Creative People - Caroline Rowland, Founder and Editor of 91 Magazine
After more than a decade’s experience working as a picture editor and designer in the newspaper industry, Caroline Rowland decided she would launch her own magazine. And in 2011, driven by her passion for interiors and blogging, she published the very first online edition of 91 Magazine. I’ve known Caroline for over fifteen years (we met when we were both working at the Financial Times in the mid-2000s) and I’ve always been in awe of her commitment, drive and creative vision. I, like many, still feel a flurry of excitement when I hear the latest print edition of 91 Magazine plop onto my door mat. I met up with Caroline recently to chat about her creative journey, dealing with the ups and downs of running a small business, and working from her home, a place that provides a creative outlet for her design ideas and her growing collection of indie finds.
Claire: Could you tell us a bit about your background and what you do?
Caroline: I’m an editor and writer. I launched 91 Magazine, an independent interiors and lifestyle magazine, back in 2011 as an online magazine. At the time I was still working full time as a picture editor on a newspaper. I went freelance in 2013 and since then I have written an interiors book called The Shopkeepers Home and occasionally worked freelance for publishers, but I am now mainly focused on 91 Magazine, which has been published in print biannually since 2016.
Claire: What does a typical working day look like for you?
Caroline: I work from home every day and love it! The way I work has evolved greatly since I went freelance nine years ago. I had my daughter in 2014, so for four years my work time was very much based around her. I wrote my book when she was a newborn - basically writing a few hundred words at a time during her naps. But over the last few years since she’s been at school things are a bit more stable as I work during school hours. When we moved house in 2016 we had a lot more space, so I am lucky to have one of our spare bedrooms as my studio, which I love. I spend the majority of my day in there.
Claire: Do you have a daily routine?
Caroline: Since the pandemic, my husband now works from home most days too, so he does the morning school run, and I usually do a bit of cleaning up in the house or a short session of yoga, before making myself a cup of tea and heading up to my office. I find I need to make lists to keep myself focused and also to feel like I have made progress, otherwise I find myself jumping from task to task and not feeling like I've actually done very much! So I'll try and work my way through the to-do list before it's time for school pick up. I have the occasional day out of the office - perhaps if we are doing a photoshoot for the magazine, or if I have a meeting, but the majority of my time is based at home.
Claire: How has your work and business been affected by the the pandemic and how have you coped with it?
Caroline: During the pandemic it was challenging in terms of things like photoshoots as we weren’t able to do those for a while, but actually my sales were quite good during that period - I guess as lots of people were buying online and looking for things to do. I found I was impacted more negatively later on when we were allowed out in the world again! Running a business is a total rollercoaster though and I find you’ve just got to ride it.
Claire: What do you find most challenging about working from home?
Caroline: If I'm honest, I don't really find it challenging! I quite often remind myself how much I hated the commute into London when I worked there and I am thankful that I no longer have to do that. I'm also remind myself how much I didn't like being told what to do and am lucky that I am now in charge of what I do. Some people find working at home can be lonely, but I am a bit of an introvert so I am quite happy in my own company and am lucky to have a great team working with me on 91, who I'm often in touch with either on email or phone and occasionally in person, so I love that I still have people around me to bounce ideas off and chat to.
Claire: How do you make it work for you?
Caroline: I love what I do so it never feels like a chore and I think, in general, I am quite motivated so I don't find I have the urge to just veg on the sofa and watch Netflix for a day. As I have to get my daughter out to school in the mornings, I'm always up and dressed early, so I treat my day as if I was working in any other office, except I get to wear comfy clothes!
Claire: Tidy desk or "creatively cluttered"?
Caroline: I love a tidy, ordered desk. I'm one of those people that likes a place for everything. It can get cluttered from time to time but it will nag at me to sort it out!
Claire: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Caroline: I really love seeing people enjoying the magazine. Usually this is just through social media, but it is so lovely to get feedback from readers who say it is their favourite magazine, and many say it is the only one they buy these days, which is such a huge compliment.
Claire: And the most challenging?
