Interview Fierce issue Fall 2011

I felt that it was a shame that some of my best work would never see the light of day. So I decided that I owed it to myself to let it shine bright here instead. Even though it's so not up-to-date and there may be errors, I hope that you will enjoy it.
Note that the covergirl has since this interview left stardoll, and I have not been able to recover her account name, so her name will have to do.

ALICE EDIT: Her name was Gmktk ;)
EMMA EDIT: No it wasn't, it was shake-something!  

Cover girl interview 

Fierce 2011 issue with Aba 

Yet another Cover Girl of Fierce Magazine enters the spotlight. But unlike her previous succorers this issues Cover girl, Aba, is much more than just another Cover Girl. She’s the very last one. But I think you all know that by now. We at Fierce decided to end with a bang, so who better than the always surprising Aba.

Aba is timeless, different and most importantly, she’s Fierce from top to toe. 

This interviews setting is no other place than the Fierce headquarters. In one of the lounge chairs wearing one of her, most likely to be, own creations sits Aba. Our main character. We greet each with a smile and a light hug, since it just so happens to be that Aba and myself are old friends. 

We sit down in the little couch area, right between my own office and Alice’. We each pick our own couch and I bring out my laptop. A mac of course, gotta love them. Aba is beaming with excitement, she has been ever since we told her the news. The reason we chose her you might ask? 

Aba is a fairly known member of the Stardoll community, she’s not overly well known, she hasn’t been on the cover of too many magazines. Which we like. But most importantly, she’s different. If you stop by her crip, she’ll always being wearing something unique and different. She’s a designer in her own way, she’s special.

To break the ice, I start out with the welcome speech, which always goes a bit like this: “I just wanna say thank you for wanting to be our Cover girl Aba, we’re very honored.” She smiles at me and says “Thank you so much for having me!” 

“Well we better get started, since I have a lot of questions ready for you Aba!” I say with a smile on my lips as I get ready to get going. She nods at me, and fumbles with some fabric on her dress, which is black and white and nothing like something I’ve ever seen before. 

I clear my throat and put on my serious face, she smiles  “Just to start out with, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself Aba?” “Hmm.. Well, that’s hard.” She says and grins at me. “Well, I’m 14 years old and I live in a small country called Croatia.” Alright then. “What kind of person would you describe yourself as?” “I’d say that I’m a happy person, I’m completely optimistic which I think we all should be in life. I like fashion but I think people follow the rules way too much today. I like uniqueness in any form.”   

“Could you describe yourself if I gave you five words to do so?” She makes a face and then answers “5 words?” She stops for a moment and gives out a sigh “Well, I guess I’d say that I’m loyal, stubborn, shy, creative and fierce” The last one she adds while smiling at me, checking that I get the little joke. Which I do, of course. 

“Well you got through that nicely” I say.
We sit and sip a bit of our lattes, when Alice walks by in the midst of looking for something that she must have lost somehow. I ask if she needs some help but she mumbles something about being busy and missing something that’s apparently orange (isn’t it always?), so I sit back in my couch and take a moment to enjoy my amazing job. 

“We should probably keep going” I say as Alice leaves for the photo shoot she was working on down in the lower part of the building. Aba smiles at me and ask “It must be very hectic working here.” “Oh it is.” I say and I can’t help but to smile.

I look back at my laptop and starting asking the next set of questions. “Your outfits and make-up are always so creative and special. Do you have any certain inspiration? Or does it just come natural to you?”

She sends my a huge smile and answers, beaming “Awh, thank you! I don't think that I have a certain inspiration. But when I come to the point where I have to make a new outfit, I always try to think of things that people aren't used to see. Or maybe even things they find weird and repulsive. I'm never sure if they are going to like it, but it's a risk I like to take. Also I have to say I sort of love the 20's. Even though it's not my style I think women were dressing so classy back those days with all the jewelry. Everything looked so elegant and nice just like in a movie. And I mean, you have to love the 80's right? At least you can get a great laugh looking at some of the pictures.” 

