We've long admired Alice Cavanagh - Editor of Oyster, expat Parisienne and freelancer writer - and we love her candid, expressive writing voice. We didn't even know that she had a blog (and what a blog!) until we found her profile on Instagram and we are enchanted. Sometimes it's easy to get overwhelmed by imagery, there are so many sites around whose sole purpose it is to bombard you with pretty pictures. It's literally a relief to find sites out there that are focussed on content and information and perspective and words. We've loved reading through Cavanagh's portfolio of interviews and reviews (our favourites were the one with the adorably French Lea Seydoux and her musings on the recent Chanel Couture show at Versailles).
We also believe in writing what you know. It's a tried-and-tested cliche, but in matters of art what you know plays the most important role. Is it possible to write about anything else? You can use your imagination to a certain extent but there are some things that you just know. And it's these things that impact the most upon your ability to create. It was on her blog that we stumbled across Cavanagh's article for Vogue, one of our favourite opinion pieces, about her ill-fated first move overseas. It struck a chord with us when we first read it because of its recognition of how important making mistakes and following through is, especially when you are young. We also believe this, and we think all of that messy, life-stuff makes Cavanagh such a great writer. Check out her site, Write About What You Know, if you're interested in having a poke around some excellent interviews with musicians, artists and actresses, film reviews, fashion-y bits and pieces and more. You won't regret it!