Pedestrian?

What do we learn in Campbell Milligan's CV? Well before he co-launched Monster Children Magazine in 2002, Milligan worked as a Pizza Boy, Carpenter, Ad Designer and cartoon drawer. He also initially disliked business partner Chris Searl, has a penchant for the sea, advises against University and absolutely hates stairs.

SCHOOLING
Failed art in high school, and was voted 'Most Absent' in senior year.

THE OTHER YEARS
Dole for two years after school, few odd jobs like carpentry and pizza delivery boy to keep the parents off my back

FIRST REAL GIG
At a printers drawing cartoons of airports. Horrible.

STUDIO TIME
Hired as a junior designer at Brett Sherwell design, became addicted to port during this three year stint. Also spent three months trying to create a bevel effect on type in the first photoshop program.

MAGAZINE LAND
Got hired as an 'ad designer' with Morrison Media, and was fired not long after with the opening line of "If getting along with your work colleagues and drinking was part of your job description", was then rehired by the editorial creative director and entered into a world of drinking and drug taking, in between this i designed such magazines as Slam, Surfing Life, Chick, Deep, Australian Long boarding, Australian Snow Boarder and even did an issue of Riptide with a filthy word on the cover.

THE BIG CITY
Got poached by Sam Mcintosh and Adam Blakey to work on Waves magazine in Sydney, had an issue of Waves and Surfing life I designed on the stands at the same time. Spent a couple of years there making a mess of things, but having one hell of a time in the process. Also met Chris Searl during this time, he made me lie in the middle of a road in the city during an editing session for a movie we were making at the time, instantly I didn't like him.

ON MY OWN
Left Emap and publishing and started freelancing out on my own working with Chris more and more, Myself doing the design and him shooting the photos.

MC
About six months into the freelance gig Chris and I decided to start Monster Children, about a year later the first issue was printed, six years later we are still going ... and I still design the thing, and Chris still takes most of the photos within it.

THE INTERVIEW

How did you get into the publishing/gallery business?I had worked on magazines for a few years, then left and freelanced for a while working with Chris, we started talking over a few beers about how there were no magazines in Australia that really covered what we were into, the next week we each got a five grand credit card, printed a media kit and started publishing a magazine. The gallery came about after an exhibition we had at Ken Done’s gallery, the curator of the space took a look at the tattoos on one of the artists and insisted that we should get a 20 million dollar public liability insurance cover note. We decided after that it would be much easier to just open our own, we were wrong.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far? I’d go with travel, through work we have been lucky enough to travel to a bunch of places, and meet a varied group of people along the way, it’s always great to travel with the people I work with too, great fun and a whole bunch of trouble.

What has been your most surreal or crazy moment? Sitting in a hotel room with Dave Grohl making small talk and avoiding the subject of Nirvana while waiting for our journalist to arrive after a night on the pills, only to have him bust through the door with his Dad who then proceeded to tell Dave that “Me and the missus
are huge fans and you’re welcome at the farm anytime”.

What’s been the worst job in your life thus far? Carrying magazines, seriously they’re heavy, and for some reason we always have offices up stairs. Every issue we end up carrying something like two tonnes of magazines up stairs, I’m kinda over it.

Have you reached your ultimate career goal yet? I’m still working five days a week (sometimes) so my career goal is not yet achieved, when I knock that back to one to two days I’ll buy myself a gold pen.

What advice would you give to people looking for a career similar to yours? Can the study, use the money you were going to spend on that, and buy a computer, design stuff for your friends, family, the guy down the road that mows your lawn. Learn about fonts and composition.

Did you always know you wanted to work in design? When I was about 18 I was booked to be a deckhand on a yacht, I was about two weeks away from donning a striped shirt and boat shoes when I got a phone call from Morrison Media asking me if I wanted a job in design, I made a few life decisions and ended up swinging to the side of design, still have a penchant for the sea though.

