About All Things Girl

How it All Started

All Things Girl started as a personal project sometime in 2001, whereby girls from every creative facet could showcase their talents online. The first edition of ATG consisted of only 5 submissions and was the beginning of something quite wonderful. ATG has since grown to a community of editors and frequent contributors. We have grown dramatically, and we plan to continue to grow in the coming months and years. Who knows, perhaps one day there will be an All Things Girl magazine or book sitting on your coffee table!

Our mission at All Things Girl is to allow women a place to showcase their stuff - their artwork, photography, poetry, prose, articles on health, reviews, thoughts on business, creative endeavours and so much more. Our goal is to create a high quality, fun and diverse ezine.

Staff

Editor in Chief: Deb

Hello. I’m Deb Smouse. I’ve been with All Things Girl since mid-2002 and became Editor in Chief in June 2005. I love how All Things Girl challenges me both mentally and spiritually. I’m thirty-nine years young and am the mother to two daughters, one dog and one guinea pig.

I’m learning that there are moments of joy to discover in every aspect of my life and that being brave enough to “step outside my box” simply means the lines drawn around my life are only looser. I love cooking, but don’t tend to find much time to do so. Professionally, I’m a self-employed consultant. I love to travel and appreciate good food and good company. I love spending time with my friends and my family and spend time reading and working on a variety of writing projects, including an attempt at a fictional novel (or two). You can find my writings collected at my website.

Creative Director / Founder: Lorissa

A South African designer, photographer and the co-founder of Expressions, Lorissa currently lives in Oxford, UK with her husband and their feline-brat, Pelei. Her work has been featured in various publications, including PC Magazine, Digital Camera Shopper, Small Spiral Notebook, 28mm, U&I Magazine, unbound press, Kudos Magazine and Create Your Own Photoblog. Lorissa founded All Things Girl back in 2001 with no concept of what it would be other than a place for creative women to show off their stuff. With little-to-no understanding of what it takes to make a successful ezine, she is proud of how All Things Girl has evolved and of the staff that makes it all come together. At the end of 2006, Lorissa handed over the reins of Editor in Chief to Deb Smouse. She is now the Creative Director for ATG.

Managing Editor/ Reviews: A.L. Harper

A.L. Harper is a freelance writer and motorbike fanatic originally from Salt Lake City, Utah but now living in Scotland. It is her dream to someday ride her motorbike around Russia and China. When not daydreaming about swimming naked in a hot spring in China she can be found indulging in one of her other interests - music, reading and art. A.L. grew up as a Punk/Goth in the 80’s and these artistic influences have stayed with her, although a love of Chopin, chamber music and acoustic guitar would seem to decry this.She has a 13 year old daughter who has recently declared that she a Goth and wants to change her name to Gothica Darkwood. A.L. is very proud.

She is the Assistant Music Editor for Blogcritics.org. And she hopes to one day grow up and marry Steve McQueen - if he is still dead Ewan McGregor would do.

Senior Editor: Melissa

Melissa A. Bartell fell in love with words before she could even walk, and the affair has continued to this day. By day, she works as a freelance writer providing web content for various marketing firms. By night, she’s an improvisational comedian, most recently with the Dallas, TX branch of ComedySportz. She’s a voracious reader, coffee addict and blogger, and can be found on her official site MelissaBartell.com or at her blog MissMeliss: Escribition. She lives in Grand Prairie, TX, with three computers, two dogs, one husband, and more books than she cares to count. She’s currently working on a collection of short stories about love, music, and coffee.

Editor: Writings: Karen

My name is Karen Harvey. I live on the seafront in a small town in North Wales, U.K. My home overlooks Cardigan Bay to the south and we are just a stone’s throw from ‘ Snowdonia National Park .’ It is designated ‘an area of outstanding beauty.’

I’ve been very happily married to Tony for over 30 years and we have 6 children and 3 grandchildren. After spending time with my family and friends, I enjoy reading, writing, art, music, photography and theatre. My poetry and prose have been published in a number of anthologies and on-line magazines.

I joined the team at All Things Girl early in 2005 as assistant editor of the ‘Poetry and Prose’ section which I thoroughly enjoyed, then after a spell editing the ‘Around the World,’ submissions I returned to my first love, renamed ‘Writings’ with the launch of our new look ‘Fresh’ Nov/Dec 2007 edition. Ladies, I look forward to reading your submissions and watching All Things Girl grow from strength to strength.

Assistant Editor: Writings: Penny

Penny writes poems and short stories and is in the middle of producing her first novel. She has been the press officer for her local branch of the Soroptimists for two years and had some educational material published by Cheshire Education Services. Penny has been a teacher and head teacher in Cheshire and is now enjoying lecturing for the Open University.

