Letters to the Editor March 2007
Dear Editor,
I love the new look of BAB! It’s the kind of intelligent, international, classy but sassy magazine that’s been missing out there. The broads abodes transformation was amazing this last time. Can you give me more info about it? I’m a little scared about letting a stranger into my uninspired little room. I don’t have much space for furniture or much of a budget.
—Noa
OK, OK, I’ll come clean! It’s me doing the transformations! You may have read in a previous issue that I have been recovering from a brain injury. Well, during the first few months of the recovery I wasn’t able to work, so was going crazy at home having nothing to do. My husband and I had just moved to a new house, and I became rather inspired by a fashion designer we were working with to help us plan our furnishings. I discovered that while the injury stopped me being able to add up in my head or write coherently, at the same time it made me look at colours, patterns, and textures differently. I got myself a sewing machine and started making
things for my friends and helping them make their apartments really look like their homes. It’s been great fun, kept me sane when I couldn’t work, and we thought we’d incorporate it into the magazine. It’s all a rather painless process! I will come and have a look at your place, and find out more about you and what you like to have around you. You might have something specific in mind, or you might just feel that you need to do something with your room but you don’t know what. I have loads of pictures that you can look at and let me know what you like and don’t like. And you let me know what your budget is and I’ll let you know what I can do within that. Basically I want to create a home for you, together, that reflects who you are, and makes you feel that bit closer to making Japan your home. We all need a nice haven to come home to after the madness that can be life in Japan!
—Caroline
Hey Editor,
How about an adventures in Japan/Japanese culture column? Get an adventuress out there to sample some of the most intimidating Japanese culture has to offer and report back to the rest of us! For example: Missing the last train and spending it doing karaoke until dawn or in an internet/manga café, taste testing mysterious animal parts at the yakitori shop, nongamblers trying their hand at pachinko, the experience of getting prudish American friends to try an onsen.
Hannah
Dear Broads,
Just wanted to drop you a line to say I loved the last issue of BAB! It was great to see all the new features you have—the magazine seemed to just keep going! I love the ‘we found love in Japan’ feature, as its great to hear personal stories from other broads—I hope lots of people keep sending them in so we can keep reading them! I liked the ‘makeover’ section as well—you found some brave women to put their hair in your hands, but it all worked out for the best, and they ended up looking fantastic! Keep up the good work; I can’t wait for the next issue!
Leigh Stratton
Dear Broads,
Just wanted to say ‘Job Well Done’ on the last issue of the magazine, it keeps improving with each passing month. The hair makeover feature was a lot of fun to read and gave me a bit more confidence about possibly trying something new myself. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Lisa
Good Morning Helen!
Got the magazines on Saturday! I was all smiles all weekend! Best birthday in my short life! I read it from cover to cover already… it’s got meat! Plus, my friend’s Belli-dance show announcement was in it too! This is embarrassing, but I’d like to have more… Have a good one today! (I’m trying to keep my eyes open… haven’t slept much!)
Marie Verlingo—Our February cover girl
Caroline Pover and Emily Downey,
Greetings from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, thank you for sending us your new edition (February) of your magazine and we at CLO wish you the very best of luck. If possible, we would appreciate obtaining 30 or so of your magazine monthly, All the best,
Marilynn Fulcher & Raúl Alférez, Community Liaison Office Coordinators—CLO U.S. Embassy Tokyo, Japan
Dear Broads,
I have been reading Being A Broad magazine since the first issue that came out in November and I was very impressed with its latest development. The new layout, added content and design all looks amazing. I was so happy to see the pages with ‘things we love’. This is exactly what we need here in Japan. I love shopping and often go to the stores to window shop. There are so many attractive, beautiful and useful products on Japanese counters to choose from, but you get so frustrated that you don’t know what it is or how to use it. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to learn about wonderful products we can buy here in Japan to stay healthy and beautiful! Also, I really enjoyed reading the article on ‘The benefits of Aromatherapy’ on page 15 in the February issue. It was very interesting to learn about the many influences that smell can have on an individual and its immune system. In general, I find the health section very functional and I am looking forward to reading future articles in this section.
Best regards,
Jasmine Brown
Dear Broads,
I just found your magazine on a trip to Tokyo this month, and I read it from cover to cover! As a fairly new arrival to Japan, and living out in boonies myself (Aomori), I was
happy to see a magazine that has something for those of use living outside the big cities—it’s a very different Japan out here! I’d love to see more articles to help me get my bearings out in the countryside, but otherwise, congratulations on putting out a great read!
Ophelia Cate
Dear Broads,
Good work on the last issue—I agreed with earlier letters asking for more content, and I’m glad to see you listened to the readers! I can’t wait to see what you came up for in
March.
Julia Shea
