I Love when I get the chance to do this series. There are so many great bloggers out there, people sharing great ideas, great words, great images, and I love having the chance and the platform to share some of them here with you.
I actually cannot recall the first time I met Jaye, but I am oh-so-glad I did. Stylish, funny, and utterly addicted to stationery (qwe bonded hard over a mutual love of Kikki K, Paperchase, and Erin Condren, among others!), she's such a creative and kind member of the blogosphere, and I'm delighted that she agreed to take part in 'I Love Your Blog'.
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1. How long have you been blogging?
I’ve been blogging now for almost five years, but my blog has taken quite a few forms during that time. I originally started it as something to keep me occupied when I moved to London for Uni and knew nobody, and it’s kind of evolved into something of a digital diary!
I started off blogging solely about beauty, but as I became a bit more settled in my beauty routine (and no longer with a student loan to blow in MAC), I started to incorporate other topics. Whilst I was at uni it became quite a useful tool for landing internships and work experience, I was studying Journalism so they like to see that you’re constantly writing! I never really have had an end goal with my blog, it’s just always been something I’ve enjoyed doing, and as a writer anyway, I found it was nice to have somewhere to write freely! I’ve been lucky enough that my blog has afforded me a lot of great opportunities, from helping to build my freelance business, to landing me work experience, to fantastic opportunities to meet with other bloggers and work with brands I love.
I’m lucky in that though my readership is small, it’s the most wonderful group of (mostly) women. Writing my blog is almost cathartic to me, no matter what’s going on in my life my blog + readership are a constant, and the community that has built around it is so supportive and wonderful. I think it speaks volumes that 99% of my friends these days I met through my blog!
There’s a lot of expectation with blogging, mostly from the blogging community. I think it’s often assumed that by having a blog, you want to be the next Zoella, when really, if my blog stays as it is, I’d be quite content.
This is a tricky one, mostly I’m always just blown away by the positive reaction + support I receive from my readers whenever I post anything more personal. I’ve had quite a rough year personally, and I was always a little afraid to click publish on any personal posts, but I’m always overwhelmed by the love I get back. Those are usually the posts that garner the most comments + discussion on my blog, and having that support system, even from people you don’t know, is so heartwarming.
Oh my there are so many! Discounting the obvious (your bangarang girls are all blogging babes) I adore Tami’s blog - especially her ‘if you do one thing’ posts, Carrie’s blog is a little ray of sunshine on a drizzly January day, and I always find something interesting to read over at Wit and Delight.
Because I try to post daily, I’ve always had a very practical + organised approached to blogging! I use Evernote to keep a running list of content ideas, as well as a content calendar - that way I can access it all easily on any device. Within my calendar I have posts colour coded by category - Beauty, Lifestyle, Travel or Style, to try and avoid posting too much of the same content at one time. I try to work a week or so ahead of myself + I dedicate a day each week to taking photos for the week ahead. For the most part though, I’m writing about my life right now, or things I’m loving right now, so I never really struggle for content ideas!
Well thank you! The photographs on my blog are super important to me, so I always try to use the best tools I have at my disposal! For the most part the photos you see on my blog are taken with my Canon 70d + a 40mm pancake lens, which is a bit of a magic camera formula in the blogging world. That being said, if I’m out for lunch and decide I want to blog about it, I am quite happy to just snap some photos on my iPhone 6 and use those! I love photography, but I never want having to have the right equipment to feel like a burden! With good lighting and a little clean of the lens, you can take great photos on an iPhone! For blog photos I use Lightroom to edit, I shoot in RAW and find this is the easiest way to edit without losing quality, but if I’ve been using my phone, I’ll often just use the A Colour Story App! I’m loving the Flashes of Delight filter pack right now.
I love Kikki K and everything they do, so it’s no surprise I’m fawning over their new Valentine’s Collection. I’m always browsing the New In section on The Fox and Star, they stock all my favourite brands (including my weakness, Rifle Paper Co!). I’m also currently umming and ahhing over placing an order from Appointed, but the shipping costs are astronomical!
Stay true to your own voice - in an oversaturated market that’s your USP! Don’t listen to anyone who says you have to have a niche, write about what you want to write about, and your work will be much more natural + enjoyable to read!
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Loved having you visit for an interview, Jaye - hope we can catch up in London soon!
