Brought up and raised in central Indiana, Victoria Everman has done it all and is now becoming a green rock star in this new economy.  Victoria is one of the new breed of pop culture: sports stars, rock stars and models like Victoria are emerging as green warriors who use various media to deliver sustainable messages on a wide variety of trends and products.

Victoria recently moved back to Connecticut after 3 years in San Francisco.  Our staff caught up with Victoria and here’s the interview with this self described “versatile eco-powerhouse” who is a freelance writer, life-long model, on-camera personality, public speaker and official U.S. spokesperson for Twice Shy Clothing 

Q. How and why did you decide to become involved with green stuff?

Growing up in a lower-middle class family in Indiana, I quickly learned how to reuse things as many times as possible. As my mom continued to make more money and we moved around a lot, those lessons fell by the wayside. When I moved out into my first apartment at 18, all those young years came quickly flooding back.

Even when I began making more money, I saw no reason to stop living a conscious lifestyle. I began to wonder if there was any way I could share my knowledge with others. Having loved to read magazines all my life, it finally hit me that someone has to write all those articles.

Being on my own, I almost instantly learned that buying cheap food ended up costing me much more money in future sick days and doctor visits than if I would just buy fresh, natural foods – that helped to lead me into the work of “modern” sustainable living.

Why I do what I do is very simple – I like to help others. I am an information junkie and have found that sharing all of my randomly acquired knowledge can truly have a positive impact on others lives.

Q. We understand that you chose the Hartford area over Philadelphia for your new home. This Web site/blog’s owner has strong ties to the Philadelphia area.  He asks, “what were you thinking?”  In any event, what are you looking forward to in Connecticut?

That’s a good question! Philadelphia is a nifty area, don’t get me wrong, but their often unsafe public water supply and some of the highest medical costs in the country turned by me and my fiance away from the area. We plan on staying on the East Coast and buying a house in the next 3 years, so we wanted to be able to stay in the same area and raise a child later on. Also, my mom lives in CT, my sister will be arriving in CT later this year, and my fiance’s family is in New York and Florida – being close to family is very important to us.

There are so many things I’m looking forward to now that I am back in Connecticut. The change of the seasons is a big one – I feel so much more connected to nature and the true flow of life when the snow falls, melts, flowers grow, leaves change color …etc. Though you didn’t ask this, I can tell you that the main thing I am not looking forward to is having to drive nearly everywhere. I was truly spoiled living in San Francisco and having buses and trains everywhere!

Q. Tell us about Twice Shy Clothing and what you do for Building Green TV?

Twice Shy Clothing is a organic cotton brand based in Vancouver, Canada. They found my work by accident nearly 2 years ago via an onlie fashion community. They asked if I wanted to represent their brand and help spread the word about their creations in America – how could you turn down an offer like that?

Working with Building Green TV has been a lot of fun. Though I haven’t had the pleasure of working on the BGTV show itself, I am an online editor for their website – I’ve written a number of articles for buildinggreentv.com, along with posting videos and doing interviews.

Q. What is GreenMUA project?

GreenMUA was started by Connecticut’s infamous Remy Chevalier to help promote sustainable beauty in the media industry. Myself and the other founding members are working to connect professional make-up artists (MUAs) in TV, movies, and magazines to all-natural, organic make-up brands. Many make-up artists are sponsered by brands like MAC, who are by no means as eco-friendly as they could be – we hope to do the same with green make-up brands.

Q. Your blog was rated by SEO as one of the 10 Best Blogs in 2007.  Has the blogsphere changed at all? Please tell us about your new blog, Eco-Indie Wedding Blog.

Immensly. I’ve been keeping various perosnal blogs over the years on livejournal.com, but even since I started blogging professional 3 years ago, things have changed a lot. The biggest issue is volume – there are just so many blogs out there, it is hard to compete for readers when people don’t like to spend hours reading stuff on their computer in the first place.

My new blog, Eco-Indie Wedding Blog, was started in December 2008 after my boyfriend of 4 and a half years proposed to me a few weeks before we left San Francisco. I was unsure if I wanted to just keep a personal blog about my experiences of planning a sustainable, small-brand wedding. Looking through the world of blogs, I found only a few dedicated to sustainable weddings (all of which are great, by the way). I thought that my own personal perspective and experiences might be helpful to other readers, so I went ahead and started a new wedding blog.

So far, the response from readers and family alike has been very supportive. I’ve got over 20 posts in the works for the blog, so there is a lot still to come. Also, our wedding isn’t happening until 2010, so I’m sure there will be lots of ups and downs to share until then.

Q. Your thoughts on social network platforms?

Great, but nothing can replace face-to-face contact. I have met many fantastic people online via my own blog, Facebook, Flickr, ModelMayhem … etc. Still, business is business and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels more confident about working relationships when you get a chance to chat with someone in-person. I do openly use my social network profiles to promote my work – living sustainably is my life is more ways than one, so it inudates every aspect of my day.

Q. What’s your favorite green story or blog post?

Oh wow, that is a very hard questions … I couldn’t put my finger on just one. I feel the best about the posts labeled “Commentary”  on my blog. Being able to share my own personal perspective with so many willing readers makes me much more self-confident and I’m always open for discussion.

Q. Next big green thing?

Green building, transportation, energy, and food are going to continue to be the most important topics to people the world over. I think lack of clean water is going to be getting a lot more attention this year. I’d like to say the same about sustainable fashion, but that particular industry is very slow to change, so small businesses and brands will have to continue to pave the way.

Q. We know it’s old school, but name five people you’d like to have for dinner, dead or alive.

1. My dad (R.I.P.)
2. My mom
3. Buddha
4. Jesus
5. Hitler

Good times

Q.  Since you are moving to Connecticut – Yankees or Red Sox?  (And if you answer Mets, not good.)

Red Sox, but my fiance is a 100% Yankess fan – somehow, we make it work.

Thanks.

Filed under: Blogging, Good Green Stuff, Green Attitudes