TMIT Teammates #4: Celebrating Girlhood with Tween Magazine Founder Mary Flenner

1
00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,840
Hi everyone, our guest today is
Mary Flenner, the founding

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,280
editor of Tween Magazine, a
lifestyle magazine for young

3
00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,160
girls that's all about
empowering age appropriate

4
00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,760
content.
As a mom of three girls and a

5
00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,800
seasoned marketing and content
writer for nearly 20 years, Mary

6
00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160
saw a gap in what the media
offers to tweens and decided to

7
00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,400
create something different.
Tween Magazine challenges

8
00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,400
today's cultural norms where
girls are often pressured to

9
00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,480
grow up too quickly and instead
embraces childhood.

10
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,120
Tween encourages girls to be
authentic, goofy, and

11
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,280
adventurous and celebrates these
precious preteen years.

12
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,520
And you know we all love a good,
authentic, and developmentally

13
00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,280
appropriate celebration here at
Team IT.

14
00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,320
Mary lives in Cleveland, OH with
her husband and three daughters,

15
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,280
and we are thrilled to have her
on the show.

16
00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,840
Welcome, Mary.
Hi, thank you so much for having

17
00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:52,200
me.
Yeah.

18
00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,600
Thanks for being here.
Very excited to talk with you

19
00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,640
guys today.
Yes, thank you.

20
00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,120
SO I guess let's start at the
beginning.

21
00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,920
Tell us the tween origin story
and what inspired you to create

22
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:09,400
a print magazine in 2024.
Yeah, so one day my 10 year old

23
00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,280
daughter had seen me reading a
magazine and simply asked if

24
00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:14,360
there was one that she could
read.

25
00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,120
And so I jumped online, looked
around a little bit and was

26
00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,280
shocked to find that even in
today's world that I, there

27
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,880
really wasn't an appropriate
option for her.

28
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,040
So, you know, we had done some
of the more wholesome children's

29
00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,080
magazines like Highlights and
you know, Ranger Rick and those

30
00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,960
are great.
But as they, as my girls were

31
00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:36,360
getting older, they're kind of
outgrowing those.

32
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,960
But there wasn't really anything
for that in between audience,

33
00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:43,320
you know, it jumps up really
quickly to those more teenage

34
00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:48,760
magazines.
And so I saw that gap and with

35
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,120
my background in marketing, I, I
think the wheels kind of started

36
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,920
turning.
And, you know, thinking back to

37
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,000
my childhood, I knew girls loved
magazines.

38
00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,560
I loved magazines and realizing
that there's so many girls that

39
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,280
don't read them anymore, it
almost, you know, kind of made

40
00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,160
me sad.
And I knew there's this

41
00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:06,600
opportunity and this whole
world.

42
00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,680
They don't know about how cool
they can be.

43
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,360
But I, I really got excited by
the idea of kind of putting my

44
00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,400
own spin on it and kind of like
revamping them for today's

45
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,240
world.
So, you know, making them a lot

46
00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,560
more, a lot different than the
ones I grew up reading, that

47
00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,960
we're all about looking hot and
learning to kiss boys and flirt

48
00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,960
and, you know, which celebrity
looked better in a dress and

49
00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:30,120
things like that.
So.

50
00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,600
So yeah, I really wanted to kind
of bring back the magazine for

51
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,800
today's World and the magazine
that I would feel good giving to

52
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,320
my own daughters.
Yeah.

53
00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,880
So what topics did you want to
address right out of the gate?

