Interview with Sarah Hartley, Creator of Holl & Lane Magazine
By Rachel Werch
We are so excited to share with you that our founder, Ceallaigh Anderson Smart, is a featured contributor talking about Print the Love in Holl & Lane Magazine’s Impact Issue that is now available! This special issue is dedicated to stories that measure the action and influence of our lives. You can purchase it in digital and print format at hollandlanemag.com.
Holl & Lane is a quarterly women’s inspirational lifestyle magazine, created as a place to allow women to share their truths! Real stories from real women. It was started in 2015 by the incredible, talented, and inspiring Sarah Hartley - “This is a revolution to show women, you are perfect as you are and there are other women just like you who have been standing right where you feel you are right now.”
Since Sarah, Editor in Chief, is always working to create a beautiful space for telling other women’s stories, we wanted to ask her about her story! She graciously accepted and shared with us some of her truths!
1. What is your spirit animal and why?
Sarah: A dolphin! I love that they always seem free, like they're having fun, but they're still super powerful.
2. How did you get started with your career and how did you get to where you are now?
Sarah: I started the magazine back in 2015 after a miserable pregnancy. I felt like I wasn't allowed to talk about how hard it was, or how much I hated it because the media always made me feel like it was going to be this magical time in my life. So through that experience, I felt like there had to be other stories out there that women felt they weren't allowed to share. And that is where the idea for Holl & Lane came from. I wanted to create a magazine that women felt like would be a safe space to share what they were really going through. Throughout the last three and a half years, I've shared stories from over 500 women and have made it our mission to be a haven for women looking for a supportive community.
3. Where are your passions born from?
Sarah: My passion comes from storytelling. I believe that everyone has a story, that there has been a distinct and important journey that created who they are today, and I think it's important to share those. Not only is it great to be able to tell your truth, but it's also amazing to help other women feel less alone when they experience the same types of things. Plus, I just believe it's important to have more realistic media in the world - not everyone leads an Instagram-perfect life, and I think it's okay to talk about that.
4. What is the best part about your work?
Sarah: Being able to offer a safe space for women. We have so many women come to our community to talk about the hard things they're going through or to ask for advice. And I love being able to give women space to feel safe to do that because they know they won't be judged by anyone. So often, women talk about things in our group that they've never shared with anyone. And that is very humbling to me.
5. Do you have any tips for people who are juggling a family and a career?
Sarah: There will never be a balance. Some days you're going to feel like you rocked your career - but your family life might suffer. Other days you might feel like you were an amazing mom, but you didn't get any work done. Don't beat yourself up about that. Life is hard when you're trying to put your energy into both. But I try to always be present no matter what I'm doing. So, if I'm going to be working, I want to focus and really get things done. If I'm going to be with my kids, I'm going to ignore my work for a bit. That way, both things are getting my full attention. I'm not always great at this, but I'm working on it.
6. Is there anything else you wanted our readers to know?
Sarah: Our brand new issue all about IMPACT is now available! This one has 27 stories of what impact has meant to women throughout their lives. It's 96 beautiful pages of powerful, incredible stories. I'm so proud of this one. We offer it in print and digital on our website: hollandlanemag.com And if you want to check us out before you buy, we offer a FREE mini issue that can be snagged at hollandlanemag.com/signup.
Thank you so much for sharing your wise words with us, Sarah! Keep up your amazing work! It is SO important!!
