We’re so excited to have Laura Serra On The Fourth Floor as our Media, Darling today.
I am the mother of the most beautiful tawny, green-eyed Chihuahua named Chloe. For work, I cover parties for the Globe and Mail (@GlobeParties) so be nice to me or I’ll put an unflattering photo of you in the paper or, God forbid, not feature your photo at all (just kidding :P).
I’m also the Head Mistress, Whip-Cracker and Founder of Paws for the Cause (@pawsforthecause) – we dress up dogs and throw fun parties to raise money for sick animals. By “we” I mean the Paws committee, which is made up of my closest friends and respected colleagues, who also happen to be the smartest, prettiest, coolest people on the planet. This year, WE established a Paws for the Cause scholarship at the University of Guelph for a vet student and this is my most prized life accomplishment to date.
Twitter: @lauraserra
What was your favourite class in high school? Why?
English Literature. Everyone in my family is an English major and my mom is even a high school English teacher so I probably didn’t have a choice. I like words more than numbers. I’m also excellent at bullshitting so essay writing came naturally.
How did you get your start?
A few years ago, an extremely wise woman named Sue Grimbly let me cover a party for The Globe and Mail. Pretty soon my uncanny ability to drink mediocre red wine and generate small talk was undeniable.
If you weren’t a Media, Darling, what would you be doing right now?
Crying, obviously. Or, probably having inappropriate relations with a bearded 20-something student as a professor of modernist literature at a B-class university.
Pitching or follow up: Phone or email?
I don’t even know the password to my work voicemail.
We know irrelevant pitches, calling you the wrong name and eight follow-ups are no-no’s; what else should publicists avoid doing?
Writing emails more than one paragraph long.
Hiding the time and date of an event at the bottom of the email.
Sending emails more than 1MB in size.
Sunrise or sunset?
Sunset – I usually fall asleep just before sunrise.
Scent?
I wear Chanel Bleu for men but my favourite scent to smell on a man is Gucci Pour Homme.
Cookie?
I’m savoury over sweet but if I have to, I choose regular ol’ chocolate chip.
Flower?
Pale pink peonies.
Ticklish?
Only on my right hip bone.
Shower or bath?
Usually bath then shower – relax, then wash hair. I know, I know, water usage, blah blah blah.
Film?
Les Invasions Barbares is my go-to answer for the favourite film question and yes, of course, I’m a cliché and love Wes Anderson stuff. What you don’t know is that my guilty pleasure movie is Fever Pitch because I love Jimmy Fallon and I love the Boston Red Sox stories about the curse of the bambino and the bloody sock. But mostly, I love it when Jimmy Fallon’s character says to Drew Barrymore’s, “You do this thing… it’s so cute, I wanna kill myself.”
Crush?
This guy on Twitter who I’ve never met, one of my ex-boyfriends, Ryan Gosling and Fabrizio Moretti.
First job?
Cashier at Shoppers Drug Mart when I was in Grade 9. God, I loved being a cashier and I was so good at it! I still remember the code for an in-store bottled water special – 1042876493.
Inspiration?
The usual suspects: art, photography and fashion. But also: my parents, a good conversation, surprises, and love. I had trouble answering this question so I asked my friend Maggie, who knows me better than I do, and she said, “Fashion, Chloe and your friends.” So, I guess I’m on the right track.
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