54
00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,440
Yeah.
So I really wanted to kind of

55
00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,080
push back against the, you know,
what's happening culture now

56
00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,080
with girls on TikTok and, you
know, they're going those

57
00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,560
Sephora tweens and makeup
routines and skin care that they

58
00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,640
don't need.
And I think girls are just

59
00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,720
growing up way too fast.
And so I kind of wanted to just

60
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,880
pull back and celebrate the
everyday girl, make it about

61
00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,560
embracing childhood, being
silly, being a kid and just

62
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,640
almost kind of like pumping the
brakes like this is all

63
00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:17,880
happening too fast.
You guys don't need to be doing

64
00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,200
this, You know, learning these
sexy choreographed dances on

65
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,520
Snapchat and TikTok and
Instagram and all those

66
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,280
pressures.
And it was all just happening so

67
00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:28,960
fast.
So I feel like it was, you know,

68
00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,680
I really want it to be a way to
get back to that more

69
00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,920
traditional childhood like like
I had in the 90s.

70
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,320
Mary, what did the magazines
that you read when you were a

71
00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,760
tween, when you were 11, what
did they get wrong about you?

72
00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:47,120
Oh boy, so I love them but they
were not appropriate for me as

73
00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:55,360
well I would say So I read Bop,
Teen Beat and those were all

74
00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,840
like the hot guy posters like
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devin

75
00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,480
Sawa, Andrew Keegan and.
They great trifecta there.

76
00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,440
Yeah, I would say what they got
wrong about me and other girls

77
00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,280
is, I mean, it's for them, you
know, a money maker.

78
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,360
They know they're playing into
that girls, our boy crazy at

79
00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,720
this age and are idolizing and,
you know, wanting to marry these

80
00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:20,800
cute boys.
And that's like all you're

81
00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,120
thinking about.
So that it was really just

82
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,600
playing into that, that that's
all we're interested in.

83
00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,520
And so I think that they they've
just that they put too much

84
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:38,000
focus on our, you know, thinking
that I'm thinking about develop,

85
00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,280
you know, flirting with my crush
at age 12.

86
00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,160
And I think they're just putting
so much pressure on those

87
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,080
romantic relationships at such a
young age where I probably

88
00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:49,760
wouldn't have been thinking
about it so much.

89
00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,560
But when you're reading articles
saying, you know, Are you ready

90
00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,880
for your first kiss?
Then maybe you're going, Oh, you

91
00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,040
know, I'm ready for my you know,
it's, it's kind of in your head

92
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,640
now that, oh, girls my age are
thinking about having their

93
00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:01,880
first kiss.
Am I ready?

94
00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:06,320
Where maybe if it was about how
to build a better lemonade stand

95
00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:08,680
or like a door to door, but you
know, some kind of neighborhood

96
00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,080
business I could have started,
maybe that's what I would have

97
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,200
spent more time thinking about.
So I think they were just so

98
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:19,680
singular on, OK, you're thinking
about boys, how to impress them,

99
00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,640
how to look good and how to look
like these celebrities.

100
00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:27,240
And my goodness, you know, the
pressures with body image and

101
00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:29,920
wanting to be as thin as the
girls, of course, in the

102
00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,360
magazine that I think every girl
could relate to growing up

103
00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,960
breeding.
I think it's something that they

104
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,200
all got wrong.
And now they're realizing, you

105
00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:43,720
know, 20 years later.
It's been a slow, slow change

106
00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,760
and shift over the years, but
it's still something I think

107
00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:49,720
they're struggling with finding
that right, you know, balance.

108
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,920
The editorial was totally driven
by the commercial, right?

109
00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:58,560
Where the boys are actors in
movies and the skin care is

110
00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,720
products that are advertised,
right?

111
00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,000
And so you now have an
opportunity to do this

112
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,720
differently.
But how do you do it

113
00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:07,600
differently?
Because I would imagine you want

114
00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,360
to make money, right?
So like what?

115
00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,360
How does an indie print magazine
stay sustainable without

116
00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,800
lowering its standards?
Yeah, it's a good question.

117
00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,680
Is something I thought about a
lot when we were starting.

118
00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,680
It is that, you know, we include
advertising right now it's more

119
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:27,880
limited, but I we are really
deliberate and thoughtful about

120
00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:29,520
every brand that we're
partnering with.

121
00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,720
So we only want to promote
brands that we truly believe in.

