Welcome to the April edition of NewsTeam’s Monthly Magazine!

As you have most likely noticed, NT has been on a break this month. This was done to allow some internal restructuring and planning. However, we will be back again as usual from May, with a posting schedule that runs as usual.

One thing that we as a team has decided to change is the magazine feature User of the Month. The page will change its name to “User Appreciation”, and will not appear every month. The requirements are also changing a bit: you now don’t have to do something ‘special’ that month to be featured; we are opening it up to everyone who is a good friend, mentor, has made some great forums, you name it. If you know someone you would like to nominate, please write a message to the NewsTeam account with their username and a short text about why you think they should be featured on the User Appreciation page.

On another exciting note, we are searching for new members! We are looking for both writers and layouters to join our team, and there are still a few days left to apply: the deadline is Sunday 2nd May at 23:59 BST. You can find the relevant information here. If you are considering it, we definitely recommend you going ahead and give it a try - we don’t bite, and are very much looking forward to reading your applications!

We hope you enjoy this month’s magazine!

~NT

Auction
This month's auction was held on Saturday 3rd of April and featured sets from four different designers. The female pd set, designed by Annie, featured a long red hair and green striped sweater, while the green-skinned male pd set was designed by Helmi. The female credit set, inspired by Eevee, was made by Solovey, while the male credit set, featuring a large white jacket, was made by Rhinestone.





MCW
This month's mega credit set week was held between the 29th of March and 4th of April. This edition of MCW featured sets made by nine different designers: Askr, Misjel, Rhinestone, Lamb, Allie, Solovey, Bug, Melk and Dinalicious. For females, there were six bonus sets, inspired by Eevee, which were designed by Solovey. The sets were widely different in style and theme, which ensured that there was something for everyone. For females, the sets included everything from a shovel and watering can to fish net bodies and a Persian dancer. For males, the sets included everything from a Miffy plush and an ice king to beautiful orange and red wings. To see all the sets, click here.

SMT
As usual, SMT hosted their “Who wore it best?” dress up competition in the beginning of April, from April 6th to April 11th. The female users had to use a green top in their outfit while the male users had to use a green, yellow and pink jacket by Ad0xa, the prize was a beautiful oversized pink shirt by Rhinestone and you can see all the items here. The winners were announced on SMT’s Tumblr page, which you can find if you click here.

Later on in the month SMT hosted a competition they called “The Next Big Thing”, a competition where the users had to design their own soda can based on the prize set and create an unique flavor for their soda. SMT provided a template for what the soda can would look like and then the users could let their creativity free when it came to flavor and the design. The competition was open from 19th April to the 25th. If you want to see the designs for the soda cans you can do so here. The winners will be announced on SMT’s Twitter page soon and they will either win a beautiful set by Lamb (for females) or by Rhinestone (for males)!

ET
The EventTeam hosted a new competition in their Hogwarts series, the competition was called “Pimp your Wand” and you could enter the competition from April 10th to April 19th. The task was to decorate a plain wooden wand, the template was given by ET, to make it a beautiful and decorated wooden wand. The winners won a magical set by DUCKBOY and the winners can be found here.

The second event hosted by ET this month wasn’t, for once, a competition. It was a “movie night” where everyone could join ET and watch “Legally Blonde: The Musical” on April 28th and April 29th. The users who watched the musical could get a little surprise in return. If you want to read more about the event you can do that in the EventTeam’s forum by clicking here or by visiting the competition page.

For this month’s fashion page, we thought we would take a step away from vp for a moment and dip our toes into one aspect of creating more of a sustainable fashion industry which is increasingly becoming more mainstream - thrift shopping. 

Shopping second hand rather than brand new, is a conscious choice you can make as a consumer to help the environment, but there are also many other personal benefits to thrifting. Firstly, buying second hand allows you to save money on the quality brands you love, as most thrift stores have a good selection of big name brands, always at a discounted price. Who doesn’t love a good deal? Buying used doesn’t mean that you will have to say goodbye to quality, neither are you buying worn out or otherwise ruined items, you are just allowing someone else to enjoy them first, extending the garments’ life cycle in the process. This will in turn help save resources, like clean water for example, as well as decreasing the fast fashion demand. 

But thrifting is also just a lot of fun, and you do not have to look for the brands that everyone wears if that’s not truly your cup of tea. Find vintage gems that went out of production decades ago, or other one of a kind items that no one else around you has. Discover your unique style and what you love, without having to follow what society tells you is ‘trending’. Thrifting can open up doors which allow you to just dress like you.

The outfits to the left are inspired by two of our members’ favourite thrift shop finds, what are yours?