Caroline: I think for lots of small business owners it is the same - the sales side of it. If I could just create the magazine and knew people would buy it without me having to do much that would be lovely, as I don’t so much enjoy trying to ‘push’ sales.
Claire: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Caroline: I’ve had lots over the years, but recently, with sales being slower for so many small businesses, someone told me to hold my nerve and that it’s the businesses that do this through tough times that make it through and thrive.
Claire: How much renovating did you have to do in your current home and how challenging was that?
Caroline: Oh goodness, our house was a huge project and is still ongoing! We haven’t actually needed to do any structural work as it was the flow of the house that we really loved, but the entire place needed redecorating throughout, including a new kitchen and bathrooms. We moved in towards the end of 2016, and we’ve taken our time. We’ve just had the main bathroom renovated this summer. For us the most challenging part has been having the money to do what we wanted. We had to put one project on hold which was to put a solid roof on our dining room area, which is currently glass, because we just can’t afford it right now.
Claire: How did you go about making a plan for how you wanted the rooms to look?
Caroline: We have taken our time with it, so I just approached each room design as we came to it. I usually find I have a central item that I base the rest of the design around. For example, in our bedroom I fell in love with the wallpaper, so the rest of the room was inspired by the colours in that. Same with our new bathroom, the entire room is based around the amazing floor tiles from Otto Tiles that I just had to have!
Claire: How would you define your interior style?
Caroline: Soft, playful and filled with indie finds!
Claire: What do you think are the key attributes needed to create a “feel good” interior
Caroline: For me, it’s simply surrounding yourself with things that make you happy when you look at them or that remind you of someone, somewhere or a special moment. It could just be a painting that you bought on a city break, that reminds you of that trip every time you glance at it - you don’t get that from a mass-produced print from Ikea. Although, I’ll admit I am happy mixing my indie finds with the odd classic Ikea piece too!
Claire: Where do you find style inspiration?
Caroline: From all the people I get to work with - I guess that’s the perk of the job. Every time I go on a home shoot, I literally come home and want to change everything in my house as I felt so inspired by that person’s space. It can be a little dangerous!
Claire: How do you choose accent pieces for your home and who are your favourite independent businesses to shop with?
Caroline: It depends, sometimes I just find something I love and have to have it and will find a place for it, other times I might have been decorating a particular room and decide it needs a decorative piece for a shelf for example, so will go on a hunt or keep my eyes out for the right thing. I love Paper Thin Moon of course and am slowly building my collection of pieces. I also like Our Lovely Goods for candles and lovely baskets. But, to be honest, I try to spread what I spend around as many indie shops and makers as possible. A few I've bought from in recent times are Alice in Scandiland, Cherryade, Berylune, Badger & Birch. We also recently commissioned a family portrait from Spanish artist Marta Abad Blay, whose work I love. I can't wait to get that framed and on the wall.
Claire: What are your top picks from Paper Thin Moon?
Caroline: I think the Hilda candle set makes such a lovely gift, either for a friend or for yourself. The candle holder looks so lovely on a mantelpiece. I love burning incense and it's essential to have a pretty holder to put it in! The Paper Thin Moon coral version of this is really beautiful. The flower prints are so striking and a clever way to offer original pressed flower art at a lower price, and I just love the Shoji teapot - the shape, the colour and the beautiful cane handle - it’s a piece to treasure and pass down through the years.
Claire: What would be the perfect, relaxing weekend for you?
Caroline: I do love a little family day out somewhere with lots of lovely independent shops to pop in and out of with a tasty lunch in the middle. I also enjoy a quiet day at home pottering around and tending to my plants, both indoor and out.
Claire: Favourite places in the world?
Caroline: Ooh, so tough! I loved Croatia and would really like to revisit. Copenhagen was a great city and I’d also love to go back to Iceland for the stunning landscape. Paris will always be in my heart too - it’s where I was when I found out I was going to be a mum.
You can order the beautiful new issue of 91 Magazine and find stacks more interior inspiration on the blog at: