What's in a name?  A lip gloss shade, a skin creme, the title of a novel, a song or faerie tale.. Every name tells a story. Identity. It's a psychic fingerprint. And then—there is the story, the theme, the script. The words that evoke the secret of a perfume. Words clarify the visual experience. Words are essential, even if they are behind the scenes inspiring a visualization. Words create BIG IDEAS. Words elevate images—make us see and feel them in their fullest glory. They tell intimate details, describe how mascara curls, romance the dress, create the poetry—words read between the lines. Laren's A Tartan Tale for MACinspired Tim Walker to create set designs and a magical shoot.

As editorial director of M.A.C. for 12 years, Laren managed a team, established and maintained the brand's voice across all channels from its three websites, to print to direct mail. She also edited its quarterly magazine and created an inspiration library at the M.A.C Pro store.
Clients:  Jo Malone, Aveda, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, Coach, Dana Buchman,  DKNY, M.A.C, Prescriptives, Creme de la Mer, Victoria's Secret and several boutique agencies.

Laren has worked on the following voice/brand collateral: 
Fashion, Beauty, Skincare
Pro & Consumer Product Descriptions
Class descriptions
Emails
Social Media
E-commerce
Print Advertising
Direct Mail/Brochure
Store Signage/Outdoor
Product/Shade Naming
Press Releases
Bios
Keynote Presentation
 

Kind of sexy. Compelling. Explore mascara. Find a foundation. A subject line that make you click. Emails that inspire. Websites that tell a story. A YouTube description that hits the mark. It should look easy. Even philanthropy can be glam (Who doesn't love RuPaul?)

Laren repositioned Bergdorf Goodman as a more accessible shopping destination while building on its heritage as New York's greatest luxury store for its first outdoor/print campaign. She led her team to develop three concepts and the winner was "A Fashion Moment." She worked with several renowned photographers; each brought a unique storyline to life.

Upon seeing a Perry Odgen image Dawn Mello exclaimed, "Finally, someone understands what Bergdorf Goodman is all about." 

Photographers: Miles Aldridge, Perry Odgen, Carter Smith, Cleo Sullivan, Steven White, Rodney Smith, Josef Astor, Patrick Shaw and others.

Why not fly in avant-garde filmmakers from Paris for a short on Heatherette? Or ask an animate/artist to create dancing orchids? Laren has produced/art directed numerous in-house & in-store collection/inspiration videos— concepting, scripting and engaging all talent from directors to interviewees to makeup artists. Senior Artist Romero Jennings spent five hours hand-crafting jewelled eyeashes for Richie Rich for the Heatherette shoot. Sundance director Michael Palmierie made Barbie seem real with his intimate camera work. And Laren's A Tartan Tale was brought to life with an actor's reading that synced with an online book.

Laren has been a consultant and editor-at-large of Faerie Magazine since October 2014. With the support of the team, she initiated doing shoots (including covers and beauty) as well as timely celebrity coverage. Through her media contacts, Faerie Magazine receievd high-profile press coverage in T Magazine and The New York Observer.

Pairing talent with a story is like matchmaking. For M.A.C, Laren had Roger Ebert write a memoir-esque essay on sex, cars and cinema, Alan Cumming on how to be the life (and he added soul) of the party, Tavi on seeking style, Patti Wilson on the allure of the bow, Sophie Dahl on her glittering holiday memories, gave Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper playful questionnaires, asked Daphne Guinness to embellish her collection story with lyrical watercolours and calligraphy and collected stories from beauty bloggers around the world. She's even persuaded Simon Doonan and Dame Edna to write sonnets.—and recorded them reading.

Other talent includes:
Polly Mellon
Nicola Formichetti
Rebecca de Mornay
Tom Ford
Jonathan Adler
David Colman
Sloane Crosley
Linda Fargo
Dr. Valerie Steele
Ruben Toledo
Stefano Tonchi
and the lovely Veronica Gledhill to name a few

Laren has interviewed fashion designers, photographers, perfumers, playwrights, film directors, movie stars, rock stars, authors, makeup artists, cooks, creative directors and dandies.  Publications include: The New York Times, The New York Observer, Faerie Magazine, BG Magazine, Deutsch Vogue, Interview, MACzine and others.

Direct links to articles here:

NYTimes- The Sweet Allure of Melancholy

NYTimes - Debi Mazar's Talent For Glamour
NYTimes - A Vegan with a Dark Side
NYTimes - Revealing a Lot, Aromatic and Otherwise
New York Observer - He's Just Dreamy...Dandies Prowl Our City

NYTimes- Return of the Tight Squeeze

NYTimes-Make Them Fit, Please

Laren writes fiction, non-fiction, plays and fairy tales. She is the author of three books—the cult classic novel, Pluto, Animal Lover, a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award and recently optioned by actor Robin Wright, Bohemian Manifesto, A Field Guide to Living on the Edge and The Bombshell Manual of Style, pivotal in exploding Bombshell consciousness into a popular genre.

Laren is a fellow of Yaddo and Hawthornden Castle and has received the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant for fiction and the Dana Award.

"Pluto, Animal Lover creates its own universe with its own peculiar magnetism. It’s like Evelyn Waugh meets Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer. It made my hair stand on end."
—John Patrick Shanley

“Reading Laren Stover is not simply an engagement of the senses. It is a seduction of the senses—transporting you to the magical and softly illuminating place whence she writes.”
— Nick Tosches  

“Laren Stover catalogs...realities with accuracy, sympathy and intoxicating charm.”
— Tom Robbins  

 For more book details:
The Bombshell Manual of Style
Bombshell Video
amazon.com/Bohemian-Manifesto-Field-Guide-Living/dp/1626545014
Bohemian Manifesto on Swedish TV  

From the summer of 2015 until spring 2018, Laren, editor-at-large, curated visual stories for what was formerly Faerie Magazine's Instagram gallery of 100k followers using her photography, stories from the magazine, the faerie shop and images from folklore, fantasy and nature artists around the globe.