N/A: Interview With Lindsey Day, Co-Founder of CRWN Magazine

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Your website begins with the quote, “You’re a progressive thinker. You are changing the world just by being yourself, and now there's a magazine for you.” What was the inspiration(s) for CRWN Magazine?

We created CRWN because we saw a ton of conversation online and in our personal/professional networks surrounding natural hair lifestyle; but we saw a void in the marketplace when it came to publications that are immortalizing our hair story in print. In addition to conveying a beautiful aesthetic and authentically representing the diversity of black women, we want 'CRWN' to serve as a model for creating sustainable, for-profit businesses that serve our people. We see CRWN as a platform through which makers, creatives, professionals, stylists, influencers, etc. can speak directly to their target audience and catalyze real, substantial business opportunities.

The Huffington Post named CRWN, “The Empowering New Natural Hair Magazine The World Needs.” Did you know from the beginning that CRWN would become the staple for black female diversity that it has?

We definitely knew that the product was necessary, and we believed in our abilities to execute it; but as with any new venture, there are always doubts internally and doubters who try to poke holes in your ideas. Before tackling our first full issue, we went out with our little CRWN zine — our MVP (minimum viable product) — and passed it out at a music festival. It started conversations and connected us with other sisters, and that was the moment when we were like, "Okay, I think we have something." That was really day one for CRWN as a business — being at a festival and talking to people. We were speaking to our future customers and seeing their eyes light up, saying, "Oh my gosh, my cousin needs to see this," or telling us their personal hair stories and things that are very important to them. Without those initial conversations, we wouldn't have had the validation or the market to really make it a viable business.

Women of color are often associated with oppression and struggle, but your magazine fights this. Not by dissociating, but rather embracing the struggle and accessorizing it as motivation to further enjoy life. To put it simply, CRWN gives women of color permission to love themselves fully and unapologetically. What is the process walking such a fine line?

I don't know if there's a process, per se. Our perspectives are unique because we as individuals are unique, and we as partners are unique. The skill sets and life experiences we bring to the table really shape the narrative. I have a white father from Boston and Black mother from Illinois (her mother was from Tuscumbia, Alabama) and I was raised in Northern California. My business partner is a bald man with a beard who was raised pan-Africanist. In a lot of ways, we approach this project as though we're creating it for our extended family, so we pour a tremendous amount of love, respect and appreciation into each page.

We want to heal our people and truly empower the people who read CRWN — not just by showing cute photos of hair and talking about how bossy we are, but by acting as a mirror for our inherent beauty and power. By stripping away many of the "alt facts" we've been spoon fed as a community, we hope that the content will be a catalyst to translate or channel some of our struggles, frustration and anger into collective wealth and productivity.

I like many women of color face extreme isolation almost daily, to cope I turn to Instagram for affirmation. Do you believe the social media age has aided the “Black & Proud” initiative?

I definitely see social media as a tremendous tool to connect, build community and, yes, spread the message of being Black & Proud. I don't believe we could have attained the success we've had thus far as a company and a brand if we didn't have backgrounds in digital marketing strategy. It has leveled the playing field in many ways, decentralizing the power from the traditional media outlets.

That being said, we're living in a time when blackness and "Black Girl Magic" are being peddled by mainstream media in a trendy, shallow way; so I think it's even more important to take ownership of our narrative. If we aren't the ones telling our stories, our collective story and the context around our current state as a people will never be portrayed in an authentic way.

Another note is that print is central part of our strategy. Although no one can deny the power of social media, there is still something special about premium print that you can hold in your hand and truly experience. For us, the beauty lies in the dance between the tactile/tangible and the digital.

As a lifestyle magazine, you give women of color permission to explore different perspectives of life. Allowing them to become individuals in a world that encourages copies. What is your advice to women of color coming into their unapologetic beauty, inside and out?

Work to surround yourself with people who affirm you, and who appreciate beauty in all of its forms. Don't let other people's insecurities become your baggage. Meditate on the fact that your beauty is inherent — and it has nothing to do with the physical. You are here to be a vessel for God's grace and power. Beauty to me is operating out of a place of love and service of others.

#blackhair #blackwomen #selflove #perspective