Editor: Arts: Angie

Photography has gone beyond a hobby for me. It’s a full-blown addiction with no cure in sight! My “vices” of choice include many cheap, plastic, “does that actually work?” film cameras. Occasionally I’ll break out the digital and a few instant cameras as well. I’m fascinated by Americana and everyday beauty. My one and only photography course was twenty years ago. After that I did not pick up a camera until two years ago.I’m a mom, sister, daughter, and breast cancer survivor living in Columbus, Ohio. Talking on the radio is what I do for a living. I maintain a couple of blogs; one for words and the other for photos.

Check me out : Pinkie Style/Words | Pinkie Style/Photos

Thank you for dropping by “ATG”. I’m looking forward to seeing your beautiful photos and submissions!

Editor: Arts: Chantal

I’m a professional wedding and portrait photographer based in Columbus, Ohio . My love affair with photography began when I was 15 years old, and grows stronger every day. When not shooting adorable kids and gorgeous brides, I’m usually either chasing my own three children around with the camera, or simply enjoying some quiet time with my awesome husband.

I’m an avid blogger and maintain both a blog about my photo business as well as tidbits from my life, and a not-updated-nearly-enough photoblog. My portfolio can be viewed here.

Editor: Arts: Rebecca

Rebecca Wachtel is an accomplished make-up artist of 13 years and has worked on such movies as Letters from Iwo Jima and Master and Commander. Her passion for photography arose from her love of seeing the world with curious eyes. She has been working in the medium since 2002 capturing whatever interests her in the moment. Loving to play with contrasting colors Rebecca’s work in infrared and cross processing allow her to engage the viewer on a unique level. Her work has appeared in an independent exhibit; Daydreams, a group exhibit; L.A. Seen, and a self produced mixed media art show; Rise and Shine, the Counterinagural ball all based in Los Angeles where she currently resides. You can view more work and contact Rebecca at www.rebeccawachtel.com, http://www.jpgmag.com/people/Diabalita and http://imdb.com/name/nm0905184/

Assistant Editor: Reviews: Nicola-Jane

Nicola-Jane lives in sunny Cape Town, South Africa and spends the majority of her days struggling to come to terms with the fact that she’s all grown up now and expected to pay taxes. To ease the burden, she relies on fabulous friends and her love of red, red wine - working as a copywriter to support the latter. Nicola spends a good portion of her time reading and is also passionate about women’s issues… current affairs… social issues… and the likes. Her blog (www.fluffypinkthing.blogspot.com) and her cat keep her sane. Well, almost.

Contributing Editors

Tamara

Tamara Palmer knew she was going to be a writer before she could even write. She would play elaborate dramas out with her Barbies for days,even weeks,on end. As she got older the stories made their way onto a typewriter and as the story goes… Tamara is actively seeking publishers for her two completed novels, Missing Tyler and Finding Lancelot. Her work has appeared in edifice WRECKED. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband. You can read more of her work at www.tamarapalmer.com

Regular Columnists

A.B.Monk

A.B. Monk is a graduate from the University of Tennessee. She is an avid animal lover and has worked with the University of Tennessee Veterinarian School, the Knoxville Zoological Gardens, and Tiger Haven Big Cat Sanctuary. She is currently working with a nonprofit health care organization to support herself until she has the education and funds to start her own animal sanctuary and green living corporation. You can visit her website at www.spiniffy.com or her pet blog at critter.spiniffy.com.

Jennifer

Jennifer Pereira is a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Dietitian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist based in Arlington, Texas. She focuses on nutrition and body image here at All Things Girl. Her website is: Nutrition Paradox.

Renee

Renée Letros is mother to a teenage daughter and a just-about-to-be-teenage son. She lives in Montréal, Canada, with her best friend, partner and Love, Warren, in an idyllic tree-lined neighborhood surrounded by parks, cafés, bakeries, churches, and an open-air market. She focuses her writing mainly on non-fictional explorations of relationships with lovers, family, friends, co-workers, and community and culture.

Samara

Samara Leigh is a Northeast Ohio-based writer, entrepreneur and 30-Something Rebel. She is the owner of a copywriting and virtual support services firm focused on supporting the needs of creative professionals. She also teaches entrepreneurs and independent creative professionals to incorporate low-cost and no-cost technologies into their small businesses.

Shanna

Shanna is a writer, animal lover, catalyst, and Intender. She finds inspiration in the ordinary; magic in the mundane. She loves riding her Bianchi and is looking forward to a trip to Copenhagen and Paris to enjoy a bit of European bicycle culture.  Send thoughts,  gifts, and Euros to: shanna@shannatrenholm.com

Tiffany

Tiffany Hixon is a published novelist & freelance writer living in Ohio. When she’s not writing, she works part-time in a salon and spa and is a Fine Arts & Art Education double major at Ohio University. In the rare moments of free-time, Tiffany likes to sew stuffed critters with her three-year old daughter, Sydney or geocaching with her husband, Scott. She loves chocolate, iced coffees and singing to 80’s hair metal.