Was there ever a certain person or defining moment that influenced you as a person? The creative director at Morrison Media, Graeme Murdoch was probably my biggest influence. He guided and prodded me through many magazines when I first started out, I don’t think I would be the designer I am now without his guidance. He was also responsible for my first cup of coffee, that could be considered a defining moment in my career also?

What are the day-to-day highs and lows of your job? Working with Lucy Goodwin can cover both of these.

If you weren’t designing magazines, what’s another career path you might have taken? I’d like to give industrial design a go, and I have always loved the idea of being an architect. Either that or I would love to be a surly bar tender at a dive bar that plays heaps of shit rock n’ roll.

What are you working on at the moment? Issue 25 content, and trying to work out the launch of the American version of MC next March.

If you could trade places with one person for a day who would it
be? I’d go Keith Richards during the ‘Exile On Main Street’ recordings in France, now that would be one crazy fucking day.

What was your first job? I worked at a bakery. It was horrible.

4 comments | Posted on October 25, 2009 at 5:40pm by Ash | Email article to friend | Back To Top

Murray Bell's CV pulls a few surprises. Considering the success of Design Is Kinky and Semi-Permanent, the projects he co-runs with Business Partner Andrew Johnstone, you'd think Bell was an over-achieving design prodigy. In reality homeboy failed most of the creative courses he enrolled in, opting instead for a life of surf and travel. We're not sure what that teaches us about success but as his CV reveals, Spain is a good place to conceive big ideas and if Bell is cooking steaks - you best keep an eye on the chef.

WORK EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS. 1997
Twelve months of education by clueless teachers. Had more fun on the skate from Sydenham train station to Enmore TAFE. Failed the course after missing all exams and not submitting final assignments to chase waves on Philip Island, VIC.

SLIDING. 1998 - 1999
Professional Bodyboarder. Travelled to Bali, Sumatra, Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York & Spain.

BUILDERS LABORER / STEAK HOUSE COOK. 2000
Didn't take either very serious. Purely there for cash reasons. Breathed in way too much dust while ripping down roof tiles at the Taxi's Combines offices. And spent Thu, Fri & Sat nights behind a damn hot grill cooking steaks and ribs. Admittedly I did drop food and then serve, of course after a quick dip in the deep fryer.

SCHOOL OF AUDIO ENGINEERING. 2001
Why did I sign up to do design at an audio school? Worked really hard, staying back late teaching myself everything I could, and as a result was hired as the night watchman. Used to take a monitor and G4 home with me every Friday night so I could work on side projects before Monday morning. Failed once again after spending my tuition fee on airfares overseas.

NO PARKING ON CLARENCE ST. 2002
Was hired on first interview out of my failed college experience at Artichoke Design. Great boss (Michael Signal), and met Andrew Johnstone who had recently started the website Design is Kinky.

RISE OF THE CREDIT CARD. 2003
Left Artichoke after talking at the OFFF festival in Spain when we conceived the idea for Semi-Permanent while in a Barcelona hotel room.

ARDEN STREET. 2003
Andrew and I launch Semi-Permanent from his bedroom. I drive from Cronulla every day, and make my desk my knees and my chair the steel-wool-like carpet for 12 months. Still doing Semi-Permanent to this day.

WE THE PEOPLE. 2005
Launch Movement magazine and work on Stab mag.

CONFUSED. 2007
Art direct Dazed & Confused and YEN magazines on the side. Why? To keep busy I guess.

THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. 2008
After tracking down the lead singer's phone number, I end up in Sweden filming the Dukes Of Windsor music video, Its A War. Have some very half hearted attempts at other music videos in the year.

PRESENT. 2009
Semi-Permanent. Design Is Kinky. Movement magazine. Live. Planet Love Sound.