122
00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,560
And I think that that is really
important and that's something

123
00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:41,040
that our readers value because
they know that they can trust

124
00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,240
everything that's in tween is
something that I really feel

125
00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,800
good about giving my daughter.
So we, you know, I've already

126
00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,880
thought about, you know, what if
this brand approached me or

127
00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,120
something that kind of didn't
align with our values.

128
00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:56,080
So, so it has naturally worked
out that the brands that, you

129
00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:00,200
know, they really believe in our
mission and it just, you know,

130
00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,680
it's naturally worked out that
they, they see the value in what

131
00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,200
we're doing and they believe in
it and want to be behind it.

132
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,040
Are there any dream advertisers
or partnerships that you think

133
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,480
of when you think of tween?
Yeah, OK.

134
00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,320
So if you used to buy magazines
when you're a kid, I remember

135
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,920
like the the the print ads with
brands like Steve Madden, like

136
00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,600
Madden girls shoes, Pacific
sunwear.

137
00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,680
So I would love to have like
some really cool brands like

138
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,760
that.
We've been talking to gab

139
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,200
watches.
Gab wireless has a lot of

140
00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,200
products that we believe and
we've had them for years.

141
00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,520
So we already are talking with
them.

142
00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,200
But I would love to have those
cool, like classic, you know,

143
00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,160
when I think of the editorial
photo shoots and things like

144
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,400
that that I grew up looking at.
So.

145
00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,280
So yeah, maybe one day.
Sure, you're on your way.

146
00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,200
Yeah.
Yeah.

147
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,560
You know, it's interesting
because I try to run this

148
00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,480
household in a way where no
advertisement gets in right,

149
00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,120
where our kids don't know about
any brands where.

150
00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,240
And we fail.
And we fail, of course, and it

151
00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,000
comes.
To Fabric talks about Batman and

152
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:11,600
Superman and we're like where
did this come from?

153
00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,000
But OK.
It comes through the craziest

154
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,440
places, but I diapers because it
comes through diapers because it

155
00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:21,440
comes through the library.
I I try and I do it for myself

156
00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,320
too and for for our family to
just basically to only subscribe

157
00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,960
to things where we're we have an
ad free version, right.

158
00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,320
So I'm wondering, is that
something that anyone has asked

159
00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:32,799
for?
Has anyone said, Hey Mary, you

160
00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:36,640
know I love the the content for
my kids but I don't want them

161
00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,280
seeing any brands.
Can you make something that just

162
00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,720
is an ad insert for parents or
an ad free option where you pay

163
00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,200
more?
Does that come up at all?

164
00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,760
Have you thought about that?
It hasn't come up at all, I

165
00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,680
think because the brands that
we're choosing are ones that

166
00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,120
most of our readers would be OK
with, you know, if that makes

167
00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,440
sense.
But if it did ever, you know,

168
00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:00,160
some, I'm sure it's something we
could look at.

169
00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:05,000
Of course would raise the price
a lot, but, but as a reader, I

170
00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,960
always, I really liked the ads.
Maybe, you know, I remember

171
00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,320
hanging them up on my wall and
they never bothered me.

172
00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,040
I really, I thought they were
cool and interesting.

173
00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,520
And so I think I am trying to
take the best parts of the

174
00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:19,840
magazine experience that I had
as a kid.

175
00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,360
So I, I think that advertising
will always be a part of it, but

176
00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,520
it is just selecting the right
partners and making sure that

177
00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,480
any of the messaging is, you
know, in that tween, you know,

178
00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,880
aligns with the tween brand.
I like that that's a common

179
00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,640
theme for us.
It's like we can tend to be very

180
00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,200
black and white with the best of
intentions.

181
00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:44,760
But I do think that having
aligned advertisements is

182
00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,240
probably more realistic than
having no advertisements.

183
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,760
Yeah.
What has been your favorite

184
00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,280
feature so far?
Oh, that's a good question.

