About me

Dear Creativepool

My heart beat a little faster when I read the job description, because it's what I love to do.

I'm an expat Brit, in Los Angeles since 2003 (2nd time), and now split my time between LA and Palm Springs, which is where the other design stuff happens in SoCal - cool architecture - old and new, Modernism Week, and of course, Coachella.

My focus is architecture, design, branding, art and home decor. My husband, is an EP for film and TV and we're immersed in the LA design scene on many levels, with behind the scenes access to people, places, and events.

In addition to freelance writing, I'm a freelance PR consultant, my main client, Annie Sloan, is well known in the UK and now highly successful in the USA. I've been doing her PR for nearly 4 years, on a seven-day a month contract.

Reading your list of skills required is essentially a checklist of what I do, day in and day out.

Recent writing experience: website articles on art, design and vintage shopping for the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, images mostly by me too. See examples here:

For Atomic Ranch (national) magazine (Spring 2015) I wrote a feature on our mid-century modern community. (See Dropbox link below). I've written for a variety of corporate and in-house communications as well as publications, from French music magazines to art & architecture publications and corporate and consumer websites.

I stay informed through multiple design blogs, ezines, and via contacts in media and design.

I'm fast and responsive, and that's why editors and clients enjoy working with me.

I've used Photoshop for years to re-size, enhance, crop, straighten, brighten, and otherwise edit images. I also source images from the public, bloggers, retailers (for Annie Sloan) and choose according to editorial quality so I provide the media with what they want. I use Dropbox regularly to forward large image files and keep images organized.

I'm active in most social media; a blog, inactive for the last couple of years, but here's the link:

I've written hundreds of press releases, still do.

I've always been a self-starter. I get the job done effectively and on time; I look for opportunities and story ideas, make contacts, do my due diligence. I'm an experienced interviewer and researcher. I'm respectful, calm, and easy to work with.

I'll be an amazing fit for Creativepool. Promise.

Best, Melissa Riche