THE INTERVIEW

How did you get into the industry that you’re into now? It's hard for me to single out one particular industry that I sit within. I guess for Semi-Permanent, it falls under event management. Andrew Johnstone and I started SP soon after speaking at an event in Spain, the OFFF. While we were there talking on behalf of Design Is Kinky, we had the opportunity to meet some of the head creatives and decision makers at Diesel clothing. After we caught up with them over lunch followed by a few emails and phone calls, they asked us to come up with an idea how we can work together, and we felt that Australia was lacking the experience of having world class designers come out to speak in person, so we threw that at them, and we were all on.
As for Graphic design, well, after failing two courses at different colleges (one to pursue waves in VIC and the other because I felt my fees would be better spend on airlines tickets), and after the confidence of starting SP, I started a publication with two good mates (Ben Player & Jethro Lyons), which has lead to the other print projects.

What’s been your highlight of your career so far? Pulling off the first Semi-Permanent event was a great experience. Andrew and I had a lot on the line, financially and mentally, and to have over 2,000 people come to the conference and 1,500 to the exhibition was a great feeling. And recently, I have started a new film/TV project with a great mate (Lucas Jenner), and although its not up and running yet, its a great feeling having it all come together, with a lot of potential.

Have their been any surreal or really crazy moments? Not sure if glamorous is the best way of describing it, but I've have a brilliant past 8-9 (working) years. If I really needed to make myself sound like a complete wanker I could mention that I have 'glamorously' stayed in the penthouse of the Plaza hotel in NYC, a suite at the Chateau Marmont in LA and in the presidential room at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

What advice would you give to people looking for a career similar to yours? Give anything a shot. If you fail, that's not a bad thing at all. On plenty of occasions I've lost money and time on projects, but you grow from every experience, so explore every idea.

Did you always know you wanted to work in your industry? No. We developed the whole idea of SP 2 days after we thought of it, and that was 8 years ago. We just ran with it. And from there, we have met people together or individually and we have started new projects (in print, film, live events etc).

Was there ever a certain person or defining moment that influenced you as a person? It wasn't all that profound, but Mike Mills and caught up a few years back in LA and that opened my eyes to things. He's a brilliant guy, and obviously super talented, but I like the way he does the things he wants to at his own pace.

What are the highs and lows of your job? Lows, stress. I get stressed pretty often, especially around Semi-Permanent. We really do our best to make sure that all our speakers and attendees have a great experience, and the little things mean a lot to us. High's, there is just too many. Life, travel, friends, opportunity, spare time, surfing etc.

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing, what’s another career path you might have taken? Lately, and specifically after seeing Pheonix play at the Mandalay Bay, I wish I was a kick ass drummer like Thomas.

What are you working on at the moment? I'm trying to work my way through the book Shantaram... No, at the moment were getting SP Sydney ready and a film/TV project.

What do you hope to be doing 5-10 years down the track? I honestly don't look that far in advance. I'm happy with everything we are doing now, and I'm sure whatever I had in my head now would change within the year.

If you could trade places with one person for a day who would it be? Terry Richardson of course.

What or who has been inspirational to you throughout your career or life in general? Creatively, even thought its such a cliché word, Spike Jonze.

www.semipermanent.com
www.designiskinky.com
www.movementmag.com
www.murraybell.com

3 comments | Posted on October 18, 2009 at 4:18pm by Ash | Email article to friend | Back To Top

As we learn in Kym Ellery's CV, the Sydney-based fashion designer once worked as a hand model for Yoplait and before that worked in a surf shop in Perth. These days however, Ellery spends her time planning world domination through her eponymous label ELLERY, collaborating with the likes of Graz Mulcahy, Sportsgirl and artist Emily Fitzgerald, styling shoots and dressing the odd celeb. We caught up with the designer, stylist and former Russh Market Director to learn why it takes more than a "passion for fashion" to make it in this industry.

