to the site, please send us your resume, a short cover letter explaining why we should consider you, any examples of past work/writing samples but, most importantly, 3-5 of your best pitches you’d want to see on EHD and one mini blog post (we’d love for you to flush out one of your ideas so we can get a sense of your voice). Also, please send us links to your social pages (Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook) – literally ANYTHING that gives us a sense of who you are.
Email jobs@emilyhendersondesign.com with CONTRIBUTOR in the subject line. I know I keep saying this, but we are looking for different writers – think Orlando and Jen Gotch – two very good friends of mine who are too busy to commit, no matter what my bribe is or how I threaten to slander them publicly (Orlando will contribute after he’s done signing copies of his amazing book, in like 3-4 months). Get creative with your pitch ideas – it could be ‘why toenails are the new fingernails.’ I’m only emphasizing this because we have a lot of applicants who sent samples of their work from other sites and it’s good, but I’m not getting a sense of the ‘voice’ (I only read a few of them, when I realized I needed Arlyn here to weigh in). I also know that a lot of other publications aren’t looking for a really edgy/compelling voice so those samples may not reflect the true you.
And if you are wondering if we are trying to turn into Apartment Therapy by hiring Arlyn and expanding, the answer is that will never be possible…so ‘no.’ Maxwell is actually a great friend of mine, and we had a long, good conversation about both our sites when I called to tell him I was accidentally stealing his Design Editor. We are two different animals and our trajectories are not the same, with no competition even possible. I want a better site than we have right now, with better resources and more good voices, but I will always want it to feel small and intimate – my relationship with you being a huge part of the process and success (despite how sick I feel after a couple of the negative comments from yesterday). I’m terrified of this change – generally loving smaller blogs myself, but I also know that if it doesn’t work and neither of us is happy (you nor I) we can always go back to one post. We aren’t going to put out posts just to put out posts. I want this to be still so good and original, which is why we needed high-level leadership, and we are being super picky about the voice and tone of the new writers.
That’s all to say ‘Welcome Arlyn!’ Hopefully, Brady and I can breathe and focus more on design, creative direction and writing (the day-to-day production/publishing of a blog is insane). And with the help of some of you – you HILARIOUS, EDGY, KIND, SMART AND STYLISH WRITERS – we can hopefully create a cast of characters who you will love reading as much as I do.
We still haven’t hired a Social Media Manager/Producer because we’re figuring out some things on our end and I wanted to wait for Arlyn to start, so if you’ve applied, hang tight – we haven’t forgotten about you. And if you haven’t applied but think you’d be a great fit, don’t be shy. Send your resume and cover letter to jobs@emilyhendersondesign.com with SOCIAL MEDIA in the subject line. We were previously looking for someone high level with a lot of experience but are open to all levels now that we have Arlyn and it might be better suited to someone with strong copy skills, a genuine love of social media and a ton of creativity and innovation.
(And if you are wondering if we hired a house manager/family helper, the answer is no but it’s okay. We are managing fine, though if there are any former teachers, nannies or students who want to work 2-3 days a week (from 2-6pm) + a night or two in Los Feliz, please email the jobs email above with FAMILY HELPER in the subject. We realized that we really needed less help than we thought since our kids can stay in school longer on some days – which they love).
And in case you’re wondering, the mountain house is good. It’s moving along and we are working on electrical, plumbing, framing, etc. I’m designing the bathrooms and kitchens right now and choosing major finishes asap. Since the Portland house is more of a priority (it will be on the market this summer), I have to give it more time right now, but we are dying to live in that cabin this August with the kids. Just DYING.
Speaking of, we need a faux finisher for our German schmear on the fireplace (and you bet I insert ‘German schmear’ into any conversation as often as possible). This person would be likely LA-based and have a lot of experience in schmears. I’m also open to other ‘schmears’ – Polish, English, Spanish. As long as it ends in schmear, you have the job.
We also need a finish carpenter who can help with the design of the cabinet fronts (we are experimenting with a new cabinet profile and my GC up there is GREAT but it’s hard to really test pieces when we are a couple of hours away from each other). Or more of an artisanal cabinet maker (are we still saying ‘artisanal’ – ugh you know what I mean) – just someone who we can give a drawing and some photos to and say ‘how do you think this could get done and can you make it this pretty?’. We are trying to stain the wood a particular color and I think in order for it to look AWESOME, we need an artist/maker who understands what we want and knows how to execute it.
OMG. This post started out with six sentences. Arlyn and Brady and I were in my office all day, talking about everything, so we didn’t get a post prepped and I said “No biggie, we can skip a day and just do a ‘we are hiring’ post”, BUT NO. Maybe I just needed to talk. I miss journaling. Ever since I started the blog I stopped journaling, for obvious reasons. Maybe when we relaunch to multiple posts a day I can just do a few ‘here’s how I’m feeling’ posts a week or ‘here’s what I really did today’ post. I wonder if that would be fun (what do you think?). A real picture diary of what we did, hour by hour with iPhone shots. No added styling or glam, just a true hour by hour…I guess that’s more ‘storying’ technically, but I have more to talk about than just picking paint colors.
Oh and GUESS WHAT? I finally came up with book concept #2!! I’ve been hounded for a while, but I said no until I had more time and a new idea. It came to me in the shower, but I’m trying to not let myself think about it until one of these houses is done. But man, I can’t WAIT TO READ THIS BOOK. If only it were around five years ago because I could have REALLY used it…Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading. Always…thanks for reading. And thanks to my team of amazing creatives who run this blog and bring their creativity, expertise and hard work to the office every day – that’s Brady, Sara, Jess, Julie, Velinda, Emily B, and now Arlyn. I appreciate the heck out of all of you and when the site relaunches you’ll get to know each of them so much better. xx