Head of the week: "I didn't want anyone to snatch the idea from under my nose"
Nicole Steffen launched the lifestyle magazine Lounge, which will also be available in German-speaking Switzerland starting in November
Nicole Steffen has launched the lifestyle magazine Lounge, which will also be available in German-speaking Switzerland from NovemberHead of the week "I didn't want anyone to snatch the idea from under my nose"
With the lifestyle magazine Lounge, Nicole Steffen has fulfilled a long-cherished wish. The trained decorator and interior decoration saleswoman slipped into the publishing business by chance. She actually wanted to become a stylist in the fashion industry, but then worked her way into the publishing business on the job alongside her husband Franck Steffen, publisher of the culture magazine Eveil Culturel.
The young woman and mother of a four-year-old daughter, who could easily pass for a model with her measurements at the shoots she organized for the two magazines Eveil Culturel and Lounge, loved to browse through foreign lifestyle magazines. She was frustrated to discover that there was nothing comparable in Switzerland.
Looking back, she says that the initial reactions from advertising and media agencies in German- and French-speaking Switzerland when she cautiously told them about her project for a Swiss lifestyle magazine were so positive that her dream of having her own magazine suddenly seemed within reach. Some advertising clients from the luxury goods industry even wanted to buy entire pages of advertising space without looking at the first maquette, the newly minted publisher recalls with a laugh.
However, there were also warnings that she must be a bit crazy to launch a new product in the current difficult situation on the print market. Nicole Steffen took the plunge anyway. She didn't want to take the risk of another publisher snatching the idea from under her nose.
This reflects her nature: always looking for new challenges. And her ambition: to successfully complete what she has started. Six years ago, she was faced with the decision to continue the cultural magazine Eveil Culturel in two languages. The French-speaking Swiss market was too small for the magazine. Because the Bernese woman is perfectly bilingual, Steffen put the fate of his magazine in his wife's hands because he wanted to turn his attention to other projects.
Nicole Steffen has subsequently turned the magazine into a smart publication that also introduces young readers to music ranging from classical to folk and pop. She has her daughter Lea to thank for keeping her feet on the ground despite her hectic daily routine in often funky surroundings. She doesn't just draw and do handicrafts with her in her free time. Because Nicole Steffen is also a fresh air fanatic, she spends time outdoors with her daughter whenever possible. But not for a walk, but on a bike with a trailer, into which Lea is unceremoniously loaded.
Anita Vaucher
With the lifestyle magazine Lounge, Nicole Steffen has fulfilled a long-cherished wish. The trained decorator and interior decoration saleswoman slipped into the publishing business by chance. She actually wanted to become a stylist in the fashion industry, but then worked her way into the publishing business on the job alongside her husband Franck Steffen, publisher of the culture magazine Eveil Culturel.
The young woman and mother of a four-year-old daughter, who could easily pass for a model with her measurements at the shoots she organized for the two magazines Eveil Culturel and Lounge, loved to browse through foreign lifestyle magazines. She was frustrated to discover that there was nothing comparable in Switzerland.
Looking back, she says that the initial reactions from advertising and media agencies in German- and French-speaking Switzerland when she cautiously told them about her project for a Swiss lifestyle magazine were so positive that her dream of having her own magazine suddenly seemed within reach. Some advertising clients from the luxury goods industry even wanted to buy entire pages of advertising space without looking at the first maquette, the newly minted publisher recalls with a laugh.
However, there were also warnings that she must be a bit crazy to launch a new product in the current difficult situation on the print market. Nicole Steffen took the plunge anyway. She didn't want to take the risk of another publisher snatching the idea from under her nose.
This reflects her nature: always looking for new challenges. And her ambition: to successfully complete what she has started. Six years ago, she was faced with the decision to continue the cultural magazine Eveil Culturel in two languages. The French-speaking Swiss market was too small for the magazine. Because the Bernese woman is perfectly bilingual, Steffen put the fate of his magazine in his wife's hands because he wanted to turn his attention to other projects.
Nicole Steffen has subsequently turned the magazine into a smart publication that also introduces young readers to music ranging from classical to folk and pop. She has her daughter Lea to thank for keeping her feet on the ground despite her hectic daily routine in often funky surroundings. She doesn't just draw and do handicrafts with her in her free time. Because Nicole Steffen is also a fresh air fanatic, she spends time outdoors with her daughter whenever possible. But not for a walk, but on a bike with a trailer, into which Lea is unceremoniously loaded.
Anita Vaucher
