We recently connected with Abby Gardner and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Abby, thanks for joining us today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.
In terms of creative output, I wish I could tell a younger me to just do everything earlier. I wish I would have started blogging in the early days, outside of my editorial day job and really leaned into my own voice in all of my writing with even more oomph. And to not be afraid to be unabashedly myself and just where it might lead me. I feel that it has led me in wonderful directions at this point in my life, but it took me a long time to get here. I wish I could have combined some of that glorious fearlessness of youth with that aspect of my career. I spent a lot of time trying to be perfect and would love to tell myself to experiment a bit more.
Abby, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started my career in print magazines (remember those?!) at places like Jane, Allure, and YM where I worked as a beauty editor. I later expanded into more fashion/lifestyle coverage, eventually running digital editorial for brands like Fashionista, Marie Claire, and Allure—as well as freelancing for a number of other national publications.
I started We Have Notes in no small part because I am nothing if not a lifelong pop culture obsessive who likes to devour everything I can get my hands on. I wasn’t writing about that sort of thing at my brand-focused day job at the time, but was a go-to resource for my friends and family about what to listen to/watch/read, etc. Hence the weekly newsletter was born. It started on TinyLetter, but has now moved to Substack, where I also offer paid subscriptions with bonus content. I also spun off a podcast of the same name in 2021 (it was named one of Vogue’s best pods of that year). It’s been on a bit of a hiatus over the summer, but I’m really excited to relaunch it this fall.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I think one mission for me and We Have Notes is that I want people to unabashedly enjoy the things they enjoy and not be afraid to obsess over/nerd out about/fangirl over them together, no matter what your age. Society has this way of making it seem like we’re somehow supposed to age out of excitement and I think that’s BS. If someone finds that silly, I feel sad for them. I want the community of WHN to be a fun, safe space to be as weird as you want to be about the things you love in pop culture. And I’ve found a lot of like-minded people by being my truest self in that way.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
My writing (and speaking) style for We Have Notes is extremely conversational and very much just…the way I talk. I love it so much when someone tells me that I’ve tapped into their brain and put words to how they were thinking/feeling. Or when they tell me they were trying to jump inside a podcast conversation. My favorite writers do that for me and I consider it a totally rewarding honor if even a single person feels that way about something I’ve put out into the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wehavenotes.substack.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbycgardner/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-gardner-1014205/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbygardner
- Youtube: https://twitter.com/abbygardner
- Other: Also @wehavenotes on IG: https://www.instagram.com/wehavenotes WHN on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wehavenotes
Image Credits
Lara Lee