WORK EXPERIENCE
-Work Experience in the costume design department at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
-Surf Shop during teens
-Bridal Store also in my teens
-Scanlan and Theodore for my first 3 years in Sydney. I love this company.
-Alice McCall for but a moment helping her with the PR and general bits and bobs.
-Russh for a sweet 3.5years or so. Starting there for issue 4 onwards.
-After leaving Russh I continued Freelance Styling; shooting for Oyster, Yen, NO mag and Box.
-Studied for 1 year Fashion Certificate at Bently Tafe; Perth
-Attended St. Martins for a Summer School course.
-Started ELLERY in Jan 2007; Trevor Stones shot some pieces for VOGUE Australia and Tamila Purvis shot some for Russh before the label was even properly born. Thank you so much guys.

DRESSED
Madonna Request for music video
Emily Barclay; Actress
Victoria's Secret Model Jess Hart
Abbey Lee a big fan after shooting with Greg Kadel for Australian Vogue
Sarah Murdoch; wife of Rupert Murdoch; Publisher
Jodhi Meares; ex-wife of ex-Publisher/Owner of ACP James Packer
Jennifer Hawkins; ex-Miss Universe, a known favourite of Donald Trump and spokesperson for MYER
Lara Bingle; Campaign Spokesperson for AUSTRALIAN TOURISM and the face of SPEEDO swimwear.
Catherine McNeil; Australian supermodel, a favourite of Mario Testino who was put on an exclusive contract with Publishing House Conde Nast as soon as she arrived to work in New York.
Myf Shepperd; Australian Model turned Superstar, walking the catwalks of over 50 catwalk shows between Paris, Milan, London and New York last year.
Natasha Khan; Musician aka “Bat for Lashes”

See more videos at Pedestrian.tv

AWARDS
E L L E R Y was selected as a finalist for two of the most prestigious Australian Fashion Design Awards
- Finalist Qantas Spirit of youth Awards 2008
- Finalist for the WOOLMARK Designer of the year Award, sponsored by Vogue Australia and Woolmark (as part of L’oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival)

ON THE HORIZON
-Sportsgirl Collaboration instore April 2010.
-Exciting new winter collection; hopefully a show in early Nov; the collection will be very much based on medical/anatomy. I want an art installation show with a beat poet. But that is secret until we do it. I am OBSESSED with Paddington reservoir! It will be such an amazing location for a summer night.
-Graz Ellery sunnies were exciting
-Working on the artist collaboration to be shown at the MCA next RAFW with Artist Emily Fitzgerald; a gown piece
-Blogger Knight Cat very supportive in the US and consequently US Harpers and Vogue have been sniffing around.

THE INTERVIEW

How did you get into the industry that you're into now? With sheer determination and the willingness to work for free and til all hours of the night.

What's been your highlight of your career so far? Having Madonna's Stylist contact my publicist for garments for a music video being shot in Milan. Whoah. Then emails from US Vogue and Harpers swiftly coming in behind.

Have their been any surreal or really crazy moments? Lots of crazy ones which I think could also be seen as surreal but no good surreal moments as yet. They are in the pipelines though. I can feel it in my waters.

In your life has there been a job yet that you've really hated? I was a hand model for Yoplait. Can you handle that? I still claim in sometimes. Okay... all the time.

Have you reached your ultimate career goal yet or are there still things you want to achieve? There are so many more things I can't wait to achieve. World Domination for example. I also hope to open a boutique in Paris one day and have a team of people that can help my vision come to fruition.

What advice would you give to people looking for a career similar to yours? Don't do it. I would recommend a career that involves really high salaries and low work hours.

Did you always know that you wanted to go into that industry? I sure did. I don't do it because I want to. I do it because I must.

Was there ever a certain person or defining moment that influenced you as a person? I worked with a real a-hole once at a surf store in Perth when I was but a teenager. He taught me how to stand up for myself.

What are the highs and lows of your job? Late nights, sore necks, seeing the fruit of my labour hanging on the rack in front of me and seeing people excited about my work.

If you weren't doing what you're doing, what's another career path you might have taken? I would definitely be an interpretive dancer. Or someone's muse.