185
00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,320
I got really excited.
I mean, I get really excited

186
00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:03,160
about all of them, but we
recently did an interview with

187
00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,800
playwright Lauren Gunderson.
And if you aren't familiar with

188
00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:08,960
who she is, look her up.
She's one of the most produced

189
00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,560
playwrights in America and like
one of the most produced living

190
00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:14,560
playwrights, which is a really
big deal.

191
00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,600
And so I was like, very nervous
to talk to her because she's

192
00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,760
very cool and brilliant.
And so I did an interview with

193
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,320
her and she gave so much great
advice.

194
00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,480
And as a writer, it really
resonated with me, you know, so

195
00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,720
she talked to girls about, you
know, what she does as a

196
00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,760
playwright, how she gets ideas,
things like that.

197
00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,640
And then following that, we have
a feature on how girls can write

198
00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,520
their own play and put on put on
an outdoor play.

199
00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,400
So cool.
She was really cool to talk to

200
00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,720
and just give so many great
tips.

201
00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:53,600
And you know, she's, she's been
promoting us and so she's just

202
00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,400
been like such a great person to
connect with.

203
00:10:57,280 --> 00:10:59,720
What do you think has been your
daughter's favorite feature so

204
00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,240
far?
I think they felt pretty cool

205
00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,480
about the We had the
singer-songwriter from The

206
00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,320
Voice, Britney Cartelli, and
then we had learned to write

207
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,480
your own song again.
Kind of like pairing them up

208
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:16,520
with, you know, having an expert
tell about, you know, teach

209
00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:18,560
about a topic and then how girls
can do it.

210
00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:22,560
So they really liked that one as
well.

211
00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:25,240
They they get excited about just
like the did you know, facts,

212
00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,360
They'll help the, you know,
everyday they'll be like, oh,

213
00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,080
this is one for tween.
You know, here's a here's a fun

214
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,160
fact.
So they like just, you know,

215
00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,680
those little things like that
are the crosswords and the

216
00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,440
there's a would you rather that
they love coming up with.

217
00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:43,080
So, so they get excited about
just like those little fun, you

218
00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,000
know, little tidbits that I
think the kids have a lot of fun

219
00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:47,400
with.
That's so cool.

220
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,520
Yeah.
You've talked before about how

221
00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,760
your daughters are your Co
creative directors, right?

222
00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:58,040
How has Tween adapted your
family culture as you have

223
00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,040
started?
This Yeah.

224
00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,240
So they they really are.
They've been involved from the

225
00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,840
beginning.
And I love that they have got to

226
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,800
see every step of the way from
me saying, you know, I have an

227
00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,600
idea we're going to do this to
creating a website.

228
00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,200
And now I really do run
everything past them because

229
00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,240
they're my first focus group at
home.

230
00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:20,680
So I think it's helped build
their confidence because they

231
00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:23,360
see, you know, that I really do
go it.

232
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:27,120
I really value their opinion.
I listen to what they say, you

233
00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,920
know, if they don't like the
cover background or they think

234
00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,800
something feels weird and fake
or that's lame because I'm the

235
00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,960
mom and I, you know, so I think
it really has given them that

236
00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:42,000
confidence like, oh, wow.
Like, I know, you know, I have a

237
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,320
good opinion.
And I even if though I'm a kid,

238
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,440
you know, I still, you know,
mom's listening and I know what

239
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,240
I'm talking about.
So, yeah, you know, we've gotten

240
00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,360
busier creating the magazine.
So I think finding that balance

241
00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,080
has, you know, been tough.
But it's something that we're

242
00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:03,440
all really excited about.
So they know, you know, I try to

243
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,080
really be deliberate with my
time and set up, you know, OK,

244
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,960
I'm going to play with the kids
now and then later jump on the

245
00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:12,640
computer and get some things
done.

246
00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,440
But I think just, we've had to
really be mindful about setting

247
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,720
aside that time for them because
it's gotten busier and, you

248
00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,280
know, there's more calls and
just more to do So, but it's

249
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,360
nice because they are
understanding, you know, like I

250
00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,960
had to run out to a printer and
drop off magazines.

