Interview with Noa from Style With A Smile on the ELUXE Awards
When did you begin working with Eluxe and what has been the best moment of your partnership with them so far?
I started working for Eluxe back in November 2018, and it has been wonderful. I’m their journalist and Social Media Manager, and during my work for the magazine I’ve learnt a lot about the ins and outs behind the scenes and about many sustainability issues, sustainable materials and ethical luxury. It's so hard to choose one specific moment, but I would say it was the opportunity to spread the word about the Freedom Farm Sanctuary - it was such an amazing experience to visit this place, meet amazing beings, take pictures and write about them. I love the fact that I have so much creative freedom to write about different subjects I believe in, to such a big audience.
What are the first steps in organising an award such as the Eluxe Award?
This is the third year that the Eluxe Awards are hosted, and the main organizer has always been Chere Di Boscio, Eluxe's Editor-In-Chief. It was my job in this year's Eluxe Awards to reach out to brands I love and find suitable candidates to be the nominees (one of them was you!) and promote the award across all the different social media platforms. I also wrote a blog post about this year's award winners. Next year, I'll probably take a bigger part in the Eluxe Awards, just saying. :)
It must be tough to pick and choose between luxury, vegan brands, what elements really stand out to you for the Eluxe Award?
I wasn't a judge myself, but I know for sure it must have been so hard to choose between so many incredible brands. I think this year was the hardest so far! But, if I had to choose a brand, I would compare them all based on their ethics & aesthetics, just like the actual judges did. I would research their values, style, quality, and production processes, and make my choice with all these things in mind.
Now to find out a little more about you, what are your top three goals for 2019?
Wow- that's a tough question, and to be honest, I don't have a list of goals for a specific year. I truly believe that whatever needs to happen, will happen, whenever and if it needs to happen. With hard work, faith and dedication- everything is possible!
My top three goals would be to improve Style with a Smile even more and grow my community: I hope that people who read my blog would get inspiration from the content I create and find it helpful and valuable. I'd also like to create even more content about ethical, fair, vegan fashion and travel, and educate myself further around these subjects. Additionally, I really hope to get to the point where my blog makes enough income for me to live properly and work with more amazing brands that I love, while allowing myself to take a break from to time to time. THIS is something I really need to work on, as somehow, I'm always working *haha*. Oh, and I hope to be happy whatever it is that I'll be doing! That's everyone's goal, isn't it?
I understand you are an animal-rights-activist-turned-blogger, do you find blogging a better approach to influencing positive change?
I am! I was a social activist for animal rights for two amazing years and gave my heart and soul into activism. I did everything, from demonstrations and marches to conversations and exhibitions, but after two years, I felt like it was too much for me mentally and decided to stop, for my own good. After a year, I felt the urge to still do something and decided to open my blog: this way, I combine what I love, which is fashion and writing, with my love for animals, my ethics and beliefs, and to be honest, even though I did "influence" people during my activism days, I found that I can have an even bigger impact through my blog: I call this positive activism- I do address the problems, but I focus on the solutions and show that there is an alternative to basically everything, no matter what it is. This way, with a positive approach and without graphic content- more people are open to listen and to learn. Don't get me wrong: I believe both types of activism are important, helpful and necessary for the creation of change, but in my case, this way of activism is actually more effective.
What is your favourite part of being vegan?
Being vegan is far from a personal matter of simply fulfilling my consumer preferences. It is not about me but about something bigger than just myself- it’s about looking beyond ourselves, thinking about how our choices affect other beings. To me, veganism is a journey of compassion, and I always try to improve for the better, and my favourite part about this journey is knowing that I do whatever I can to cause the least harm. I have a full blog post called Why I'm vegan, too :)
If you had only one quote, message or advice to tell the world, what would it be?
"In a world where you can be anything, Be kind".
* Pictures by Tevel Gilad