From The Editor: The Future of The Unedit

When I started working on The Unedit back in 2016, I was just looking for a place where I could write about the things that bothered me most about the fashion world.

Over the years, I’d seen (and been a part of) the good, the bad, and the ugly. And for the most part, I loved it. I thrived in the chaos, the adrenaline rushes kept me on a high even when running on an hour’s sleep, the art and concepts behind it all took my breath away, every time. The things I most desperately wanted to see – diversity, body positivity, plus size acceptance, loud feminism – always felt too far outside the realm of possibility.

Leaving fashion wasn’t so much a choice as it was a necessity; my body hit a severe level of burnout at a time when I’d never even heard of the phrase. Lung failure wasn’t just a little sign to slow down a bit, it was huge neon-lit letters with flashing bulbs around it like something from a Las Vegas boulevard. And it wasn’t asking me to slow down, it was telling me to stop.

The Unedit came at a time where I felt betrayed by my body for failing to play ball on the same team as my brain and ambition, and frustrated by a world I loved that still didn’t really love people who looked anything other than the ‘perfection’ we saw on covers. I just wanted something for women that left beauty standards at the door, and encouraged them to discover the importance of showing up and advocating for themselves unapologetically.

I’d found body positivity in 2014. It felt confusing at first, impossible even, then like a breath of fresh air. As I really started learning (or rather un-learning), I couldn’t shake the idea that as I worked in the industry as it was, I remained a part of the problem. The Unedit was my attempt to rectify that as I took some time to heal my lungs.

There were three things I didn’t see coming.

The first was the overwhelming response to this platform. Pageviews so high it made my head spin, readers in countries I had to Google, connections that I’d have never made if The Unedit never existed. The second? The impact that the self love, body positive, feminist and anti-diet movements would gradually have on the fashion and media landscapes. And thirdly, how it healed more than my lungs: it healed me.

What I hadn’t banked on when creating this space was the impact it’s had on me, and how much it’s shaped me into the woman that I am now. Pretty much since its first post in 2017, I received daily emails and DMs from readers telling me how much The Unedit was an empowering, safe space that they desperately needed. But it wasn’t until more recently, nearly 18 months since I’d last created any content, that I realised my own website had unintentionally become my safe space too.

I ummed and ahhed for the past year wondering what the future of this platform was.

When I launched The Unedit, I was determined to keep it free and accessible to all, and made the decision to avoid passive income makers such as Google Adsense to protect readers from harmful ads that all too regularly slipped through the cracks of the filters. When the pandemic hit, the income that came from the site through brand partnerships, panel talks and the like evaporated. I know plenty of other creators who relied on such jobs and suffered in the same way, and it was scary staring into the unknown. After working on content, day in, day out for five years, it was time for a rest, and time to make some big decisions.

I thought about repurposing the site, and morphing it into something else. That didn’t feel right. The Unedit is exactly what it’s supposed to be – to quote the immortal Mark Darcy – just as it is.

There were talks about selling up, but that could ultimately result in The Unedit becoming something that it isn’t or that I’d never want it to be. I wanted to be able to maintain the integrity of what had been built.

Given the continued (unexpectedly high) monthly pageviews and the number of emails I still receive to this day, it felt wrong to let it just disappear. It also felt wrong to just let it sit there on a cliff’s edge, with nobody really knowing what the hell happened, which is why I felt compelled to write this. I’m also a fan of closure, so the big question mark that loomed over this site for so long really bothered me.

So, after a lot of thinking, I decided the fate of The Unedit:

It’s staying right here.

A treasure trove of articles written by some of the most phenomenal women and femmes I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, and working alongside. A directory of resources to support readers across a multitude of life’s struggles, courtesy of incredible charities and organisations who advocate for people in need every single day. A space that, dare I say, in many ways seemed before its time. Much of my writing came here because leading women’s publications weren’t ready to publish some of these important conversations yet. (Thankfully, that’s changed now, and my ego likes to think I played a microscopic part in that.)

I’m proud of what we achieved here, and that’s not just me, that’s everyone around the world that made that happen too. Never would I have thought this little pink paradise would see 1,000 hits, let alone over 1,000,000 and beyond.

I have some thank yous to make.

To the incredible readers who helped turn a ‘just for fun’ blog into something so much more. To anybody who read, shared and engaged with our content, both here and on social media over the years, and to those who have returned, or have stumbled across us even now and enjoy looking back. To everyone who supported The Unedit financially, whether that be through buying our digital issue (a particular highlight) or buying us a coffee.

To the columnists, who took the time and energy to share their wisdom, insight, experiences and vulnerabilities: Megan Jayne Crabbe, Michelle Elman, Joeley Bishop, Tina Colleen, Christine Saraceno, Maria Lillian. To the regular contributors, who brought their ideas and skill time and time again. Special thanks to Juliet Sawyer, who wrote over 40 articles for The Unedit, whose talent, enthusiasm and input was nothing short of invaluable. To every last person who contributed to the site in any way, shape or form. Writers, illustrators, poets, photographers, the lot. You may not be named here, but you know who you are. Please know that I’m so incredibly grateful for every last one of you.

To Sara, Sharon and the rest of the team at (the sadly now closed) Clean Prose for allowing me to make Clean Prose a hub for The Unedit. Your support, encouragement and sisterhood will never be forgotten.

I feel like I have to give a very special thank you to one person in particular: Scarlett Hatchwell. Scarlett dropped into my inbox one day, a university student who needed a work placement. She impressed me beyond measure from the get-go and went above and beyond her duty both as an intern and later as my editorial assistant. She was clever, motivated, eager to learn, a brilliant writer and my right arm on set. So many things wouldn’t have happened without her. A memory that still remains so vivid to me is one that may seem forgettable to others. Whilst working on the digital issue, we’d been working hard to put together something great, and one thing I just couldn’t fathom was the sheer size of the project. We were sat at my kitchen table, the whole thing covered in post-it notes of article ideas and editorials whilst trying to decide on all things pagination. I remember trying to collate all of our deadlines and the dozens of tasks I needed to get done to bring the issue together before I went into hospital for gallbladder surgery. My brain literally just crashed. Unbeknownst to me at the time, it was executive dysfunction at its finest (hello undiagnosed ADHD!), and Scarlett just sat patiently as I scatterbrained my way through it, taking notes, making suggestions and taking the lead where needed, and just generally making the whole thing feel lighter. It seems silly, but that afternoon really sticks with me. So thank you Scarlett, I’m so lucky to have had you along on this ride. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put into words how much your hard work and collaboration means to me – some writer, huh?

I know I’ve got way more thank yous in the locker, so if I’ve missed you out, please know it’s not intentional.

So what now?

The Unedit will be here, but this will be its last post or site update. Never say never, but it’s time for this seven year chapter to close.

As for me, after years of running my own business, designing various incarnations of this website (which hilariously I am now itching to re-design to my 2023 standards), creating my own content, and consulting with leading brands and organisations, I took a few lemons and made some lemonade. Throw in my lifelong mission to empower women, and you’ve got Tielle Creative: the virtual design studio for women, by women. The studio specialises in Squarespace design, creative coaching and creative services, support and solutions. You can find me at www.tiellecreative.com.

All good things must come to an end. I have no regrets, just gratitude. It’s funny, because it’s only really in hindsight that I realise how a little website in some nondescript corner of the internet really did something special. Knowing that there are people out there who read something on here that made them feel a little better about themselves, walk a little taller, or even helped them (un)learn something, it makes my heart so full. And it’s because I know that, I also know I did my job right.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Terri
xxx