Publisher - October 2022

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” —Anaïs Nin

I’ve done it again. Put myself in a position to stress and worry. As the founder of Pink and Paisley Magazines, I have a passion for people and connecting them with each other to benefit both sides. I love putting people together, so much so, we used to do an article called Mix and Match. We would have a single man and a single woman go on a date, along with our writer, who was perfect for this assignment. Sometimes it was a match, and sometimes not so much, but it was always fun—though risky—and made for great reading, too.

In my passion to connect people, Pink has become the events leader for women in our area, and this is where my stress comes in. When people look at things from the outside, it all usually appears easy; and one would think after doing them for so many years that it is easy. Granted, we have gotten the due diligence of our events down to a science, but where the uneasiness comes in is the part out of our control: Will anyone come?

Almost every Partini we’ve held, the attendance has been fabulous. There have been only two or three times attendance was low, and that was caused by atrocious weather. But still, after 17 years of Partinis, I worry every time if people will come. So much so, I can’t arrive to the event before it starts because no one is there yet. I may look calm and happy, but inside I’m fretting until the room is full. I want the event to be amazing for the restaurant/bar venue, and that normally equates to people showing up. The problem is attendance is out of my control, and we all know how stressful it is—because it is impossible—to attempt to control something that is not in our power.

I think back to the movie Field of Dreams where spirits kept telling Kevin Costner, “If you build it, they will come.” Until this moment, I’ve only looked at this in the context of the movie. Of course people will come to see dead baseball greats play ball again. But really, this is a metaphor for life. When you put your heart into something, people usually show up. It’s hard to even fathom this, but I bet even Elton John or Willie Nelson wonders if people will show up. We all have doubts and fears no matter who we are, and I, for one, thank you for showing up.

I am excited about our upcoming Ultimate Beauty Event. Businesses in the beauty industry are important to our magazine. Being a former corporate marketing executive, my mind is always churning on how I can help both our advertisers and our readers. The Ultimate Beauty Event is designed to do just that—bring the two together for a day of informative fun in a comfortable setting. It is an event designed to encourage interaction that usually does not take place otherwise. How often do you get to have a conversation with an expert and ask all the questions running through your mind before you decide to do something? Not often.

While, of course, I’m putting pressure on myself about attendance, as always, I am so excited to offer this event to the women of our community. It truly will be a day filled with learning, feeling good about yourself, having lots of fun, with a few aha moments thrown in, too! As I write this, my mind is filled with trepidation, asking me why I take such risks. My answer is, it is worth it because of the feeling I get when people come together and have positive interaction. This is my field of dreams—making my advertisers and readers satisfied and making our community a more fulfilling place for women.

One thing I’m particularly proud of is an element that happens at our events. Women have asked on many occasions: “How do you bring so many women together and get them to all be friendly to each other?” Frankly, I don’t know. It’s not something we set out to do, but I’m so glad it happens. Maybe it’s because Pink is for all women, and we respect and honor every women who shows up to our events. We are grateful that women read Pink, enjoy it and love it. We never take for granted that you have taken the effort to pick up our magazine, taken it home and read it. That is HUGE, and it is never status quo to us. We put our heart into every issue with both our advertisers and readers in mind. We would feel we failed you if we didn’t do our very best every month. People act differently when they know they are cared for, and perhaps that’s why our events are so friendly—we really do care!

Please read all about the The Ultimate Beauty Event on the next page, and please come. I am so excited about all the vendors who will be there. I can’t wait to introduce you to our keynote speaker and all the other speakers that will present excellent topics throughout the day. We are charging $10 to get in because we want to give to CAPA, who does such amazing work. However, it is general admission—pay at the door. I will be there all day—even before the first person shows up. Please say a little prayer for my nerves, and then be the answer to that prayer and show up! I promise we will have fun. We always do.

Think Pink,
Elizabeth Millen