The Magazine Maestra: Sarah Tomczak

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Sarah Tomczak has been shaping the way women think for over twenty years. A stellar career in the magazine industry has given her a sixth sense for what the modern woman wants. Tomczak cut her teeth in New York at celeb-bible, US Weekly, and since then she’s worked at a slew of publishing heavyweights, including the UK’s Daily Mail and GLAMOUR, as well as penning etiquette guides in her spare time (true story: her first book was titled ‘L is for Lady’). Now she’s at the helm of Red, the UK’s second-largest glossy magazine after Vogue. Eternally stylish (picture Jackie-O’s elegance with Marilyn’s curves), Tomczak’s real-woman appeal is one of the many reasons her tribe flocks to her Instagram feed. Her recent move to the dreamy British seaside, with her photographer husband and two gorgeous daughters, has only added to the lifestyle porn!

Onto the Q&A…

Q&A.png — The most organized part of my home is...

None of the bits that I have anything to do with! My husband is a stickler for order and cohesion and I am the opposite. He folds his clothes using a folding board and I cram mine in and shut the door before they fall out again.

My baking cupboard. It’s extremely haphazard with glass jars balancing precariously on top of each other and a fine dusting of icing sugar in most corners.

I’m big on baskets – for kids toys, Lego, hats and gloves, hair accessories, and arts and crafts. It means they always look nice on the outside despite being a jumble on the inside.

a necklace my husband gave me for my 40th birthday. He sourced vintage charms with his initial and those of my two daughters. The ‘S’ for Sylvie was from a Victorian tie pin, and the ‘C’ for my daughter Coco was originally a crescent moon from a necklace. They’re beautiful but I also love how much time and thought went into it.

moving to New York to pursue a career in journalism, aged 24 and becoming the editor of Red almost two decades later.

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I can still do the splits – a party trick I still roll out all the time!

a neighbourhood mum to organize a play date. Editing a magazine whilst working from home and keeping the kids entertained at the same time is a constant challenge.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

both a blessing and a challenge. We moved to the seaside last Christmas, so working from home every day means I don’t have to commute into the city, I’ve enjoyed settling into a new place and building a community here, I’ve spent more time with my kids and husband and I’ve carved out time for myself that I never had before. But it’s challenging to lead a team and be creative and navigate an uncertain climate while alone in your kitchen, oh wait, not alone because I am homeschooling a five and an eight year-old too!

changes a lot. I’ll tend to cook the same thing quite a few times and then move on. At the moment I love Diana Henry’s roasted tomatoes with fennel, pistachio nuts, yogurt, feta and herbs and Ottolenghi’s baked rice with garlic and cinnamon.

scrape my tongue with Jasmine Hemsley’s Tongue Tingler – it’s addictive!

two sun salutations. I read that this sequence of yoga poses stretches every muscle in your body, so I like to think I’m stretching the day away before I get into bed.

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swimming in the sea. It’s a recent hobby that I have found myself craving, the more I do it. The combination of the cold water, being immersed so utterly in nature and the resulting endorphins is intoxicating.

‘You give a little love and it all comes back to you.’ Which is a line from a song in Bugsy Malone, but my girls and I sing it a lot! Also, when I am feeling hesitant about big decisions, I always think of the last line from the Mary Oliver poem, The Summer Day, ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ It reminds me to be brave.