“Would you call yourself a real fashionita?” She pounders over this question, but then answers “That depends on who you think of when you say fashionista. If you think that it’s a person who follows all the fashion trends and only dresses the way he or she sees it in the magazines then I'm defiantly not a fashionista. I just personally dislike trends, because it makes us all look the same. But if a fashionista is a person who loves fashion as a way of expressing themselves then I'm one from the bottom of my heart.” 

I nod, then continues “Would you say that fashion is your life? Do you intend to work within it in the future?”

“Fashion is a huge part of my life, no doubt about it! One of my dreams is to work in a well known fashion magazine as a stylist. I just imagine the feeling when you open a page and you see your work in it.” She takes a moment then adds “It may sound silly or like a cliche but I just can't help it.” 

I look at her self designed dress as the next set of questions spring to my mind, and bursts out of my mouth “Do you have a favorite designer? Do you even follow fashion that way, with runway shows etc. or do you just put on what you please?”

“I do watch a few of them. You know, just to see what has been done this season and to see the art that some of the designers make, because fashion is nothing else then art, at least that’s how I see it.” She pauses “I loved Alexander McQueens work” She does a silent RIP motion “And I also happen to like Gareth Pugh. His designs always seem to be very brave.” I can’t help but to that it it somehow feels comforting and assuring to me that even someone as creative as Aba, still likes to follow designers from time to time like the rest of us mortals.
“On Stardoll a lot of people have side projects, like blogs, magazines etc. Do you have any?” 

“I know it's very popular these days to have a project of your own, but I never really thought that much about doing something on my own.There are so many amazing magazines and blogs that I enjoy reading so I don't really think that it's that necessary to make one myself. For now I'll just continue with what I like the most on stardoll - the unlimited opportunities that you have when it comes to fashion.” 

“Lets move a bit from the world of fashion, to the world of Aba.” I scroll through my document filled with questions until I start out with “Lets start with this question. Besides going on stardoll frequently, do you have any hobbies?”  

“Well,” Aba answers with a smile “I go to school, which isn't much of a hobby but it does take a lot of time and energy. I also play tennis but I don't enjoy it that much to be honest. I love music, my friends.” She takes a moment and sip a bit of her almost empty latte. “When it comes to hobbies you could say I'm just a regular 14 year old girl.” She says and lifts her shoulder for a short moment. 

Alice walks through the area again on the way to her office, asking if everything is going well, not really listening when I answer. She sits down on couch, right next to Aba, sipping to her steaming hot Chai latte.
After a moment of silence she gestures me to go on. “What’s your thoughts on the whole “elite” craze, it is something that you believe in?” “Well, as much as I hate to admit I have to say that there are just some people that are more known than the others, the ones we all love - or love to hate.” 

“Do you care if you’re an “elite” or not?” 

“I don't care if a person is popular or not. I'm not interested in any sort of titles when I'm meeting someone and I dislike anyone who does that. I don't care if I'm elite or not, I'd rather have the title of a fashionable person the the title of being elite.” 

“But isn't a fashionable person pretty much an elite?” 

She thinks about that then answers “True. You've got a good point!” 

“Doesn’t she always though?” Alice says, looking up from her Chai Lattes. 

“Don’t you have somewhere to be, darling?” I say, holding back a smile. 

She smiles at me and says “Not really no.” 

“Too bad” I say. Which makes Alice stick her tong out at me. 

“What do you believe that the meaning with life is?” “I think we should all cherish life much more than we do. Just turn around and look at everything you have and then think of how often you actually complain when million of people don't have half of what you consider necessary.”

“Do you have a motto?” I ask.  

“I don't exactly have a motto, I never really thought about it this much but it would probably be something like "Take the best out of every moment or else you'll regret it"” 

“To end with, this is our very last issue, since it’s 2011, what do you hope that this year has in store for you?” 

“That seems like a kinda random question” Alice says. 

I send her my death stare and she mumbles down in her almost drank Chai latte “Just saying.” 

Aba giggles, not sure what to do of herself but then answers my question “I think that everyone has some sort of plans and wishes. First I'd like to finish my first year of high school. I'd like to take up photography, it has always been a big wish of mine. I want to keep my amazing friends. I will try to be less stubborn and listen to the advice I get. Basically, I will try to make 2011 better than 2010 was and I will try hard, because we all know it will all end in 2012, right?” She says and smiles. 