251
00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,120
And I said, well, I could wait,
but the subscribers are waiting

252
00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,000
for this magazine.
And my oldest goes, no, you need

253
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:37,600
to get it to them.
You need to go right now.

254
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,560
So they, I took them to their
friend's house and they were

255
00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:42,960
like, no, you need, we'll drive
out their mom do it.

256
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,800
So they're like my business
advisors and totally, yeah.

257
00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,280
So tell us, if you Fast forward
five years, like what do you

258
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,840
envision for Tween Magazine?
How will you know that it's

259
00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,240
making the kind of impact you
envisioned when you first

260
00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:56,520
started?
Yeah.

261
00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,720
I think in five years that we
would be in some big retailers.

262
00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:02,880
I think that we're going to be
in Target.

263
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:08,640
I think we'll be in little toy
shops all over and we'll, you

264
00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:10,840
know, girls that have it are
going to be telling all their

265
00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,320
friends.
It's going to be a lot more

266
00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,080
popular.
It's maybe not such a small

267
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,000
indie magazine.
We have more trusted

268
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,520
relationships with some big
brands.

269
00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,360
We have so many amazing female
designers that want to work with

270
00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:27,240
us.
And what will a young girl feel

271
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:28,440
when she picks it up?
Like what?

272
00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,480
What do you really want them to
come away with?

273
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,160
Yeah, I want them to feel seen,
I guess.

274
00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,640
And just that like that, you
know, Oh my gosh, this is like

275
00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,480
everything I'm into.
This is so cool.

276
00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:47,000
We just had a mom who sent us
her daughter's reaction getting

277
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,440
tween for the first time.
She said, Oh, I, she said, I

278
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,960
truly left my video on accident
and hearing her daughter like

279
00:14:53,960 --> 00:15:00,000
made my whole week or month
because she, it was that type of

280
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,360
reaction.
Like, Oh my gosh, this and this,

281
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:04,320
like these are all the things
I'm into.

282
00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:09,120
And just kind of knowing, you
know, having that feeling of

283
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,880
it's OK to be how I am.
It's OK to be goofy.

284
00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:17,440
It's OK to, you know, still play
with dolls or, you know, to be a

285
00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:23,120
kid and not feel those pressures
of having to pretend to be or,

286
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,040
you know, acts carry yourself
like a teenager.

287
00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,680
So I think that's just that
struggle of that age, you know,

288
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,160
is you kind of have one leg in
each world, right?

289
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,960
You're you still are a girl and
you want to well, maybe you want

290
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,440
to play or you sometimes want to
play with Barbies or But then

291
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,320
you're starting to feel like you
want to do more independently

292
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,680
and want to start dabbling in
these things that the older

293
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,120
girls are doing and do less with
your parents and they're

294
00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,800
starting to feel embarrassing.
So I think it's, you know,

295
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,840
giving messages to both girls
that feel, you know, in both of

296
00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,560
those worlds and just letting
them know that they're, you

297
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,480
know, if you're feeling hormonal
and crazy, you're not crazy.

298
00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:05,520
You know, all these things are
normal.

299
00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,520
Kind of normalizing that
experience of all that it means

300
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,960
to be a preteen girl.
I love that.

301
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,880
I especially love the goofy
aspect, the permission to be

302
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,000
goofy.
I feel like I was on the later

303
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:25,040
to mature side growing up and
definitely wanted to be goofy

304
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:28,120
longer than some of my friends
and actually grew apart from

305
00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,200
some of my friends during those
tween years because I still

306
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,080
wanted to be goofy.
And I think that that's kind of

307
00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,600
part of the adolescent
transition, right?

308
00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,360
And just enabling and and giving
children permission to play in

309
00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,280
that space and that silly space
I think is really important.

310
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,480
So I applaud you for including
that part.

