Fiona: I loved the first issue of aMuse – who is it aimed at?

Sasha: Affluent London women aged between 25 and 45 with a passion for fashion. We were overwhelmed with the response to our launch issue, so it seems there are a lot of these women out there, hungry for a magazine that talks to them.

 Fiona: aMuse is a first: a free monthly title. What’s your vision for the title? 

Sasha: I would love to see aMuse achieve a distinctive presence in the free magazine market in London. From a reader’s point of view, I want our readers to look forward to the last Monday of the month, not just for payday but because that’s when they’ll be able to pick up their copy of aMuse. I want them to love the magazine and identify with our positive view of London women and our tremendous achievements.

Fiona: What’s aMuse’s social media strategy?

Sasha: We are on Facebook and gathering friends at pace, and the office is filled with enthusiastic tweeters who use Twitter (@amuse_mag) to update our readers on events, new products and any random object of desire that catches their eye. We’re shortly to launch on Pinterest and will have an aMuse magazine app in September.

Fiona: What’s your view on free publications – what is their place in the media landscape and will we see more of them?

Sasha: As a former editor of ES Magazine, and deputy editor of The Times Magazine which are both, effectively, free publications, I absolutely think there’s a place for free publications in the media landscape. Readers now expect the highest quality from their free titles – and they are right to. And of course, where the readers go, the advertisers follow.

Fiona: You’ve been a journalist for 15 years, what’s been your best bit?

Sasha: aMuse is the first launch I’ve worked on and it’s been the most tremendously exciting, rollercoaster ride. It’s been a chance to dream up a magazine from scratch which is full of the stories, people and trends that I love. Definitely the best bit.

Fiona: And your worst?

Sasha: My first job was at Cosmopolitan Magazine and I’m struggling to decide which was the worst bit. Yes, I have it! Dressing up as a nun to run round Hyde Park on the hottest day of the year, having my photo taken for a story about nuns putting small ads in recruitment magazines.

Fiona: What’s been your proudest achievement?

Sasha: I’m deeply proud of aMuse and the team who work on the magazine, who are just so talented and brilliant with great futures. I’m also hugely proud of getting Kate Moss for the most recent cover of Pomp Magazine.

Fiona: And how can PRs best work with you across your three titles?

Sasha: I’m in the lucky position of being able to work with three totally different and very strong brands, so if a story doesn’t work for one of them, it might well work for another. I love hearing about anything new that’s happening in London, preferably via email in the first instance.