say hello wave goodbye

It’s been almost two weeks coming that I’ve been postponing writing this post, trying to come up with the exact words to use. But after all the contemplation, there is no other way of putting it than by just throwing it out there: this is going to be my very last article on Amayzine.com.

There. I said it. The word is out, I’m leaving Amayzine. Not because I don’t like it, but sometimes it’s time to follow a new path in life. Something entirely new, something different, whatever it may be. Making a decision like this isn’t easy and believe me, it’s kept me up for weeks. But after a lot of deliberation I came to the conclusion that it was a decision I had to make. The path I have yet to tread is still unknown, but sometimes you have to dare to jump to see where you’re going to land.

“A dream and a vision of our editor in chief May-Britt that started off in a stuffy attic with just a handful of people”

Amayzine was, or actually is, my very first real job. The first time I spent so long, 2,5 years, devoting myself entirely to a company. And not just any company but a site, a brand, that didn’t even exist when I first started off. A dream and a vision of our editor in chief May-Britt that started off in a stuffy attic with just a handful of people. Before we knew it we were running out of space and it was time for a new joint, and now the Amayzine HQ in Amsterdam is located in one of the prettiest offices in the city and is run by a group of wonderful people with wonderful readers.

Thanks to Amayzine I was taught what it was like, and how, to write for the internet, how unbelievably hard it is, how high the bar is set to produce one great article after another with tight deadlines that you sometimes only barely make. I learnt what it was like to be part of such a strong team, what it’s like to suddenly share a huge chunk of your life online with people you’ve never ever met but always read your articles and leave the sweetest and most heartwarming messages.

Amayzine brought me to fashion week in New York, London, Paris, Milan, I went on press trips to Canada, Peru, France, Hungary, Mallorca, South Tirol, London, I met Bill Cunningham and even dropped by his house for a visit and above all: it left me with friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime.

As much as I stand behind my decision, I’m writing this farewell column with a heavy heart. It’s so incredibly special to have been part of a company that you’ve seen built from the ground up, to have so much fun with the people you work with, and to be able to write for the most faithful and wonderful readers of the site. Having to say goodbye to something like that would be hard on anyone.

But, as some people like to say, it isn’t ‘goodbye’, it’s a ‘see you later’. So that’s what I keep repeating to myself. Now I would like to queue in and Oscar worthy moment to first and foremost thank May-Britt for giving life to Amayzine and letting me be a part of it.  That she saw something in me and offered me the position of an editor, and that she understands like no other how to turn a job into something enjoyable and fun, that she let me cover the most bizarre topics, for leaving me the sweetest messages when I was dealing with bumps in the road in my private life, always asking me how I was doing and actually genuinely wanting to know the answer, that we would shamelessly be questioning why we hadn’t opened a bottle of wine yet when the clock would strike 12:00, and that she would let me make fun of her when she managed to produce the most bizarre typo’s (inside joke for May: wit lwnnen), and that I know that when she reads this she’ll most likely be laughing out loud and that although officially she was my boss, she always felt more like a friend.

I would also like to thank you (see, and this is where it get’s Oscar worthy), the readers. All the emails with sweet messages, the endearing comments on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, how faithfully a lot of you follow Amayzine and for anyone that has ever stopped me on the street to say: “Hey, you’re Liesbeth from Amayzine!” believe me when I tell you how great that felt.

I’m going to miss you and Amayzine immensely. But as sports commentator Ernie Harwell once said: “It’s time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure.” And that is what I would like to leave you with. Bye wonderful fun and loving Amayzine, bye wonderful fun and loving readers, I’ve had an indescribably great time with you.