Whilst TikTok is mostly known for viral dance trends and its popularity with Gen Z, there is a sizeable community of home décor and renovation accounts. The -60second video format of TikTok is a great vehicle for bite-sized updates on longterm projects, or following particular creators. But don’t feel like you have to wade into TikTok unprepared, because I’ve handpicked five amazing accounts for you.
The 1880s Octagon
This account is run by Kate, one half of a newlywed couple renovating a Victorian house in Connecticut. When they bought the house in 2019, it was condemned, so though it was incredibly cheap, it requires large-scale renovations. Kate posts weekly renovation updates, tips and tricks, and spotlights on the house’s various quirks.
Based in South Australia, Chloe Jane shares the journey of renovating her 140 year old cottage. A professional writer and creative, Chloe is able to draw you into her life with her calming voice and beautiful backing tracks. Plus, she often shares videos of her fluffy highland cows – who could resist?
Just in case you forgot that TikTok is an app populated by teens, this school bus conversion will remind you! Chicago couple Emily and Joe canceled their honeymoon to buy a retired school bus, which they are now turning into a tiny home – on wheels! They are early in the building process, so you’ll be able to watch this unique conversion from the very beginning.
Run by professional upholsterer Hepzabeth Evans, this account is filled with magical stop motion videos as she restores old upholstery. She has over a decade of experience in upholstery restoration, and is now based in the English Cotswolds. Hepzabeth shares videos explaining her process, but sometimes lets the videos speak for themselves. Her account has really given me a new appreciation for the craftspeople who help make our homes amazing.
Pretty Distressed is run by Christina Muscari, a furniture refinisher working out of Tennessee. She takes tired old pieces and brings them to new life, sharing the results on her TikTok. Christina proudly encourages other people to do the same, sharing helpful tips, useful products, and inspiration for your own upcycling projects.
Upcycled desk ideas: from drab to fab for under $100
By Naomi Findlay We’ve probably never looked more closely at our desks and home offices than we are now. Have you previously worked on the lounge, at the coffee table or…
Heritage home brought back to life for family living
This Federation home on Sydney’s lower north shore was in a bad state when Jon and Nikki Moss bought it in late 2015. But you’d never know it now, looking…
Later this month, I’m hosting an exclusive meet and greet at AGHA Sydney Gift Fair where I’ll be sharing tips on how to get your products into the media, on blogs, and how to use your own social media channels to effectively promote your brand.
As a journalist of more than 15 years, I deal with PR people all the time, and more recently as a professional blogger, people are constantly trying to persuade me to share their brand, paid or otherwise (in fact, much more often for free). So I know a thing or two about how to get noticed.
Madras Link: Professionally styled and photographed
Here, I’m sharing some of my best tips! And don’t forget I’ll be on hand at AGHA Sydney Gift Fair on 23 February if you have an important question about your business you’d like to ask in person.
Invest in styling and photography
Often I have to say a polite no to people featuring on the blog because their photography isn’t up to scratch. Even if you’ve really put the effort into styling and photographing your products yourself, with half decent light and a good camera, I hate to break it to you (and I really do, because I hate saying no!) it’s usually obvious it wasn’t a professional job. Not only does it not show your product in the best light, it can also make it look like you’re too small to get a photographer. This may not cost as much as you think at all. A few hundred bucks is money extremely well spent on a photographer in my opinion. While hiring a stylist too may seem overkill (or too expensive), it is always great to see products in a lifestyle situation, i.e. in a room, not just on a white background (although that’s useful too). Approach local design schools or reach out to people whose style you like on Instagram. Those starting out may not charge a hefty fee, but equally, please don’t ask creatives to work for free!
Once you’ve paid for your beautiful new photographs, get your money’s worth and use them on your website, socials and anywhere you can think of, as well as sending them to media. More on that later…
Establish relationships with influencers
Influencer is a fancy word for people like me; bloggers and personalities online with large followings, who people trust and take advice and/or recommendations from. They do not have to be huge, Kim Kardashian-like celebs to be able to have a real impact on your brand by highlighting it to their followers. Even though you may need to pay these people and enter a business relationship with them, it’s always best if this starts from an authentic place, where you have reached out and had a chat with them online, sent them a DM or commented on their posts. Some influencers are open to gifting, where you send them product for free and they agree to post about it in return. Others have a set rate they charge for product shout outs. Some, like me, do both. Try requesting their media kit via the contact page on their website, or direct messaging them via Instagram.