What are you working on at the moment? My new Fall Winter 2010 Collection. It is all about the body and peeling the layers back.

What do you hope to be doing 5-10 years down the track? Lying on a yacht.

If you could trade places with one person for a day who would it be? Carine Roitfeld. Because she is COOL. She invented COOL and has the COOLEST Job in the world. Oh. My. God.

What or who has been inspirational to you throughout your career or life in general? Carine for sure. Also and my sweet Ma, Pa and family. And my little lambs.

1 comment | Posted on October 14, 2009 at 4:16pm by Ash | Email article to friend | Back To Top

CV. It’s astounding how two tiny letters can mean so much. Derived from the Latin Curriculum meaning course and Vitae meaning life CV’s are a gateway into your professional history, your academic achievements, your interests, your strengths and quite often – your weaknesses.

And since the Global Financial Crisis has made job security as volatile as Kryptonite, your CV is now more important than ever right? Right. To help the hapless job hunters out there Pedestrian is launching the aptly named “CV” - a section of the website dedicated to dissecting resumes and learning how top of their game creative’s got to where they are. Check back weekly for a new resume, interview and pearls of job-hunting wisdom from Australia’s brightest music, fashion, art, events and publishing figures.

Add Comment | Posted on October 07, 2009 at 10:16pm by oscar | Email article to friend | Back To Top

Image via adeadcoffinclub

In our inaugural CV post it's only appropriate that we profile a former employee - Miss Tiah Eckhardt. The Western Australian born model has graced the pages of Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Dazed & Confused, AnOther magazine, Arena, Esquire, Russh, Vanity Fair and Russh but lurking beneath the runway ready exterior is a gifted writer and dance teacher. Read on to learn how Tiah became one of Australia's most recognizable models and why she's not just a pretty face.

PROFILE

For the last nine years I have been employed within the Australian and International fashion industries as model, working continuously in Perth, Sydney, New York, London, Paris and Milan as well as travelling extensively throughout Europe, North America and Asia. With an entertainment based education beginning at age five studying dance, music and drama I have also been able to branch out into singing, presenting and acting professionally performing in short films, TV commercials and live productions. After graduating from specialist performing arts school John Curtin College in 2002, I decided to resit my tertiary entrance examination in January 2009 scoring a scaled result of 98.8%, placing me in the top 1.2% for the country in written English. My continued interest in English, Literature and Media studies has also led me to be approached by numerous print and online publications in an editorial capacity, writing features for the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, Nine MSN, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Times magazine and online press content for fashion brand Wheels & Doll Baby. My ultimate desire would be to gain further employment within either the fashion, media or entertainment industries in a position that allowed me to fully utilize the priceless education, experience and existing professional relationships I have already worked to attain. I feel my practical experience and established connections in these areas, as well as my reputation for being committed, punctual, personable and passionate about my work, would make me an asset to any company willing to employ me further in this field.

EXPERIENCE

VIVIENS MODEL MANAGEMENT --- 2000-2009, STORM MODEL MANAGEMENT --- 2005-2009, ELITE MODELS NEW YORK --- 2006-2009, BEATRICE MODELS MILAN --- 2006-2009
Modelling for editorial, advertorial and covers for magazines such as Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Dazed & Confused, AnOther magazine, Arena, Esquire, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair, Elle, Grazia UK, Russh and Oyster. Runway and advertising for designers like Valentino, Armani, Gucci, Agent Provocateur and numerous high street stores. Acting in short films and music videos. Singing live at events for Faberge and Wheels & Doll-baby.

WRITING, FREELANCE - 2006-2009
Fashion oriented features for Harper’s Bazaar and The Sunday Times Magazine. Blogging for Nine MSN and The Sunday Times. Press releases, bio’s and collection overviews for Wheels & Dollbaby online.

