When I was a very young teenager, I had two very big career dreams: to become a fashion or beauty editor for a magazine. And to work in an ad agency.
Having ‘style’ had become such an integral part of my upbringing — blame my parents for being so fabulously fashionable! — that I wanted to share my passion for the right shades and the correct balance between accessories and makeup.
Beautiful ads, labels, and packaging was also something I was absolutely in awe of. At the age of 11, I became obsessed with catchy copy, advertising jingles, and colourful candy wrappers that I collected in a scrapbook all catalogued by colour themes.
I’ve already checked off my list being a fashion and beauty editor, having had the immense pleasure of working as a journalist writing fashion, beauty and lifestyle articles for over 20 years. Including being the French editor-in-chief for Salon Magazine, the authority in Canadian professional beauty.
In Print And Online
In 1996 – way ahead of the curve! –, Labatt launched an e-magazine to promote their Ice beer. I was hired as their digital editor-in-chief to create and curate articles relating to the brand they were promoting. Talk about customised content!
In the last 10 years, social media came along smashing like a tidal wave everything we knew about media, marketing and content. Virtually overnight, established brands, beauty freelancers, and fashion designers had to become skilled publishers and marketing ninjas. Because Google. And Facebook. And Instagram. And… add in whatever next social platform comes in, here.
That’s when I started to sense there was something super exciting happening for my next career move.
My partner Philippe – no, we didn’t meet on Tinder! It was the old-fashioned way, through a friend playing match-maker — and I always knew we would create something new and innovative designed to help others thrive.
But it would happen online. Because we both love the Internet and the way it’s organic, alive, and where you have to be agile, constantly on your toes, to succeed. That’s just the way we like it. Always learning. Always evolving.
So, with Philippe’s amazing business development skills, mega-analytic mind – yes, he thinks like an engineer – and my beauty, fashion and lifestyle content expertise, we’re ready to rock!
Creating the name Kustom Kontent was relatively easy: it’s pretty basic integrated SEO. Our name says what we do. Oh, and it even works well in French, too: Kontenu à la Karte.
But the visual signature became quite the challenge…
I did not want something trendy that would instantly become passé the second it would hit the Internet. And I absolutely recoiled in horror at the idea of a bland and generic look out of a box. It would have to be couture, or nothing.
Then one morning I saw Lana del Rey’s video for Freak with that long, mesmerizing underwater sequence with all the amazing retro California references I find so inspiring and dreamy. And suddenly it all came together!
The inspiration for Kustom Kontent started cascading for the look, feel and vision.
My grandmother’s velvet caftan from the 70’s was scanned and became the background image. My love for Art Nouveau was pivotal in creating the logo; so anti-trend and reminiscent of hand-made beautiful objects, crafted with love and dedication. While the colour palette we chose is rich and soothing.
Best of all, these elements are hugely personal and part of my heritage. Because you can’t create anything great unless it carries your DNA.
We are super excited about Kustom Kontent, our new digital marketing agency specialised in creating content for beauty and fashion online and on social media. We look forward to bringing further in your journey to success!
– Yasmin