Don’t forget traditional media
You may think you’re too small or new to be featured in traditional media like magazines, but don’t talk yourself out of PR opportunities. Just make sure you do your homework first. Look at the magazine you want to be featured in and think about where your product might fit. No, you may not get a double-page-spread but could you offer them a prize for a competition, be featured in a new product roundup, or talk about how you started your brand in a business feature? Think outside the box! As a former magazine editor, I can tell you there’s nothing better than a pitch where someone has done their homework and makes it easy to say yes to them! For example: “I have the perfect product for your regular XYZ feature. Can I send you samples? Take a look and download our professional lifestyle images at XYZ. Have a look at my attached catalogue and let me know what works best for you. Contact me any time if you need anything else at all.”
CASE STUDIES: THREE AGHA EXHIBITORS GETTING IT RIGHT!
1. Rayell (Stand 3K12).
Rayell’s Kevin Porter says: “We use social media to try and show our products in a real life setting and feature all of the gorgeous details of the products. Part of the barrier of being online is that customers can’t feel, touch or examine the products up close. We try to help our customers imagine the products in their business or even imagine the end use of how their own customers will use the products.”
Rayell
What they’ve learned about digital:
Regramming tagged photos and sharing and supporting other businesses always pays off! It is great to see how other people style your products and what they are pairing them with.
Enewsletters are a must! They are the perfect way to alert customers to new products and direct them to content they might benefit from.
Strong branding is important! Keep consistent with your visuals and branding so your business is instantly recognisable and memorable.
2. Melko (Stand 4N9)
“We love to connect with our customers and show our appreciation by featuring their photos on our daily Instagram stories,” says managing director Guido Melo. “We’ve learnt that people are always looking for something new, and by using social media we are always able to reach new audiences. Our content across all platforms also needs to be high quality and engaging.
“Customers love to share their thoughts and opinions so if we can get them involved as much as possible, it creates a budding relationship between customer and business which in return, we believe, increases the likelihood of returning customers and also new customers through tagging, sharing or telling their friends about us.”
He adds: “Another key lesson is that video and photography is incredibly important in retail business. Coming up with creative concepts is important to stay relevant, and producing high quality images will not only intrigue the customer to view or buy the product but people in general love to follow a great looking feed. We find value in investing money into photoshoots because creating a great catalogue of images can easily increase revenue.”
Their top photography tips
You don’t need to go too over the top with your images, being minimalistic and clean is the best way as it is also easier on the eyes.
Filters or presets can definitely make or break a photo–make sure you choose one that is consistent to your brand and feed, and doesn’t take away from the product that you’re trying to sell.
Lighting is everything! Find your light and the photo becomes instantly beautiful. Play around with natural light (avoid super sunny days), and use a reflector when necessary.
Lastly, make sure you don’t overwhelm your customers with your products. A breakdown of other images/videos/messages that still keep with your brand and that you think your customers will love, will create a positive experience.
3. Madras Link (Stand DN5)
The brand uses social media and professional photography to showcase their range of cushions, furniture and home accessories.
Ashini Grey says: “The key lessons we have learnt over the years are to ensure you’re sticking to a regular schedule (neglected accounts are not inspiring); it’s important that every post communicates something of value, and every post is an opportunity to reach your current and new customers.”
They use a professional photographer because image quality is high priority when sharing images to social media or in a catalogue or magazine. “Blurry images and poor arrangements of products could result in a missed opportunity to convey your brand’s story,” Ashini adds. “Our top tips are to use a professional photographer, put a lot of work into your styling to ensure the products complement each other whilst maintaining your brand’s point of difference and, lastly, pay attention to detail. When you’ve spent so much time lovingly designing your collection, it’s essential that clear photos convey the details such as colour, texture and design.”
