Hello and welcome to another Friday and this week's Post Comment Love. If you were here last week, thank you, it was good to see you, and I'll be over soon, I'm not sure where the time has gone this week. If you're new here this week, welcome, it's great to have you along and you'll find us a friendly community and Morgan and I can guarantee you a whole host of interesting posts to read.
As I've mentioned already it's felt like a week where time has disappeared, although I'm not sure where. We spent most of the weekend outside completing more of our landscaping project and then trying to reclaim our allotment from the poppies, not weeds, for a change. There's been an evening of sowing seeds and a couple of nights out as well. And then there's been the rain, hasn't there?
My photo this week is a nod to the weather, but only a small nod, because let's face it a picture of the amount of rain we've had in the past couple of days wouldn't be pretty at all.
The BritMums Brilliance in Blogging awards opened this week in the blogging world, and if you'd consider my blog then I'd be very pleased and flattered. I don't expect to win, but a nomination is always welcome. Here's the categories, if you're stuck for which category I'd suggest Photo or perhaps Readers' Choice, but who knows you might have different thoughts, and that's entirely fine.
Blogger Showcase: Samantha from A Thousand Yellow Daisies
1. Who are you?
I am a freelance creative blogger and designer. I write articles for my own blog and guest pieces across a range of topics in the creative industry from fashion & creative space to creative start up and product/service pricing. I am also currently writing a series of small creative business features and a piece about art therapy.
As a designer I run the company A Thousand Yellow Daisies, we offer some corporate graphic design services but our main focus is pattern design, illustration and hand lettering which are produced onto a range of homewares, stationery and fabric etc. with a new range of wedding stationary due to be launched soon.
2. How did you discover blogs/blogging?
I have been blogging for myself for years, I always enjoyed blogging and found that a more interesting way of showcasing my design work than a standard online portfolio.
3. Why did you start blogging?
I took a break from blogging as I reached the final stages of my degree as it was too much to manage at once. I lost touch with blogging for a while at this point and picked it back up a little as a way of promoting my new company. I remembered how much I love blogging and creative writing so started hunting for opportunities to blog more. I found a position as guest blogger with a fabric print company, I had such a positive experience and great feedback with the owner suggesting I should start taking up more paid blogging roles.
4. What do you find most challenging?
Currently my biggest challenge is finding enough paid roles. Most of the roles in my area of expertise are unpaid guest roles. I love writing and rarely turn any of these opportunities down, but it does make it difficult to find enough work as I am aiming to be able to become a full-time freelance blogger and designer.
5. What is your favourite topic to write about?
I love writing about anything within the creative industry. I have such a passion for creativity and find that even topics that are outside my personal experience and expertise such as fashion are fascinating to research and so interesting to write about.
6. Are you blogging for fun or do you have goals?
I would love to be able to blog as part of my career. I plan to always keep designing, but the two fit so well together while being different enough to give a lovely variety of work. I aim to get to the point where I can be designing and blogging full time.
7. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
I love the writing, having to consider your thoughts and find a way of getting your thoughts, opinions and knowledge onto paper (or screen!) in a way that is relatable while informative and understandable to an audience. I have also always loved to learn, for my entire life I have loved academia.
Blogging gives me the opportunity to do that again. I research my topic for pretty much every article, no matter how well I think I know the subject, you can always know more. With every article I write I get to learn something new, and I realise how much I knew about the topic without having even realised, which is always very fun!
8. Have you ever attended a blogging conference and if so, what did you think?
No I haven't. I do think that would be an amazing experience though.
9. What are your 3 best posts?
I am immensely proud of my first guest blog as I got amazing feedback, reached a much larger audience than they usually do and felt I covered the topic well despite knowing nothing about fashion when I took the project on! It's also the piece that made me take blogging seriously and want to get into it as a career.
The second and third pieces I am most proud of are a three part article for Print and Press about how to price for product, service and freelance. I am also writing a series of feature pieces on my own blog. I've used their stories to find a theme to each feature and am very excited to start releasing these.
10. Describe yourself in three words!
Creative, passionate, motivated.
11. Are you a tea and biscuits or coffee and cake person?
Coffee and cake everytime!
12. What's your idea of a perfect night out?
A couple of my closest friends in a bustling (but not loud and cramped) cocktail bar, chatting and people watching over a couple of drinks...with maybe a little dancing!
13. Your perfect night in?
A home cooked dinner over music and candle light then snuggled up warm with a good book or tv show for the night.
14. What would your best friend/OH/mum or kids say is your best quality?
I asked my boyfriend and the response I got was my willingness to make others happy!
Thanks Samantha - what a great blog name, thanks for sharing more about yourself, please do grab your "I was featured" badge. If you're reading and wondering about taking part, then please do, we'd love to feature you in a future edition.