Yvonne Mazzotta Interview

I currently work as a Lab Assistant in the Media Arts Department. Cierra McGee is one of my amazing supervisors who got me connected with a editor and designer named Yvonne Mazzotta for this interview.

Cierra knows Yvonne through interning at Enjoy Magazine as a college student. Since that time, Cierra still works as a feelance designer and contributes editorial designs on a per-issue basis each month for the magazine. She recommended I speak with Yvonne because she has many years of experience in the media industry, small business ownership, and graphic design.  

After her recommendation, I emailed Yvonne. She generously agreed and gave me some wonderful information about her and the company, as well as inspirational advice. Not only that, she provided a couple of lovely designs from the magazine to share with the class.

SV FEB 17 Cover.jpgncl-feb-17-cover

Anyways, here’s how the interview went:
What can you tell me about yourself and your company?
“I am a wife and a mom of three boys (4 including my husband), a nineteen year old college student and fourteen year old twins. I love going to my sons soccer and basketball games and I love beautiful captivating design. Our company stems from a real need in our community. We started out as a marketing agency then added the Enjoy Northern California Lifestyle publication. We launched our magazine in 2008 when our community was in a housing deficit. We all came from a large hair care manufacturer who had sold to a Japanese corporation. We wanted to sink ourselves into our community and bring them together with positive stories and beautiful photography.

What does your daily workflow look like?

It changes all the time and we all wear many hats. I email advertisers for the upcoming issue. I also design and create branding campaigns. I also design events for one of our local Hospitals and work with a local producer of events at the Redding Civic Auditorium. I do allot of research on trends to make sure our advertisers stay current and are sending the right message.
How did you get involved with Enjoy Magazine?

We were all working for KMS haircare in Redding and they sold the company. We started a marketing company and continued to work on the KMS account. We developed the magazine because my Mother in Law was in a lifestyle publication and she sent it to us. My husband said, we should really have something like this in Redding. “
What inspired you to be apart of the design industry?I was a fashion designer and graphic designer when I graduated from college. I love all things design from fashion to architecture. Font choice is my favorite. I love research and finding out how things are done. I believe design takes some real ingenuity and I love the process.”

What advice would you give for aspiring graphic designers?

Do as much work as you can to build your portfolio. Like any skill, you get better as you work more. Get out and meet people, share your work on social media, go to events… people want to work with who they know.
How does someone prepare for the creative/design field?

College, internships and creating a great social media presence to share your work.”

What is your favorite thing about working at Enjoy magazine?
I work with and get to meet inspiring people all the time. I get to make beautiful things that make people happy, everyday!
We found so many local producers or beautiful craftsmanship and agricultural producers that we opened a local retail shop called “Enjoy the Store” and now we have 2 additional locations.We have another enjoy magazine in Visalia California along with a store. We also have Movies in the Park where we show movies for free every friday night in different park locations. 


I appreciate the time Yvonne took the time to do this. I learned a lot about connections with people and presence online.

Lastly, I think you all might enjoy taking a look at some of the other work Yvonne and Enjoy magazine does. Here’s their website: http://www.enjoymagazine.net/