Anyone in the homewares and interiors industry knows that Instagram is a great place to showcase and grow your brand. We asked blogger Christina Butcher to share her top tips for getting the basics right.
Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform and can be a launch pad for your brand or business. I love sharing photos and I’m not alone in Australia. 60% of users are women and 70% are active on Instagram every day.
I grew my Instagram, @mrandmrsromance, from 3000 to 10,000 in just over three months and have over 50,000 followers on my other account, @hairromance.
Instagram offers huge reach for your brand and there are so many insta-success stories. If you want to capitalise on the power of Instagram, here are nine simple tips to maximise your Instagram profile:
Instagram in real life. Look for insta-meets and photo walks in your area to connect with the Instagram community in real life.
Join up with instagram challenges. #7vignettes is the perfect community for interiors. The entries are amazing but don’t be put off, it’s a warm and friendly community and a great place to build connections.
Be aspirational. Instagram is mainly a platform for pretty pictures. You can keep it real but plain photos are better shared on Facebook or Snapchat.
Use your one clickable link with intention. Instagram only allows you one clickable link in your bio. Use it wisely. Create a specific page or offer to direct your followers to on your website. Make sure your website is mobile friendly.
Have fun with your bio! You have 150 characters but can space it out and use emoticons too. To get the right spacing, type up your bio in notes and then paste it into your Instagram profile.
Use Instagram as an amplification of your brand. Share images of your work or products, things that inspire you and show behind the scenes too.
Watch the grid. When someone comes to your profile they make a split second decision on whether to hit follow and that’s based on your photo grid. Keep an eye on the last none-to-15 images and make sure all your photos look good together.
Be generous. Make time to check in regularly to comment and like other Instagrammers.
Focus. You need to make instagram a priority if you want to grow your reach there. Set a goal and you’ll see your following grow.
–Want to learn more about managing your social media, creating content strategies and building your brand online? Little Blog Big are holding small group workshops that are perfect for small business owners, bloggers and solo-creatives. The next workshops are in Canberra and Sydney and head to Little Blog Big for more the next event dates.
Well, our little Instagram contest certainly has its groove back! This last week has seen some truly stunning and clever entries. I’m delighted to announce this month’s winner, chosen by our sponsor Life Interiors, as @cassieeeesmith. Congratulations!
Nicole Arvela, showroom and creative manager for Life Interiors, said: “After much deliberation I chose hers. I thought that every picture was so beautifully composed and I just LOVED her series as a whole!”
Theme: mint
Cassie wins a $500 Life Interiors voucher (please contact us with your address and telephone number to claim your prize).
Theme: natural
10% off everything at Life Interiors for the next week!
Our brilliant second time sponsors Life Interiors are offering you all 10% off everything until midnight on Wednesday 16 September 2015 using the promo code INTERIORSADDICT10OFF online or mentioning this offer in person.
We all know Jen has a few followers on Instagram (more than 58,000 to be precise!) and spends a little time on there so she was delighted to be interviewed by the Daily Telegraph recently about using social media in the design world.
You can read the full article here and all our other press coverage here.
The last few weeks, in my haze of new mum-ness, I became aware of a lot of discussion and debate happening on Instagram about what constitutes a vignette, whether standards had slipped in 7 Vignettes entries and whether every previous winner had stuck to the “rules”. I must admit I found it all a bit negative and took it personally (this Instagram challenge is another of my babies after all). Sleep deprivation will do that to you too. But do you know what? I’m kind of happy people care enough to have that debate!
Winning vignettes by Angela Steyn
Next week, when 7 Vignettes should start on 1 July, it’s my birthday, my bestie is here visiting from the UK and, after 2.5 years, I want a breather. I’m using this time out to invite you all to send in your suggestions for creating a set of guidelines for the competition going forward. And to tell me what you do/don’t like directly.
Winning vignettes by Mel Salaris
You can’t please all of the people all of the time. Not everyone will always agree with who is picked as the winner. And the judge’s choice will always be subjective. But if a set of guidelines makes people happy then let’s do this! And who better to contribute than the people who take part? So if you’re one of those who have voiced your opinion on Instagram, please voice it directly to me here or by email and let’s have some constructive feedback.
