Five Firsts With Oriet Milmoe, Editor of The Scout Guide Baltimore & Annapolis, Maryland

Photography by Julie Hove Andersen.

We’re always hoping to make a good first impression, and that first-time readers of The Scout Guide will put the publication down feeling inspired to learn more about the featured businesses—and, if they’re out-of-towners, to seek out (or start) a guide in their own hometown. In this series, we talk to our editors about their TSG “firsts,” from their first encounter with The Scout Guide to their first photo shoot and more. Read on to learn about how The Scout Guide Baltimore & Annapolis editor Oriet Milmoe discovered the brand, and what it was like to launch her first volume. 

When did you first discover The Scout Guide?

I first discovered The Scout Guide in 2013 when I was having an art exhibit for my business Oriet’s Fine Art at Youngblood Art Studio in Middleburg, Virginia. Afterwards I had dinner with Lilla Ohrstrom, the owner of Youngblood Studio, and TSG co-founder Susie Matheson, who was in town for the launch of The Scout Guide Hunt Country.  

What made you decide to become an editor? 

The Scout Guide held a special appeal for me because I have lived in many cities, and know how challenging it can be to uncover a town’s cultural hot spots. TSG represented something very unique in offering businesses an opportunity to promote themselves on a local and national level through both print and social media. As a small business owner myself, I was intrigued by the platform offered to me as an art dealer to broaden my audience. 

Tell us about your first editor photo shoot.

I love the editor spread in the guide because it gives me an opportunity to showcase parts of the region in a unique way. Through the years we have featured museums, the Inner Harbor, the Maryland countryside, and the Eastern Shore. For my first volume, we chose The Cylburn Arboretum & Gardens as the setting. It’s a gorgeous, 207-acre public green space in Baltimore City. It was shot in the spring in a field with thousands of daffodils and was an utterly breathtaking experience. 

“I believe it’s the people who you encounter that make each city unique, and those people are what give each city color and personality.”

What was it like to launch your first volume?

One of the highlights to me as an editor is the launch of each new guide. I love to host a festive event for my members to network and celebrate being part of a community of like- minded business owners and entrepreneurs. Our first launch party in 2015 was held at the Victorian Renaissance Revival Cylburn Mansion, which is sited in The Cylburn Arboretum & Gardens, where my first editor photo was taken.  

What’s the first thing you would tell a prospective editor?

What I love best about being an editor is meeting other entrepreneurs like myself and discovering all the region has to offer with regards to culture, art, shopping, food, and sports. I believe it’s the people who you encounter that make each city unique, and those people are what give each city color and personality. Being an editor enables you to promote the faces behind the local businesses, both established and up-and-coming, to locals and visitors alike. 

To learn more about Oriet and The Scout Guide in her area, follow The Scout Guide Baltimore & Annapolis on Instagram. Learn more about starting The Scout Guide in your city here.