Today we’d like to introduce you to Maddy Sutka and Lola Estok.
Hi Maddy and Lola, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
A year into the pandemic, we had both moved back home and were struggling because we no longer had the creativity and connection we had while attending SCAD. We went from being surrounded by so many talented artists and creatives, to moving back to our hometowns, Zoom-ing each other to try and get that spark back… and it just wasn’t the same.
While texting each other one night, we joked about how we needed a magazine for depressed 20-somethings to give us clarity on how to be an adult, and thought “we could do that.”
Within the next month, we had bought a domain, reached out to every artist friend we had, and launched Blossom Mag. Over the last eight months we’ve met so many writers and creatives from all over the United States, expanded our brand to include “Iris,” a Blossom Mag film column and found the creativity and connection that we were searching for.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Since this is a pandemic project, and we are still very much in a pandemic, we work remotely. While there are so many positives to remote work, it can sometimes be difficult to coordinate everything over text and Facetime.
At the same time, all of our contributors are super passionate about Blossom and work so hard to make the magazine a success, even if it means getting texts from us in the middle of the night about their articles!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We met each other while we were both studying Dramatic Writing at SCAD. We have pretty different focuses when it comes to our writing, but we realized early on that we work very well together.
Having that background in storytelling helped us understand how to pinpoint engaging personal narratives within our Blossom articles, and gave us an analytical eye when it comes to editing pieces.
Our goal in starting Blossom was to tell relatable and authentic stories for 20-somethings by 20-somethings. We wanted to craft our own narrative and be as raw and honest as we could, and because of that we really work hard to never censor our writers.
Allowing everyone to share their stories in this unfiltered way inspires more connection and makes us all feel less alone, especially during a time where everyone feels so separated.
What matters most to you?
We are both passionate about telling and sharing stories that don’t get much of a platform in the entertainment and creative industries. We hope Blossom can be a place to hear marginalized voices and inspire connection.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: blossommag.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/theblossommag/
- Facebook: facebook.com/TheBlossomMag
- Twitter: twitter.com/theblossommag
- Other: Ko-fi.com/theblossommag and tiktok.com/@theblossommag?
Image Credits
Lola Estok