ASSISTING, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER AND ARTIST, JUSTIN SMITH - 2005-2008
Assisting production on shoots for major advertising and editorial clients as well as numerous art projects. Running errands, styling, lighting, equipment and studio rentals, communicating via phone, fax, email with clients and galleries, building sets, casting, booking and organising talent.

PEDESTRIAN PRESENTER --- 2005-2006
Interviewing bands, designers and artists for Pedestrian TV.

TEACHING, VARIETY STYLE SCHOOL OF DANCE 1999-2001 Teaching ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and modern dance to children three & up, teenagers and adults. Book-keeping, cleaning, working backstage on productions.

EDUCATION
DIPLOMA IN FASHION, BENTLEY TAFE WA - 2004
GRADUATED, JOHN CURTIN COLLEGE OF THE ARTS 2002, Studying TEE English, Drama, Media, Economics, History and Human Biology, winning English and Humanities awards.

THE INTERVIEW

P: I guess modelling what you’re most known for. How did you get into that?

TE: When I was 15 I wanted a part time job. My mum’s friend used to run a modelling and deportment school and she basically hadn’t seen me since I was 9 years old and she said you could model if you wanted to… Why don’t you see this agency in Perth? I thought that would be better than working in Maccas or subway or something… So I went to see Vivien’s in Perth and I think they said no… they weren’t going to take me or whatever… but they asked me to go home and take photos of myself and with no makeup on… I took them and sent them back to them and then they called me and offered me a contract and I’ve been with them ever since. So for like 8 years. That proves my point that I’ve always maintained that I look better in photos than I do in real life. Cause they actually said no when they met me, and yes when they saw photos.

P: What’s been your highlight of your modelling career so far?

TE: It sounds stupid, but honestly everyday that I get to work with creative people. You can do an amazing job that’s really well paid but it won’t be creatively satisfying or you might not particularly like the team you’re working with. Then you can also just hang out with friends that are really talented or you’ve worked with before and produce incredible work. It might not be something that’s seen by everyone.

P: Have their been any surreal moments on shoots?

TE: Yeah I nearly got killed by a horse in a warehouse in Athens. I’m not even joking. I mean I nearly died! If it wasn’t for this little Greek horse trainer man that caught me half a metre before I hit the concrete ground. It was for this Shoe campaign. They told my agency in London nothing about like oh you’re going to be riding a massive stallion bareback, upside down in a corset & heals on a concrete floor in a warehouse. My family has horses and stuff like that so I just went oh yeah that’s fine I can ride horses. I think the heal of my shoe nicked it’s neck and it literally bucked up on it’s back legs and screwed me god knows how high up into the air.

I guess cause I’m not that tanned blonde girl I’m not going to get flown to tropical islands I’m more in weird situations. I’m always falling off buildings and stuff like that.

P: Is modelling as glamorous as it’s made out to be?

TE: What is glamorous is the beautiful clothes, the makeup, production and that side of it. The unglamorous side is the people. Oh that sounds really bad. It’s more like ‘Oh I’m going to model, I’m going to hang out with celebrities, I’m going to get lots of attention and everyone’s going to love me bla bla bla’ and then you meet all these people and they’re really not that amazing – they’re actually dickheads most of the time. So it’s glamorous in a way that you’re actually creating a fantasy with the pictures and the production that go into it, but it’s not glamorous when you’ve got conceited people being assholes to you or criticising you or even making you work for 18 hours and being rude. It doesn't always happen but it can happen and that’s the unglamorous side.

P: On your CV it says you taught dance is that true?

TE: Yeah my sister’s actually a ballet teacher and I danced for 14 years. I did ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary…the whole lot! So she has her dance academy and my first job was teaching dancing.

P: Is dancing something you still love and take an active interest in?

TE: Oh yeah, I really love to do it and it really helps with my modelling of course. I also did theatre for years as well… I liked performing but I didn’t necessarily like training.

P: Where does modelling and dancing cross over? Is it the body control?

TE: Yeah definitely. You learn to use your body as a tool and manipulate it physically but also as an artistic tool.

