Cherie Federico

Cherie Federico decided to set up Aesthetica after being inspired by a publishing internship as part of her degree.

The manager of her local Borders expressed an interest, and very soon the magazine was being stocked in branches in York and Leeds. She has since given up a full time graduate job to concentrate on the magazine, which has a readership of 45,000. Securing national distribution via WH Smith has had a major impact on the business. Cherie now employs five members of staff and has over 200 institutional subscriptions, including universities and schools, who see the magazine as a useful resource for educating students on British arts and culture.