Oct 13, 2026 · 49 min · 9 segments
Hello! Welcome to/back to the Doll Mom Podcast! In this episode, Aubre Andrus comes on the podcast! Aubre shares how she got into American Girl dolls and her experience working at American Girl! Later…
I started as the associate editor, and so that job was very much in charge of the departments that, um, were, like, reader-submitted content, so, like, the heart-to-heart letters and, like, the art contests.
And then we had two women on staff who their literal job was just to open the mail and sort it, so they would give me, like, my department's mail and maybe make some choices, you know, of, like, what they thought was good, and then I would pick, like, the final winners.
I would also do, like, the posters, which I, I actually didn't love doing, um, because we, we would pick, like, a stock photo or, like, a cute photo from a photo shoot.
Like, if we had a puppy on set or something, we might try to get some posters.
I would have to come up with, like, a very clever, like, caption, you know? And I just, like...
Like, every month it was like we, we would do little surveys and it was like, "What was your favorite thing in this issue?" "The posters." [laughs] And we're like, "Come on." Um, yeah, this stock photo.
Within the next year, the lifestyle editor left and she became a product developer, and I was able to apply for her job, and so that job was really, like, the fun stuff.
And, well, I should say also for the associate editor, I did some, like, features about girls too.
So I got to go to, like, a dance competition in Milwaukee and, like, interview the kids, um, who were competing and, like, that was very fun.
Um, but yeah, so lifestyle editor was fully, like, crafts and parties and recipes and games, and so that ended up being, um, just, like, a ton of fun 'cause I got to go to so many photo shoots and, um, I wasn't just, like, sitting at my desk writing, you know? It was a lot of, like, being out and about and even doing some shopping for wardrobe and, like, model casting and, like...
It felt, that felt like real magazine, you know? Like, the real, like, visual side of it, like, heavy on the visuals, so I really enjoyed that.
I was worried that I wasn't getting enough, like, writing experience, [laughs] um, but it was, like, such a cool and unique, um, I don't know, like, blend between editorial and, like, the visuals.
And so I worked very closely with art directors, and it was, it was really fun
funThat sounds like a dream.
Like-
...
Vogue.
I started as the associate editor, and so that job was very much in charge of the departments that, um, were, like, reader-submitted content, so, like, the heart-to-heart letters and, like, the art contests.
And then we had two women on staff who their literal job was just to open the mail and sort it, so they would give me, like, my department's mail and maybe make some choices, you know, of, like, what they thought was good, and then I would pick, like, the final winners.
I would also do, like, the posters, which I, I actually didn't love doing, um, because we, we would pick, like, a stock photo or, like, a cute photo from a photo shoot.
Like, if we had a puppy on set or something, we might try to get some posters.
I would have to come up with, like, a very clever, like, caption, you know? And I just, like...
Like, every month it was like we, we would do little surveys and it was like, "What was your favorite thing in this issue?" "The posters." [laughs] And we're like, "Come on." Um, yeah, this stock photo.
Within the next year, the lifestyle editor left and she became a product developer, and I was able to apply for her job, and so that job was really, like, the fun stuff.
And, well, I should say also for the associate editor, I did some, like, features about girls too.
So I got to go to, like, a dance competition in Milwaukee and, like, interview the kids, um, who were competing and, like, that was very fun.
Um, but yeah, so lifestyle editor was fully, like, crafts and parties and recipes and games, and so that ended up being, um, just, like, a ton of fun 'cause I got to go to so many photo shoots and, um, I wasn't just, like, sitting at my desk writing, you know? It was a lot of, like, being out and about and even doing some shopping for wardrobe and, like, model casting and, like...
It felt, that felt like real magazine, you know? Like, the real, like, visual side of it, like, heavy on the visuals, so I really enjoyed that.
I was worried that I wasn't getting enough, like, writing experience, [laughs] um, but it was, like, such a cool and unique, um, I don't know, like, blend between editorial and, like, the visuals.
And so I worked very closely with art directors, and it was, it was really fun
funThat sounds like a dream.
Like-
...
Vogue.
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