P: In your career has there been a job yet that you’ve really hated? What’s been your worst job?

TE: Actually I was a check out chick when I was like 15 and that was horrible. I would do 4-hour shifts and I just hated it. I think that’s when I started modelling as well and I thought ‘oh that god I don't have to do that anymore.

P: Was that your first job as well?

TE: Yeah I was like 15 or something, it was so bad. Yeah people are like ‘you’ve been a model for 8 years you don't know what a real job is’ and I was like ‘um excuse me, I used to scan people’s groceries’ . I wanted to kill myself after a 4 hour shift because people are so rude. It’s definitely made me really careful about being nice to check out people and waitresses.

P: So we’ve been talking about the past, lets look at the future. In your CV’s cover letter you say your ultimate desire would be to gain employment in a field that combines fashion, media and entertainment. What’s your ideal job?

TE: In a fantasy world I’d love to just write! I’d want to write about what I want, my opinions and my perception’s on the fashion industry and also all the other creative industries that are involved with that. I suppose I’ve had a priceless view on those industries and an angle that most people don't get to see. So I would love to just write about that.

P: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? And when did you really start writing?

TE: Okay this is going to sound so conceited but I taught myself to read when I was 4 before I started school
because I used to do theatre and I couldn't read and I had to memorise all these theatre scripts so I used to just match it up to the words! So before I started school I already knew how to read and I was reading a lot, and that just ended up in me writing a lot. I always received good marks in school and in English without even really trying… I’ve never studied for an exam in my whole life! It was just something that came really easily to me and I really enjoyed. I loved the communication aspect of it and also being able to use the English language as a tool to make people feel things or get a point across.

P: So writing for Harper’s Bazaar and ninemsn, that just a natural progression from your role in the fashion industry.

TE: Yeah well I’d often be on shoots giving my opinions on issues, as I usually do without invitation (laughs), and then people were like ‘do you write?’ and I’d always be like ‘well, yeah I’ve always written for fun, I’ve always been pretty good at it apparently’ so then people would ask me if I wanted to do some stuff and I did, and I always got a really good response from every editor I worked with.

P: What advice would you give to aspiring models or fashion journalists?

TE: Get thick skinned really quickly because your going to always going to have people be horrible to you. Being in the fashion industry, in any role, you’ve got to be prepared because there’s so much criticism. People will always tell you you’re replaceable, but I don't believe that! I think you should always stand up for yourself and always have an opinion in anything you do.

P: That leads us to your blog The Light Of God and Girls which is quite personal and really well written. What prompted you to start writing it?

TE: Oh Thank you. Ah it was sort of like an open journal and somewhere to just scribble thoughts. I always wanted it to be like a scrapbook, that's why there’s pictures of work I’ve done or things that inspire me. Just the same way you would keep a diary basically.

P: There’s this perception that models are ‘beautiful idiots’, is that true?

TE: Oh some of them are (laughs) I don’t think its because they’re ‘beautiful idiot’s but I think depending on what age a girl starts modelling I think they become frozen at that emotional age. If a girl starts modelling when she’s 13 it’s like she’s 13 forever. That’s why I’m thank god I didn't start working seriously until I was 18. They just don't really have to grow up because they’re not in a real world. So I don’t think that they’re stupid, I just don't think they have to grow up… its like a Nevernever land for beautiful girls.

P: So finally, do you know if the baby is a boy or a girl?

TE: I’m about to have a girl!

P: So besides your baby girl, what does the future hold for Tiah Eckhardt? Are you going to continue modelling after the pregnancy?

TE: Honestly I have no idea. I just want to do whatever makes me happy. I’ve been really happy to take this year off because I’ve been working in a grown up industry since I was a 15 year old child and I never really took time off to just chill out. So I don't know what I’m going to do next year, hopefully all the things I’ve been talking about.

2 comments | Posted on October 06, 2009 at 2:57am by jonny | Email article to friend | Back To Top