Jennifer Smith Tapp.
Edited by Bee Tomlinson
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
My idea of happiness would be contentment in both professional and personal life, in equal measure, at the same time. They do not always align perfectly.
What is your motto?
I don’t really have a motto, but I do believe that life is meant to be lived. If you want the cupcake, eat the cupcake.
What is your current state of mind?
Tough question, as the current state of the world is always on my mind. Ask me again after I finally manage to stop watching the news for a few weeks.
How would you like to die?
I would definitely like to gently pass away in my sleep, preferably after a great meal.
What is it that you love most about what you do?
I love the process of creating content for a magazine and actively striving to make it better, issue by issue.
If you could have a conversation with anybody (alive or dead), who would it be?
I would want to talk to my parents. They are both deceased, and there has been so much that has happened in my life since they passed away. I would want to catch up with them and be able to know what it is like on the other side.
When did you realize that you wanted to be a creative?
I have always known that I would end up doing something creative as a career and I am lucky enough to be working with a magazine, as I have always loved print magazines and being the editor of a magazine is my dream job.
What motivates you?
Professionally, I find motivation in just doing my best work and in the support that the magazine has among our readers. Personally, trying to be a decent person and my general curiosity about people in general is motivating.
What do you love about being a woman?
I love that I am able to be a mother and able to be a professional at the same time. I do not think that there are certain qualities that can be applied to all women (or all men), but I do love being able to be assertive professionally while also letting my intuition guide the way I treat people and interact with them.
What is your experience of being a woman, while also being a creative?
I began my career in fashion editorial, so I worked with primarily women then, and work with an all-female staff at Chicago Woman now, so I haven’t really had to think about my job and being a creative person, in general through the lens of being a woman. It is important for me to be good at my job, which I would hope would be the case, even if I were a man.
“I love the process of creating content for a magazine and actively striving to make it better, issue by issue.”