“Well that was it really. Thank you so much Aba, for being our very last cover girl. I’ll try to do you proud.” 

“Oh I know you will Emma, thank you so much for choosing me.” 

“Thank you for accepting it” Alice adds. 

We all give each light hugs and Alice and I wave goodbye as Aba makes her way out. 

We both walk into our offices, feeling a sense of relieve. 

But a feeling hangs in the air like a great perfume, a feeling that something great is finally coming to its end. 

The Illussion

Ok, so, I know that I haven't posted in a long time, and I'm not just talking about on here, I'm talking in generale. It feels all weird to be blogging again after all this time. But I've been thinking about writting this for a long time. I've been writting it in my head, how I want it to come out, what my point is, what examples to use ect. But you know, I've come to the conclusion that it's a lot harder to actually write something down than to imagine writting it down.
So I here I am, in the middle of my history class, being the rebell that I so obviously am, working on a post for you guys.

The theme of this post (I'm a huge fan of themes, it kinda gives me a guide line, so I don't just write random things, you know?) the illussion that we writers (and stardoll) create.

I think that we all know the very populare blog, Elite News, it's a classic example of a "place" who has gotten all it's popularity from creating an illussion after illusion. What I really mean with this is that they create a fake world. They bring us a story about a how Mary now has left has Dollywood and that Tyler has now checked back in to rehab (those are my own made up examples, don't hate me people). We love those post so much because they create an illussion. They make the world in which we all, one way or another, live in. They make them more alive and more fun. They make them feel like it's a real world. And that's what we really want!

I've also played a bit around with this certain way of writting, recently with my covergirl interview with Anthony (which can be found by scrolling down on this site). And I must say, I do enjoy reading it so much more than I did when I had just made a "normal" interview. Which basically consits of some questoins and some answers. Even though it takes so much more time and effort from me, I do beleive that it's worth it.
Because I create the illussion that I am really sitting talking to our covergirl, that we are really drinking coffee and talking, and that he really laughs, smiles and just in generale reacts to what I say. And it's really not that hard. And I'll tell you why that is. That is because, that you want to beleive it. Even though you know that it's not real, you want to beleive the illussion, because (as I said earlier) it makes it all more fun!
This is why people tell me "omg, it's so great, it really looks like an actual interview" and why our new.. eh.. covergirl (yes I said it!) asked me "I wonder if we will be drinking coffee at Starbucks too? :D".

So to end this, my conclussion is that we all want the illussion (me as much as the next person), it makes it all better. That's why we even read magazines, gossip blogs, go to "parties" ect. We do all these things to make our lifes more exicting than they are. We create an illussion, and we love anything that makes this process easier. This is why, besides the reason that I love to write very, very long articles that you guys love, I will keep writting interviews that makes you beleive something that is not real.
Because illusion is just another word for a lie.

What a great history class this truly is - E

A Christmas Gift

If you guys know me well, you'll know my memory isn't very good. I can remember faces (I never forget a face, a fact I'm very proud of) but not things. And, naturally, after investing in a full-impact gaming computer, my poor old laptop (from which this message is coming from) has been neglected. And not just in the 'I found someone better' sense. In a password sense aswell. So, having spent a good 6 hours of my Christmas Eve hacking into the laptop (I believe I've learned several things today; how to hack, how to understand certain filetypes and not to forget your password!) I came to find something rather interesting. Unused Fierce graphics. Naturally, I have no need for them, and thought that as they will never see the light of day otherwise, I'd show you guys. So, enjoy, and have a very merry Christmas! May your holidays be bright, and your 2011 be Fierce...

Thank you

Hi everyone, Emma here. I've been wondering wether to make this post or not for a while, but now I'm just going to do it.
I just got some quick information that I would like to share with you guys; I've been promoted to Editor in Chief of Fierce. Of course Alice is still Editor in Chief as well, but now we share it 50-50. I just want to say thank you to Alice and.. well you guys! Fiercies! I love you guys so much and we would never have gotten so far without you, you make making new issues worth our time.
To end this, I wrote a small article about Alice for a blog, but it was never used, so I'm going to post it here instead.

