Style-savvy, fashion-forward women can now click their way into better living with Framework Magazine, an online resource created by Duchess Park grad Bria Lear.
Born and raised in Prince George, Lear moved to Vancouver to further her education after attending UNBC and CNC.
"I decided to get my fashion design and technology degree at Kwantlen Polytechnic University," said Lear. "What I discovered at school was while I loved fashion and design I was really more passionate about writing and creating stories and visuals and emotions through the written word and also putting that together in a theme, which is what you do with a fashion collection."
Lear worked as an assistant designer and did a lot of graphics, blogging and social media and she thought a magazine was the right direction to take.
"A magazine is more of what I like to do -- connecting with other people and writing," said Lear.
The younger generation tends to pass their time online so Lear said it was a natural fit to bypass the hard copy.
"Cost wise and the eco friendliness of online is something you can't beat," said Lear. "There's a lot more interaction that you can track and because everyone is online it's just easier to build a community."
From conception to actuality the process only took a few months, Lear said, and launched the first issue in May.
"I was working part time as well so balancing work and the magazine was tricky but it was something I really wanted to do so I just made it happen," said Lear, who is using her savings to finance the project. Eventually advertising will supplement the business venture.
The challenge was deciding on the brand and vision for the magazine, she added.
"I spent a lot of time coming up with names and tag lines and kind of fleshing out what the magazine was going to be about and who the reader was," said Lear.
It was a bit of a challenge finding the right person to execute the online product and after a bit of trial and error it all came together.
"I really want to create a magazine that features local and Canadian women who are young and doing great entrepreneurial things and providing a resource to people on the West Coast and in Canada to really embrace living life in style -- whatever that means to them," Lear said. "It's definitely a lifestyle magazine -- not just fashion or just beauty so I think there really aren't any online magazines that are targeting this customer and the whole spectrum of lifestyle and I think that's really exciting."
For more information visit www.frameworkmag.com.
