- by Heloise Wilson
THE MYSTIC OF WORDS
LARISSA LIMA, A CONTENT EDITOR WITH POWERFUL TOOLS
If you had met and chatted with Larissa as we did, she might have asked for your star sign or even your full chart. “I have Pisces placement in my natal chart that guides me to write in a more intuitive way,” she shares with us right off the bat. For the Brazilian-born and New York-based content editor, intuition and a connection to something bigger are essential “It’s my modus operandi,” she adds.
We’ve followed Larissa’s work for a while. There is a certain delicate elegance to it paired with a touch of mystery, perhaps a smirk as well. We talked about her relationship, as a writer, with the universe. It was quite philosophical actually: What is out there? What are the things we cannot see? These questions are at the core of her work. On the commercial side, she enjoys developing brands’ identities or creative projects by finding inspirations everywhere: the writer Fernando Pessoa or the multi-media artist Rafaela Salgueiro.
Larissa’s first work experience as a teenager was working in a luxury store in Sao Paulo. She later began to study design in college. In a journalism and fashion writing class, things clicked for her: ”That’s it! I am going to combine my writing with my fashion desire” she remembers thinking then. Now, Larissa works with anything that involves words, from drafting copies to editing. A few years later, Larissa is now a content editor in high demand.
Her career trajectory has led her to work with some influential figures and distinguished companies. Commercially, she previously worked for Marketing Store Agency (currently known as Score Group Agency) — writing content for some of the biggest brands such as Colgate, Ambev, Arcor, Havaianas, or Riachuelo. A fashion journalist for many years, she also worked for the Brazilian branch of clothing brand C&A during her time at the marketing firm MktMix PR Agency.
Larissa’s interview of supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for Dafitimag
The fashion world is very attractive to Larissa, she considers it a good match for her writing. While living in Latin America, she contributed to Dafitimag, a publication which belongs to Dafiti Group, a major retailer group on the continent. For Dafitimag, Larissa worked as a fashion reporter and content editor. Those were exciting and busy times in Larissa’s life. As a content writer, she wrote content for many fashion campaigns for them, setting the tone of the brand, overseeing SEO and leads. Working for women’s and men’s fashion was appealing to her. As a reporter for the magazine, she wrote about some really interesting topics: summer fashion and new seasons as well as a mix of interviews and editorials about designers. Our favorite article of hers was a reportage she had written on feminism in which she had interviewed important Brazilian names in the movement: Luíse Bello from Projeto Chega de Fiu Fiu, Djamila Ribeiro a blogger from the Feminist Office, and Bárbara Gondar the creator of the fanzine Xereca.
Larissa’s personality and unique style show in her writing: she is bubbly, sophisticated, and approachable, she certainly doesn’t boast and remains humble, even though her achievements are impressive. Some of her assignments led her to work with celebrities, she interviewed supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for instance. Her talent and skills have opened many doors for her in that realm: collaborations with the fashion brand retail chain Lojas Pernambucanas for their Spring Summer Collection with the legendary Brazilian actress Paola Oliveira or writing the brand institutional presentation for Jack Vartanian, a luxury jewelry brand. She also dabbled in the world of e-commerce for the Fashion and lifestyle company Shop2gether — Together Journal where she collaborated with experts and influencers such as Costanza Pascolate, Felipe Veloso, and Camila Espinosa.
The Zodiac Project developed by Larissa in collaboration with illustrator Niege Borges
Larissa is a writer with extensive experience in content and copywriting, her outstanding commercial resume can surely attest to this, but her creative writing, just like her, contains multitudes. She is currently developing a book of poems exploring womanhood, New York, and Astrology. For this, she is collaborating with illustrator and designer Niege Borges. A bilingual writer, she also works in her mother tongue, Portuguese. It is the language of one of her projects, Literatura Confessional, a blog and a podcast where she interviews writers and covers, nonfiction authors.
In an interview she gave to the popular lifestyle website Hello Giggle, Larissa was asked what she would like to leave behind in order to be happier in 2021. Her response? Getting rid of the things that may hold her back. We have no doubt Larissa’s sheer determination will continue to push her to achieve even more. Upon discussing this, we reminded her of an article she had written for Thought Catalog, “We Are the Women Who Make the Magic Happen.” Some sentences might inspire you: “My magic is hard work and sharp intuition. It’s my way to make magic happen: reading the signs and working on them from head to toe because there’s no coincidence”.
Larissa’s advice to other writers? Be dedicated to your work and disciplined. “A clear target and a lot of determination” are the keys to her success. She adds that perspective is also a big thing, sometimes one needs to reroute and reassess things. While Larissa’s tips are very practical, as an intuitive person, she reminds us that, no matter what, the solutions are out there: “Trust your gut and follow the universe’s signs”.
LARISSA LIMA
BRAZIL