Alice Fare, the fair boss
Working with Alice has been, and is, a lot of fun, hard work.. and well, fun. I’ve almost known Alice for two years now, and she has always been kind and loving. We have somehow always seemed to understand each other, and she gets my weird sence of humor. She’s all in all a rather great person indeed.
Working with her at Fierce is, well not that big a difference. We have a lot of fun while coming up with crazy ideas, few of them are only used for our issues. She’s so creative and she’s always open to whatever I might have in mind. It’s amazing to “work” at a place where your boss is not only nice, but trusts you in what you do. Even when it means writting four articles for one issue, it’s really only right for the amazing graphics that Alice spends so much work on. She is so talented, and she always suprises me, always improves, even though I never think that it’s possible.
Fierce is my home, but it wouldn’t be it without Alice, who is truely the backbone of the whole thing, I’ve just been lucky enough to get a ticket to the show. To get to the point, Alice is amazing, and I’m grateful for having her as my friend and boss.
xoxo Emma Ullits.

Correct ;)

It was Anthony :)
And that's the finished cover... I forgot that Tinypic makes things huge... Just click it and you'll see it in a seperate page...... And then come back to read the interview ;)

And this is the interview composed by the always lovely Emma. It may look daunting but I highly HIGHLY reccomend reading it, it's some of Emma's best work and she spent alot of time on it, plus it's very awesome ;)

Interview with Anthony - Fierce August

Dearest readers, when making this issue, the thought was that Fierce was going to be Covergirl-less, different, ha? But then, oh well, we gave in, because we couldn’t resits to feature the amazingly talented Anthony, so enjoy, cause you know this is for you out there on a rainy Tuesday!

As I sit here, in a random starbucks, typing these words, I can’t help but to wonder, what is it that makes us choose a role-model for each issue? It can be because we make a theme around them, it’s normally the other way around. Then why? Normally, the cover girl interview only read by the people knowing the person. And the cover girl always seems to be someone that is very “in” and there for featured in a lot of magazines. At Fierce we’ve tried different kinds of covergirls, we had a cg who no one knew who was, and before that it was the team, it’s been a while since we just had a “normall” covergirl. But I’ve came to the conclusion that it must be because this certain person is interresting, why else would someone be featured in severale magazines? For this issue, we’re going back to our roots, as we did almost a year ago, we have a Coverboy that you know and love, Anthony.

As I look up from my computer, I almost jump in my chair when I see that Anthony is sitting at my table, smilling at me. I can’t help but to laugh. He seems happy and calm, but yet he is telling me how exicted and honoured he is to be on the cover. “Fierce is my favorite magazine!” He tells me and moves a bit in his chair. I slowly takes a sip of my latte, “And you know” I look at him while I place my cup back on the small table “We’re happy to have you” I say smilling back at him.

As I clear my throat and puts on my serious face, he laughs at me and says “You look so serious!” “Well.. I’m suposed to, aren’t I? This suposed to be a serious interview, so I have to be serious” “I guess” he says while lifting his shoulders. I have consentrate on not to smile, there’s something about Anthony, that makes you feel welcomed and relaxed.

Then, I get myself together and ask the first question “Tell me a bit about yourself Anthony, who are you?” He laughs shortly then answers “Anthony! I'm a 14 year old boy from America! My hair is blond, my eyes are blue, and the only thing i can ever imagine myself doing is art or fashion. I'm helpless with anything else.” “Art or fashion eh? I guess it’s not that new on this site that we go to, no? Speaking if which, you’ve been very known for your outfits, what inspires you to make them?” as I ask him the next question I lean back in my chair and cross my arms, waiting as he thinks about his answer. “I'm wondering if I'll sound stupid if I say” he pauses and shortly looks into the air untill he continues “Nothing really! I just wear what I want to wear. Sometimes it's something slutty, sometimes it's some chic evening gown. Usually it's a mix of both!” I nod, agreeing, and say that I myself never think about anything when I make my outfits either, and he laughs at me, telling me that it’s nice to know that he is not alone.

