In this online world, there are people you may cross paths with who will inspire you… to create, to dream, to be passionate, to enjoy the simplicity of everyday tasks and to love what you do.

Matthew Mead is one of these people. He is the Founder, Creative Director, and Editor-in-Chief of Holiday with Matthew Mead magazine. He’s also just a really great guy.

I caught up with him last week to chat about his love of handmade, how to approach a magazine editor, product styling tips, and of course his magazine. Enjoy the interview, his words will inspire you, be inspired to create with some wonderful images from his magazine (and a fun holiday D.I.Y.) and enter the giveaway to win something lovely from his new home décor collection.

Paper Wall Tree D.I.Y.

 

Add some festive holiday décor to your home with a colorful paper wall tree. Try this fun and simple D.I.Y. from Holiday with Matthew Mead magazine.

To make this wall tree, cut 80 circles out of patterned scrapbook paper using a 2-inch circle punch. Arrange the circles and adhere using temporary glue dots (Zots^TM). Set a cylindrical vase filled with tiny Christmas ornaments below the tree and add a candy wreath as a topper.

You will find loads of festive décor, fun crafts, delicious recipes and handmade goodness in Holiday with Matthew Mead magazine which you can order here.

I’ve been a fan of your work for many years, going back to your early days as an Editor at Country Home magazine. Tell us a little bit about the projects you are working on right now, including your beautiful magazine Holiday with Matthew Mead.

We have so much going on… we started our own magazine a year ago and have worked every aspect of it from conception to unloading the truck of magazines.  It has been fun and exciting for me to be at the helm of all of it and share my ideas and dreams directly with readers.  This year TIME INC. picked up our HOLIDAY issue and so it has mass distribution in the US and Canada… so we have been able to connect with even more people who knew me from my Country Home days.  We are also working on how-to videos for our own YOUTUBE channel and have launched our own product line called matthewmeadcollection.com… oh, and I shoot the food for the Associated Press… so I am really very crazy busy.  We are now working on a special spring issue called FLEA MARKET FINDS with Matthew Mead and it is totally different then what you might expect.

Matthew, your love of handmade is inspiring. Your blog and magazines are always filled with simple and beautiful ideas. How do you come up with so many fresh decorating and entertaining ideas?

My mind is running at 110% power… sometimes too much.  I have such respect and reverence for hand-made items be they contemporary or vintage.  There is real spirit in handmade and what I love is that it endures generations… its like holding a thought process in your hands, the feeling that someone has come before you but that you are so intricately linked to the past through handmade items.  It’s precious, and important and I am a real supporter of all handmade crafts.

Many of our readers are small business owners trying to navigate the world of publicity for their product. Can you share some tips on how to best approach a magazine? How can small makers catch the eye of editors and stylists?

Take some time to tell your story.  Look for the originality in your work and do your best to promote that.  Great images always catch my eye and some way to organize your bio, your style and your craft into a mini booklet is what helps me to pick from so many talented people.  I am visual so someone leading me through their own story is so valuable.

Here are some things that grab me.

• Send directly to the editor you think would be most interested.
• Share your passion through pictures and words.
• Let me know what you hope to do with your talent in the next five years and where you think you are headed.
• Immerse me in your lifestyle… I am curious so I like to know as much about your craft as I do “what you had for dinner last night.
• And colors… show me an organized color way and I am eating out of your hands.

 We would love it if you would share some tips on styling product for a photo shoot.

• Keep it simple… everything has beauty so don’t hide your craft with dominating props.
• Show me textures and colors in beautiful light… I am drawn to what is familiar to me and my images are a real road map to how to catch my attention.
• Make it seasonal… I am drawn to the things that define the seasons and if you are trying to market your product for a holiday it is best to give hints to the seasons when it would be front and center.
• Lifestyle… it is important to have a hint of how an item is going to be used so readers or buyers can imagine it in their lives.

Matthew, you live in a small town in beautiful New Hampshire, what do you find inspiring about your surroundings?

The seasons are what I find most inspiring.  That is what leads me in so many of the things that I do.  And NH has all the seasons and that makes my work rich and ever changing.

I wonder if you would tell us about who fostered your creativity growing up? Do you come from a family of makers?

We always did things as children with my grandparents and they certainly had a hand in making their lives… sewing, cooking, farming, etc.  I remember picking potato bugs in the summer and enjoying gigantic potatoes all winter long, and gathering flowers to dry in the fall to weave into beautiful wreaths and arrangements.  We made things with evergreen at holiday time, wrapped and delivered gifts and decorated cookies.  I learned a love for doing things that others could appreciate.  Special dishes for special occasions, traditions, etc. and part of all that was making things by hand.

What advice do you have for those of us who are following our dreams and aspiring to live what we love?

You must always find the time to do the things you love… and you must do them over and over again in every free moment until those moments dominate your time and you are living your dream… it’s about endurance, never giving up and believing in yourself like there is no tomorrow.  And when you have made it there… when you can actually taste that which you have so longed for… help someone else out… help them reach their dreams and you will always find what you have created to be precious and special.

Why do you feel it is important to support emerging designers, bloggers and creators of handmade?

It’s about tradition and hope and keeping the worthwhile things about life in motion.  Art and handcraft is not finite.  It continues to grow and unfurl and bridge our time here to the past and the future… What we create are our cave drawings, our paths and journeys to share what and how we have loved, laughed and lived… it as important as water… we cannot live without it…

GIVEAWAY 

Now that you’ve been inspired by Matthew’s wise words enter to win a set of Matthew’s Favorite Jelly Jars from Matthew’s new home décor collection!

To enter, visit the Matthew Mead Collection , then leave a comment here letting us know how you would use these vintage-inspired jelly jars and please Like Holiday with Matthew Mead on Facebook.  Bonus: You’ll love the great projects, entertaining and décor ideas you will get.

 This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to connie @ daydream in color with comment #7