Above all though, let’s not lose sight of this being something fun, a place to ‘meet’ like-minded people and build each other up with encouragement, support and praise of each others efforts. The ‘real life’ events and meet-ups will also continue when baby Sebastian is a bit older.
7 Vignettes will be back on 1 August with the themes announced towards the end of July. I hope we can all come back refreshed, enthused and positive!
The winner of this month’s 7 Vignettes is Angela Steyn for this beautiful collection of images. She wins a selection of goodies from Interiors Addict Shop.
Guest judge Naomi Findlay, who runs Silk Home and the International Institute of Home Staging and is my partner in the online store, loved Angela’s images and how they included the gorgeous little hands of her sons! They also worked so well together as a seven.
Angela previously won 7 Vignettes in July last year and is one of four people who have won twice over the 29 challenges so far.
Angela, please contact us with your address so we can send you your prizes!
If you’re new to 7 Vignettes, find out how to take part next month here. If you have any questions, please write them in the comments below and we’ll get back to you.
Naomi’s International Institute of Home Staging (IIHS) and the American Home Staging and Redesign Association (HSRA) are teaming up to host a home staging summit in Sydney in July. If this is a career which interests you, find out more and book your ticket here.
It’s our biggest 7 Vignettes prize ever: thanks to next month’s sponsor, Life Interiors, the overall winner of our monthly Instagram competition will win a $1,000 voucher to spend with them in store or online. Not only that, but each day, someone will win a $100 voucher for the entry judged the best. So even if you don’t manage all seven, you could still win something. I think you’re probably running out of reasons not to take part!
Life Interiors sell some of our favourite Australian brands — including Kip & Co, mexsii and Kate & Kate — and a fantastic range of Australian made and imported furniture and homewares. These new gold and copper pieces recently caught my eye. Gorgeous!
“We are extremely excited to sponsor 7 Vignettes for the month of April,” said Life Interiors’ Nicole Arvela, who will be the guest judge. “We love the competition and the way it inspires individuals to be creative and to share their style within the 7 Vignettes community. We can’t wait to see what everybody will create out of this month’s themes!”
Please share these themes with your friends and followers
You could put your winnings towards a mexsii bedhead!
Plenty of goodies you could blow $1,000 on at Life Interiors!
If you’re new to the challenge, find out how to take part here. And if you need inspiration, or are not quite sure what a vignette is, simply check out the #7vignettes hashtag, where you’ll find more than 55,000 images!
Don’t forget to tag us (@interiorsaddict) and @lifeinteriors. The fun starts a week today on Wednesday 1 April 2015. We regret that only Australian residents are eligible to win prizes but welcome your entries from all over the world!
Life Interiors is at Unit A3, 35-39 Bourke Rd (entrance via 46-62 Maddox Street) Alexandria, NSW 2015. We recommend you hop over to The Grounds for a coffee or something yummy after you’ve shopped up a storm…
Last week, I met with a friend of a friend who really wants to make a go of blogging as a career. She is already off to a good start and full of enthusiasm and passion, which is really half the battle. I get asked for blogging tips all the time but unfortunately I don’t have time to sit down one on one with everyone. So I thought I’d share some of my most common sense beginner tips here with you all, if you’re looking to blog seriously. And by seriously, I mean to one day, if not immediately, monetise your blog. In fact, these tips are for anyone who wants to make a longterm go of blogging and even if not for money, to be taken seriously as a blogger. I hope you enjoy!
Interiors Addict’s Jen Bishop
KEEP IT REAL. If there’s one thing readers tell me they like over and over it’s that they feel like they know me and that I come across as someone who is genuine and doesn’t sugar coat everything. I really try to achieve that. It’s my personality to be this way and that’s what I hope to get across, whether it’s being honest about the realities of self-employment and blogging for a living or not having the perfect interior myself. It’s also a lot easier to be yourself than to keep up a pretence and readers appreciate you letting them into your life a little. I don’t talk about myself and my feelings a lot but, when I do, there’s always a big response.
