Name: Carmen
Age: 21
Location: Manchester UK & Málaga Spain (soon to be Shanghai, China!)
Blog URL: Piece by Piece Style
What is your blog about?
My blog is based around personal style – I post outfit inspiration, mostly from the high street but some has been picked up at markets on my travels or passed down through my family. Speaking of travelling – I’m crazy about visiting new places so I often post travel posts – be it an outfit post with a cool backdrop, or a full travel post of a particular location.
Is this your first blog?
Yes – I started it in September 2013 after being inspired by some of the big bloggers across the world.
When did you start your current blog?
I started thinking about writing a blog last summer, while I was away in South East Asia for 7 weeks. This resulted in me gathering bits and bobs to feature on the blog on my travels and also a few outfit posts with stunning backdrops.
What made you do it?
I was inspired by all the big bloggers to create somewhere I could share one of my biggest interests. Partly I loved the idea of running my own site, making all the decisions and featuring posts on fashion and travel. And partly I scanned a lot of smaller blogs and thought I could do a better job than them! So decided to give it a go.
What was your first blog post about?
My first blog was quite straight forward; a small insight into my life by way of a photo collage. Nothing more than an introduction.
What do you think is the most useful tool to you as a blogger?
Apart from the obvious (Elle magazine, Instagram, a camera), the most useful thing to me is to keep asking my eyes and ears ope for inspiration and advice from anywhere I can find it. You never know who is going to lead you to speak to an influential person or where you’re going to have the idea for your next post.
Do people in your “real life” know about your blog?
It took me a while to post it on my personal Facebook but, since I did, I have received a lot of support and compliments from friends. I am always really flattered when someone I know approaches me thanking me for recommending a product – usually a piece of clothing – and to be honest I am always so surprised they respect my opinion!
If yes, has your blog helped you career wise?
My blog has made me see in what direction I would like my career to go in. At the moment I write fashion articles for Fibre Magazine (www.fibremagazine.com) that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do without my blog. Also, I have been working with various brands purely through my blog, which is so exciting and surreal.
What has been the one thing (blog post, project, etc) you’ve been really proud of?
I wouldn’t really be able to pinpoint one individual thing; it’s more the sum of everything. I am really proud of my blog and happy to show everyone; and that is a mixture of what I have learnt through these months, the photos, the clothes I’ve picked and the brands that have requested to collaborate with me. Of course, I was shortlisted for the Company Style Blogger Awards which is INCREDIBLE – I can’t believe my little blog has been recognised on a national level, it’s really surreal.
Where do you see your blog in a year?
This next year I will be in Shanghai studying, so I see my blog being very influenced by my life there. Hopefully I will be collaborating with bigger brands and my followers will grow substantially – they’re my aims, anyway!
What do you wish you knew when starting your blog?
I have really enjoyed learning about how to blog as I’ve gone along – my first poses were truly terrible, I’ve learnt to write more concisely, what clothes work for blogs… I’m enjoying pinpointing what it is that works or not, and I’m enjoying doing that myself without anyone telling me the secrets.
What do you wish you know about now?
I really really need to learn how to promote my blog more: SEO, advertising, all of that techie stuff. That’s my next big aim.
How do you keep motivated to post?
My blog is my little baby, I couldn’t possibly neglect it! Seeing it as a whole is really motivating because you can always see what it needs more or less of, and what content would be good to do next. Just scrolling through my posts makes me motivated to add more to it!
Anything else you’d like to add?
I hope to catch you readers on there soon – it would be great to get to know you, so make sure you leave a comment!
