Let Us Introduce Ourselves

Photos: PranaLens

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Life is not meant for settling. It is for adventure, love, and the small moments that give color to the everyday. It is about moving forward but remembering to pause, relishing the world around you and refocusing your sights.

We are four Minnesota girls—the optimistic best friend, the witty hipster, the sweetheart fashionista, and the feisty party girl—each with unique talents, interests, and goals.

What binds us together is our determination, creativity, and restless spirits. We created Bow & Arrow Magazine to be both an outlet and challenge for ourselves, and a resource and guide for others. Through the daily blog and regular issues of our magazine, Bow & Arrow will bring you ideas, advice, inspiration, and entertainment. You can expect to see recipes, DIYs, fashion tips, product reviews, and lifestyle articles. Our hope, however, is that the content and conversation inspire you to develop your talents, discover new interests, set lofty goals, embrace your individuality, and pursue all the good things life has to offer.

We invite you to be a part of Bow & Arrow—to keep up with our posts, subscribe to our magazine, and jump into the conversation and activity across all of our social platforms. We want to get to know you as you get to know us, so don’t be shy about leaving comments, sharing feedback, and letting us know about your passions, interests, and ideas. Here’s to bringing more color and excitement into the everyday, and here’s to life’s big adventure!

BOW & ARROW MAGAZINE

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KATIE

FASHION EDITOR

It was always surprising to me when people would comment on the amount of jewelry I’d wear. I mean, what was wrong with piling fifteen flashy necklaces around my neck representing nearly every color of the rainbow, including, on fairly constant rotation, a neon-green string adorned with a troll hanging by its bright pink hair? Did I mention I was four years old at the time? In my eyes, I looked great!

For as long as I can remember, my life has revolved around fashion. My parents still laugh about my younger years. I wouldn’t wear anything but a dress, and the greatest gift of all time was high heels. The sound they made on hard floors was music to my ears. I felt like a grown-up. Little did I know my day-to-day world would revolve around something that was so near and dear to my heart.

Since I graduated from college, I’ve worked as the Children’s Director for a local modeling agency. Landing the position was a dream come true, and 4

Photo: Jaimee Morse

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each day photos come across my desk that trigger ideas galore for our next fashion spread. My favorite part about my job is that every day is different. I wouldn’t have it any other way. One minute I could be videotaping kids for a national commercial audition, and the next thing I know I’m organizing a large print booking. It’s a good thing I have a photographic memory when it comes to parents’ names and email addresses—I’ll tell you that much!

While the world of fashion is forever changing, my fondness stems from its reliability in my life. It’s always there for me to enjoy, no matter where I am or what I’m doing. A quick peek at my favorite blogs before bed or picking out my outfit for my day job (except the times I “can’t find anything to wear”) are, without a doubt, some of the most enjoyable parts of my day.

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to infuse Bow & Arrow with my sartorial vision, and I hope that our readers enjoy it too! •

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LAURA

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

From art to advertising. From farm to table. From Vans to shoulder pads. From Minneapolis to the world. And not necessarily in that order.

Imagine a tiny town with a constant breeze, meat and potatoes, and “visiting” (talking over coffee and a Minnesotan dessert delicacy called “bars”). This is my home, where life just moves at a slower pace. Leaving (but not necessarily fleeing) the coop, I headed to college in the big city. I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer, but meandered into studio art instead.

I now spend my days at a large advertising agency downtown Minneapolis.

I feel like I’m the epitome of that children’s book, The Country Mouse and The City Mouse. I love living my eventful life in Minneapolis where there is a cultural experience to be had every night of the week (life is too short not to sing karaoke on a Wednesday). I thrive on this fast-paced rhythm, with every day being an opportunity to try something or meet someone new. But I find my much needed balance by returning home to the farm.

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Photo: Jaimee Morse

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On my grandest adventure yet, the magazine, I am the Lifestyle Editor. For our small team, this means a lot of things. I oversee all of the editorial content outside of fashion. Whether it’s concepting, writing, proofing, styling or whatever, I have my eyes on it. My Type A side also likes to take the lead when it comes to new partnerships and opportunities. I am striving to learn more about the business side of things, something that used to seem mundane.

However, that’s where I see myself growing, and therefore must go. (From now on, this is what I shall refer to as my pantsuit/shoulder pad era.)

I always see myself as a Bow, enjoying femininity and glamour. But I’ve come to realize that I may be more of an Arrow than I ever imagined. I’m independent to a fault, and believe in using my intrinsic gifts, some of which have always been there, and more of which I’m just uncovering.