311
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,240
Thanks.
Yeah, I think a big part of our

312
00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:56,560
mission is giving kids, giving
girls permission to just be kids

313
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:58,960
longer.
I think that's just such a, you

314
00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,400
know, they're growing up so fast
and it's like just pump the

315
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,560
brakes.
Like you said, celebrating

316
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,040
childhood.
Just be a kid.

317
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:09,400
You don't need to be a little
mini influencer and worry about

318
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,160
your, you know, online social
brand.

319
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,079
Just like take all of that away.
Don't worry about those things

320
00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:17,040
and just be you.
I think like embracing

321
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,720
individuality is a big part of
the magazine too.

322
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,560
So we're very, very much about,
you know, being weird and being

323
00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:24,040
you.
So yeah, cool.

324
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:30,560
That's.
Very cool in the family space,

325
00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,680
particularly on social media.
I'm sure you have spent a lot of

326
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,840
time there recently given what
you're doing and I'm just

327
00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,360
curious, are there anything that
you have picked up on to reach

328
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,880
families more authentically that
you're seeing either is working

329
00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:50,080
or you know that you want to do?
Yeah, we're kind of figuring it

330
00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:51,560
out every day.
I know.

331
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,440
I think people like to see our
girls.

332
00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:59,640
Like they like to know that it's
a, you know, my girls are

333
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,320
involved and it's kind of a
family business ish.

334
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,880
But I have never put my kids on
social media before this.

335
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:08,480
I like, I don't include their
names or anything.

336
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:11,200
And I'm like, so that was kind
of a big deal for me to be like,

337
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,360
OK, I never post pictures of
them, but now I'm kind of

338
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,920
including them in tween stuff.
And so my thought with that is

339
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,200
like a lot of times they're in a
photo shoot with many kids.

340
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:22,240
I'm not really saying who's my
kids.

341
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,680
I don't use their names.
I try to still like, you know,

342
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:31,960
keep it, keep their privacy.
But yeah, we're so I want to let

343
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,360
people in and like see the face
behind the magazine.

344
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:38,160
But I also, you know, I don't
need to be a star.

345
00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,800
I don't like, want us to be, you
know, So I, I guess I, yeah,

346
00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:43,560
well, I struggle with that a
little bit.

347
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,680
Like, that's a tug.
That's a tug of war, right?

348
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,400
Because in a way, you kind of
are the brand.

349
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,640
Yeah, exactly.
Tween.

350
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,440
Tween is not a be.
Forever, right?

351
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:53,920
Right.
I mean, 'cause you do have two

352
00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,120
tweens now, right?
But presumably, yes.

353
00:18:57,120 --> 00:18:59,520
And you'll have another one.
But presumably this will be a

354
00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,600
business for a long time, right?
And you don't want to be no

355
00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,960
longer relevant when your kids
age out of that also.

356
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:11,080
So yeah, that's great.
I guess before we let you go, I

357
00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,440
had one question about one of
your features.

358
00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,600
I guess it's a recurring series
called Real Girls Who Rock,

359
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,320
right?
Can you, can you tell us about

360
00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,280
that?
And could you also tell us what

361
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,760
your feature would look like if
you were one of the real girls

362
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,000
who rock?
Oh boy, that's a good one.

363
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:36,840
So Real Girls who Rock is a
spotlight on real everyday girls

364
00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,560
who are doing something amazing,
whether it's, you know, our

365
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,920
first one had a Taekwondo champ
who has her black belt.

366
00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:49,840
They could start a club, maybe
they're a skilled musicians,

367
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,480
things like that.
So if you're listening, we are

368
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,880
they're always taking
nominations so you can send them

369
00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,720
in to us.
But I think it's really

370
00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,240
important again, with, you know,
how we're trying to go against

371
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,160
all those traditional, the
traditional media that I grew up

372
00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:09,200
reading and not spotlight what
celebrities are wearing and, you

373
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,560
know, them getting their mail
and how they're just like us,

374
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,680
but trying to inspire girls
with.

