News / journalism
Bristol creatives showcased in new magazine
Elle Placide is also known in the online world as Dora the Reporter. But it is in the real world where she is now making waves as the founder of a new magazine, OverDue, shining a light on Bristol creatives.
“I came up with Dora because it is about having an alter ego,” said Elle on the morning after the launch of OverDue.
“It’s funny, it’s cute, it’s sexy. I feel like I wanted a character and a brand to build around, and it feeds into being a storyteller and a journalist and it does make the brand a little bit easier to build.”
is needed now More than ever
OverDue magazine was created entirely by Elle, 25, who grew up in St Austell in Cornwall and now lives in Horfield, having moved to Bristol “for a new adventure”.
Working initially in the charity sector, Elle has spent most of 2025 “just following my creative passion relentlessly and wholeheartedly”.
“I’m interested in so many different things that it felt like a magazine was the perfect creative expression for me because I could connect with people, I could write, I could design, I could research, I could produce an event,” Elle explained.
“There are just so many facets of everything that I love to do so I really just wanted to let me challenge myself and do everything in one funky colourful beautiful piece of work.”
Elle has never done anything like this before “and for the most part I did do everything by myself”.
“So it was just a complete learning curve in all dimensions, which was incredibly frantic and stressful and chaotic, but literally the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Elle launched OverDue magazine with an event at the Square Club – photo: Fourth Colour Studios
How did it feel for Elle holding the magazine in her hands? “Oh my god, just joy, just absolutely joyous… That’s my inner soul in print form and it’s so beautiful and colourful and it’s just everything that I could have wanted out of the journey.”
Elle added: “It’s a platform, it’s a stage for so many incredible creatives around me, but at the same time it is my creative expression.
“I didn’t have an office to go to, I didn’t have a team. It was just me getting up every day and trying to convince myself that this is worth it. This is gonna work.
“I didn’t get any feedback from anyone on my writing or my designing; it was all just powered by my self-belief.”
The OverDue launch event at the Square Club in Clifton was a showcase of of some of the artists that are in the magazine.
“It’s about like shining a light on special people,” Elle said.
“This is my experience of Bristol. There isn’t much emphasis on the architecture and the history, because I guess that hasn’t been my experience yet.
“My experience has been the Bristolian creative scene which is so vibrant and has so much talent, just incredible energy and people and flow.
“So this magazine is a depiction of how I see Bristol.”
Will there be a second issue? “I feel like I have to do another volume, I feel a responsibility now, I want to try and make it work but but I want to be really intelligent about my movements forward…
“I feel like my move is hopefully going to be building a brand around Dora the Reporter and hopefully being able to generate money just by being myself, and being my alter ego with love and loudness.”
To buy a copy of OverDue, get in touch with Elle via Instagram: @dora.the.reporter
Main photo: One Man Photo Club
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