More than ever before, I find it completely exhilarating to know that I can go anywhere. Do anything. Be anything. I have never felt so empowered. There are no limits on my potential. There is nothing holding me back. And there is no doubt in my mind that I will find success wherever I land. •

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JACLYN

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR

Somewhere back in time there is a gray, dim room. It’s cold with the sounds of hospital machines and the low drone of a TV. There is a window that faces northwest—too north to see the sunset over the small downtown of a little river city in western Iowa. But you know it’s there, if only in your imagination.

The smell is the worst part. The air is stagnant and smells of tasteless food and medicines. Things stand helplessly still and all that is left to do is just wait.

Flash-forward to the future. It is filled with the hustle and bustle of fast-paced sights. An over-stimulation of experience and language. On the constant move from city to city, chasing streets, chasing stories, and chasing chance.

There is a saturation of little beach towns, rolling green hills and all of the magical places seen on postcards.

There is a fire in my heart fueled by a friction. A dissonance between the enchantment and romance of a charmed life and a deep down hunger for purpose. It is a whirlwind of yearning to go to these two places. To the gray room where my father breathed his last breath. And to the world I’ve dreamed about over and over—day after day with wide-eyed, heartflight wandering and night after night of soul searching, treasure hunting adventure.

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Photo: Jaimee Morse

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I am now three years from moving out on my own to our northern neighbor: the great state of Minnesota. My move to the big city where I knew barely anyone left me caught between those two realms. At first I settled into my new home. It didn’t take long before I realized settling down was not an option in this state, at least not for me. I came for a job, but stayed for the people, the culture, and of course the summers. Oh, the summers.

I’ve learned when you expose yourself to experiences and open yourself and your story, passion and heart to others, it is inevitable that something great will catch you. For me this was Bow & Arrow Magazine, an endeavor and love affair that sparked the notion that it is possible to be suspended in between two opposing dimensions and achieve balance and stability. My favorite quote is one by G.K. Chesterton: “We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.” While my heart yearns to see the world, I’ve learned that some of the most monumental moments occur in dim, gray rooms, and I’ve discovered that some of life’s greatest adventures are at your doorstep. •

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VANESSA

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

I like to think I’ve been lucky to have the best of both worlds, having grown up in the country and now calling the Twin Cities my home. Raised in the middle of a corn field (although to be completely accurate, sometimes it was a sugar beet or a bean field), I grew up with lots of quiet and miles of open space. Leaving my small town (population 734) for the big city was quite a change, to say the least. Having been here for almost seven years now, the freeway isn’t scary anymore, the police sirens don’t shock me, I don’t wave at every honking car horn, and I can parallel park like a boss. These two worlds have given me perspectives from both sides of the Minnesota coin: the slowpace, familiar-face lifestyle of rural living; and the always-changing energy, variety, and culture of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I couldn’t be more grateful that these two worlds have molded me into the simple, smart, creative person I am today.

I’ve always known I had more than a few creative bones in my body. Playing with words, colors, and images has been a part of my life since I first found my motor and language skills. I thrive in creative, free-flowing environments and become a quiet, bland copy of myself in structured, slow-moving ones.

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Photo: Jaimee Morse

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I’ve done everything I can to live and work in the types of environments where I come alive. My biggest life choices have all followed suit: moving to the big city for college, studying abroad in Italy, getting a degree in Communications and Journalism, and of course, helping start Bow & Arrow Magazine. Once you understand the kind of person I am and how significant creativity is to me, you’ll see that Bow & Arrow wasn’t just something I wanted to do, it was something I needed to do. I needed to keep moving, keep creating, and keep learning.

Bow & Arrow Magazine has pushed me to keep using my creativity and developing my talents—they are gifts I’ve been given and they’re not meant to sit idle. It has also allowed me to surround myself with people who push me to stretch my imagination, be more adventurous, and do more with my time and energy. Most importantly, I have learned that I’m capable of more than I might ever know, and so is everyone else. I’m learning pretty quickly that this thing called Bow & Arrow, more than anything else, is a lesson in setting goals and removing limits. I only hope it inspires you as much as it has inspired me. •

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A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO: Jaimee Morse, Minneapolis Fine Art Photographer www.jaimeemorse.com Alison Rogers, Videographer/Photographer, PranaLens www.pranalens.com Clare O’Neill, Designer/Web Designer www.clareoneill.me

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