375
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,800
You know, girls that are like
them and kind of showing them,

376
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,040
you know, look, she did this
amazing thing.

377
00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,640
You could too.
And so, yeah, we featured

378
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,120
Taekwondo champ, we featured in
an environmental activist.

379
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:33,360
And in our issue 3, we have a
gymnast who also has alopecia.

380
00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:38,640
And issue 4 coming out in the
winter is, is going to be

381
00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:44,080
featuring an entrepreneur who
started her own line of dolls.

382
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,520
So we have, we have so many,
those have really been taken

383
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,040
off.
We've had a lot of cool people

384
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:53,120
reaching out.
So we have some like some

385
00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,520
wrestlers who are going to
feature some girls who play

386
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,880
hockey.
So we really want to show girls,

387
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,920
you know, who are going against
stereotypes, you know, things,

388
00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,360
you know, putting themselves out
there, starting businesses,

389
00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,520
showing kindness through
volunteering and things like

390
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,840
that.
So I did forget that when you

391
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:14,800
ask what my daughter's favorite
is, a lot of the girls really

392
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,160
like the real girls who rock and
I, they always, I think that was

393
00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,640
their favorite in the first one.
So there's so many different

394
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:23,800
features in it.
It's almost they're really,

395
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:25,920
they're really jam packed.
But they are.

396
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:27,920
They're great.
That's what everyone really

397
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,080
likes those a lot so.
Very cool.

398
00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,840
And then so if if you had a real
girls Who Rock profile on you,

399
00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,680
what are the strengths and
quirks that got you here boy?

400
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:41,640
So is it me when I'm a, when I'm
young, when I'm like 10 or me

401
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,440
now OK or now or?
Now, Yeah, well, what are what

402
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,160
are the things that actually
it's a it's AI think you nailed

403
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,200
it, which is what are the things
that happened or that that you

404
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,480
that inspired you during those
formative years that allowed you

405
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,840
to take this jump and do
something bold like you're doing

406
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:00,600
now?
Yeah.

407
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:05,400
I think it would be my headline
would be something like girl who

408
00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:08,920
like embraced her weirdness and
like learned that it's OK to be

409
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,800
weird.
I was always, I was called weird

410
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,600
a lot and like crazy.
And I'd be like, why are you

411
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:15,560
saying crazy?
And they'd say, well, you're

412
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:16,840
funny.
And I'm like, well, then just

413
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:17,640
say that.
Don't call me.

414
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,440
So I learned over the years to
kind of embrace like who I am

415
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:28,080
and that I sometimes have big
kind of crazy ideas, but this

416
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,280
was one of them.
And people love it and my girls

417
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:33,240
love it.
And I'm reaching moms out there

418
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,280
who are looking for something
similar.

419
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,120
So I think it was, you know,
embracing who you are, embracing

420
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:44,040
your talents as, you know,
cheesy as it could sound, I have

421
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,040
always loved writing.
And so I really, you know,

422
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,520
focused on that and what I love
to do.

423
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,080
And to me, it was a dream job to
be like, OK, I would love to run

424
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:54,920
a magazine.
Like, could I do that?

425
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,360
Like, that would be amazing.
I would love to have that job.

426
00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:00,840
So, you know, I just, I kind of
gave it to myself.

427
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,200
Like, OK, I'm gonna gonna give
myself the title.

428
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:08,040
I'm gonna see if I can do this.
Even if, you know, just give it.

429
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:09,800
Yeah, give yourself the chance.
So.

430
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,400
Way to reclaim crazy.
That's great, yeah.

431
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:14,400
Yeah, I was crazy, the best
friend.

432
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,560
But yeah, it was definitely very
quirky and creative and probably

433
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:23,520
kind of loud as a kid.
Speaking of differentiated

434
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,280
features, you started a pen pal
program early on at Tween as

435
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:28,480
well.
Can you talk a little bit about

436
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,160
that and what you intend for it
and how it should grow?