After a moment of silence, I change the topic when I remember my next question while looking down at my Dioguardi bag “You recently got the job as Dioguardi’s new designer, what made you aply, why Diogaurdi Couture? Why not start your own?” He smirks at me and says “Because I'm the best...and Dioguardi is the most well known stardoll brand and/or the best stardoll brand! I really think that I can bring my own personal flare to it, aswell as continue what Manolo was doing.” “I know that you love to draw, but why drawing? Is it just something you’ve always done, like a natural thing, or did you work hard to get where you are now?” “I've always drawn. I really got serious about it recently. I had a great art teacher in middle school, and she really saw me as raw talent that she could develop and improove. She is definetely one of the reasons why I'm so serious about it now. I've drawn almost every day for the past two years. It helps me deal with the pressures of life, and is a great outlet.” I sit for a moment, thinking about my new found information “Well that is so inspiring, I wish I had a way to get rid of my energies and emotions at times, but I guess I have my writting, right?” He nods “Well to keep talking about your skills, do you think, if you tried, that you could go into making graphics, with skills like yours, you could be really good, and stardoll loves their graphic designers, is that something you would try?” He thinks for moment, looks up for a second then says “I would love to try graphic design, but I wouldn't love to buy photoshop. I'm sure that I could get good...but I'm completely fine with drawing on paper, and having people graphic design for me. I'd rather use the money to buy photoshop on clothes, anyway.”

“To go back to where we started, I’ve noticed that you’ve left stardoll severale times, why do you come back? What do you think will need to happent before you stop coming back?” “I leave stardoll, because I always think that I've grown out of it, and it's affecting my life... but to be completely honest, the next day I regret it... and it's just a power struggle with my conscience and I until I come back. Usually it's soon... my will power is lacking.” he says and laughs at himself for a short second, then smiles as he has done trhough out the entire interview. “Now, I must warn you, I’m going to get a bit serious now with my next question” He freezed for a second then says “I thought that you had been serious all along, I mean, that’s what you said earlier, that this was a serious interview?” “Well.. yeah, but now is where it gets really serious!” “Oh really?!” he says lifting his eyebrow. “Well, yes, really. Now can I ask my next question?” “Sure” “To you, what is most important in life?” His smiles at me and answers “Doing what I love. I'm not going to go on and on, because this isn't one of those questions that require a long answer, but I love drawing, and fashion, and my friends, and I can't imagine living without those things.” I can’t help but to nod in agreement.

“As for my very last question, I’m going to get a bit” I pause as I try figure out the right word “unproffessional” “I thought you said it was a serious interview?” he says and laughs “It was, but now it’s over, and my last question is not serious” “If it’s over then why are there another question?” I know he got me trapped in my own words now, and so does he, as he grins at me “Look, do you want the last question or not?” “I want to it, fire away Dane!” I quickly laughs at my new found nickname, shakes my head and sighs “Anywho, to end on an unproffesional way, what is your favorite cheese? Do you even like cheese?!” I say while lifting my eyebrow and then drinking the very last part of my latte. He stares at me for a second then almost yells “Are you kidding me? CHEESE IS MY GOD! Well not really... but cheese is one of my favorite foods. I'm pretty sure that the American government is totally jealous of me, and spying...so I'll say my favorite cheese is American. I really, really like monterey jack, and feta, and parmesan, and havarti... I'm sort of like Jesus, in that I love all of the cheeses in the world.” “ A jesus of cheese huh? What’s that like?” “Amazing” he says and smiles.

Written by Emma Ullits

- Hunni x x x

Even More Fierce

You guys aren't very good at guessing, are you?! Haha, but nobody got it yet. Not even close. I'm gonna make it EVEN EASIER by releasing the photoshoot ;)
As soon as the coverPERSON *hint there* is guessed, you guys get the awesomely awesomeful cover. Of which I am VERY proud of ;)
The head's too big on one of em... Very sorry :(

More Fierce

The file for this was called "Cover Version 6" and I know for a fact I did a different kind of cover before this. So this cover was one of MANY, but it was the final one (which we then changed AGAIN!)
Anyways, guess who the coverperson is and you'll be gifted with the newer cover (which is HUGE!) and a photoshoot AND an interview... What more could you ask for?!