Simone Duckstein on Be-Bolder.com
We are indebted to TWR reader Andrea, who tipped us off about the fabulous new pro-age site Bolder, launched this March by photographer Helen Cathcart and freelance writer Dominique Afacan. The site has a simple mission, to champion people over the age of 70 who are redefining how to grow older, supported by inspirational story telling and gorgeous photos.
The pair, who frequently work together on travel shoots, hatched the idea after realising that the most interesting people they met on their trips were often not the one they had been sent to interview. They told us ‘It sometimes felt that everyone was ignoring the most interesting person at the party.’
How fabulous.
The site is a joy to read, set aside 15 minutes, grab yourself a beverage and read about Simone Duckstein, above, who has run the legendary Hôtel de la Ponche in Saint-Tropez all her life. Or Tess Jaray, below, a British painter and printmaker who was made an Honorary Fellow of RIBA in 1995 and a Royal Academician in 2010. Then there’s Jennifer Murray, bottom, who has achieved three Guinness World Records in aviation, including being the first woman to circumnavigate the globe solo in a helicopter, having only learned to fly age 54. There are men too, but I’ve just picked a couple of the women.
How do Helen and Dominique find these inspiring people? Dominique told us “We ask friends and family (and any publicity helps) and our day jobs as freelance writer and photographer often throw up some people too. Often, there’s a bit of domino effect with one person recommending the next. Our motivation is really to change the perceptions of what it means to grow older.”
Amen to that.
See the Bolder website here, where you can send in your own ideas on who they should interview next.
Tess Jaray on Be-Bolder.com
Jennifer Murray on Be-Bolder.com
Love it! I will be forwarding this on to my mum too, who at 71 is more leading a more interesting life than she was 20 years ago that’s for sure.
Good stuff Sarah, maybe she should be an interviewee! A