437
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,840
Yeah, the pen pal program is
something I'm so excited about.

438
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,040
I've it's like I've tried to
start pen pal programs like for

439
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,280
years through like the PTA.
I'm always like, what about a

440
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:44,680
pen pal program?
I love the idea of a pen.

441
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:49,440
I love the idea of connecting
people and I just think there's

442
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,480
that there's so many great
things about it.

443
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,280
I love getting girls back to
writing letters, connecting with

444
00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,840
a friend that you can be open
with and share about your lives

445
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,560
and also learn about where they
live and what might be

446
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,240
different.
And so it is.

447
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,720
We get a lot of great feedback
about our pen pal program for

448
00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,880
moms and and the girls involved.
So so yeah, right now we have

449
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,840
girls all over the country, a
lot of girls in Canada.

450
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,440
So we're trying to make as many
international matches as we can.

451
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,000
So again, with getting scrappy,
I'm trying to like e-mail

452
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,160
schools and Italy and Spain and
trying to make those

453
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,600
partnerships so that we have
more, you know, kind of

454
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,840
interesting matches and you're
not just being matched with

455
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:34,920
someone, you know, who lives
around the block.

456
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:40,520
So, so yeah, the really excited
about how that's taking off and.

457
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,280
That was the thing our daughter
was most.

458
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:44,240
Excited about?
Yeah.

459
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,360
Extremely excited to be a part
of the pen pal program.

460
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,400
Yeah, there's nothing like
getting something in the mail.

461
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:51,760
You know, you don't really get
mail anymore.

462
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,560
And especially kids.
So exactly the magazine's

463
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,040
exciting, but getting a letter
in the mail from your friend

464
00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:58,640
and, you know, we encourage
them.

465
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,440
We we send out kind of like an
informational letter when they

466
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,000
first join.
And we say we encourage

467
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,080
handwritten letters.
You know, you can draw pictures.

468
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,520
You can ask, ask questions, get
to know each other.

469
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,640
So we kind of give them a little
bit of like, here's what it is,

470
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,440
since again, it's kind of one of
those things that's almost going

471
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,200
extinct and here's how you do
it.

472
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,560
And then we kind of leave it in
the girl's hands after that.

473
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,520
Very cool, very cool.
Greg, do you have any other?

474
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,280
No, this has been terrific.
Thank you so much, Mary.

475
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,080
We are thrilled to have you here
today.

476
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,040
We're thrilled to have you
quarterly in our household with

477
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,560
our girls reading, following
along.

478
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,800
And because they're starting
young, you'll have them in your

479
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,160
audience for more than the tween
years.

480
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:42,480
Yeah, that's.
Great.

481
00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,320
Which is exciting.
Yeah, anything.

482
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,080
Any last thoughts you'd like to
share with our audience or where

483
00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,120
they can find you?
And Tween Magazine.

484
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,680
Yeah, so you can subscribe to
tween@tweenmag.com.

485
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,320
We do four issues a year.
Makes a great gift.

486
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:02,040
Holidays are coming up, so we'll
have our holiday issue out in

487
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,040
time for, you know, before
December.

488
00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:08,560
And yeah, you can find
information about joining the

489
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,240
Pen Pal program inside.
And follow us on Instagram at

490
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,360
Tween Magazine for Girls.
Awesome.

491
00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:16,400
Thanks so much, Mary.
Thanks for having me.

492
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,000
All right.
Thanks everybody for listening.

493
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,720
This has been another episode of
The Most Important Thing.

494
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,080
Hey, guys, if you're still here,
you're definitely our kind of

495
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,280
person.
Thanks for spending this time

496
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:28,880
with us on The Most Important
Thing.

497
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,800
If this episode resonated with
you, we'd love for you to follow

498
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,160
us wherever you get your
podcasts and share it with

499
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:36,920
someone else.
Building family culture on

500
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:37,480
purpose.