CHOOSE WORDPRESS. This is my personal platform of choice and of course, you don’t have to take my word (pardon the pun) for it, but I believe this is the best blogging platform out there and its flexibility is key to that. Choosing self-hosted WordPress also means YOU own your blog and if you’re going to start hosting ads and making money, why would you want anyone else to own it? That’s just crazy talk! Did you know Interiors Addict used to live on Tumblr? (Click WP moved me across a couple of years ago).
OUTSOURCE. You can’t do everything. You likely don’t have the time or the skills. I’m no good with web development, graphic design and advertising sales and I outsource all these things. At the beginning, even when budgets are tight, you will still do yourself a favour by getting someone to help you. You have to spend money to make money and if you’re serious, you’ll invest in your blog, even if it’s just a few hundred dollars (you’ll have to sacrifice a bit of your shopping/meals out/holiday money). These days, as a full-time blogger with an employee, I outsource many things, but when I was new it would be an hour of graphic design work here and a bit of email server help there. It all makes a difference.
USE SOCIAL MEDIA BUT DON’T RELY ON IT. Plenty of bloggers (myself included to an extent) felt the pain of relying too heavily on Facebook for traffic when it changed all its rules last year and stopped people seeing the majority of pages’ content unless you paid to boost it. The biggest learning from this is to not put all your eggs in one basket. Social media isn’t the only way to get the word out about your blog either. Consider guest posting on other sites, sending a newsletter and looking at your SEO.
COLLECT EMAIL ADDRESSES. This was a major fail for me and possibly my biggest blogging regret. Although I have a very respectable email database these days, I didn’t start collecting my readers’ email addresses for almost TWO YEARS. D’oh! Start now (I recommend Mailchimp for its ease of use, and it’s free until you have over 2,000 subscribers, but there are other options out there). Make it easy and maybe even offer an incentive, for your readers to sign up to hear more from you. And then make sure you send them content which is relevant, useful and enjoyable. When my second blog launches next month, I will be collecting email addresses from day one! (Oh, you can sign up for our newsletter and get a free eBook in return here!)
BE HONEST AND ETHICAL. While the law around disclosure is a bit patchy, it is increasingly being questioned as brands use influencers like bloggers more and more to spread their marketing messages. I have absolutely no issue with being paid by a brand (provided I like the way they do things) to spread their message to my readers. I have worked hard, and continue to work hard, to build that following and to earn their trust. What I am very big on is transparency. If a post has been paid for on this blog it will always say so at the top. If I’m gifted a product I will always say so. If I don’t like something, I won’t blog about it. It’s that simple. Don’t disrespect your readers by trying to pass off a paid message as your own, unbiased thoughts. If they find out, they’ll not be impressed and you’ll quickly lose their trust.
GET EDUCATED. Of course, you learn a lot as you go when blogging, but in the early days when I was a newbie, I soaked up eBooks and webinars like a sponge (most of them free). I still can’t get enough of the blog learning but these days I seem to have way less time! Some sources I recommend are: Secret Bloggers’ Business, ProBlogger, Blog with Pip, Blog Society, Decor8’s Blogging Your Way and Copyblogger.
COLLABORATE, DON’T COPY! AND BE PREPARED FOR ANNOYING COPYCATS! My advice here is to be open to working with other bloggers and small business owners on win-win situations. Or even just mentor each other. I have had incredible success from teaming up with others and have one friend I regularly meet with to biz brainstorm. Also be prepared that once you start to do well, people will rip off your ideas. It is massively annoying, no matter how flattering people will tell you imitation is. You put in the time and effort and come up with the good idea, then you see it pop up on another blogger’s Instagram a few days later. Not cool. But there’s nothing much you can do about it and getting irritated is a waste of energy. Remember this: there’s no substitute for hard work and originality so just keep doing what you’re doing, let people copy. They won’t get the satisfaction of having had that great idea themselves! And when you see someone else’s great idea, of course it’s natural to be tempted to replicate it (it’s great to be inspired by other bloggers too), but try to at least put your own spin on it and imagine how you’d feel if someone did the same to you!
DITCH THE FREE EMAIL ADDRESS. While there’s nothing wrong with Gmail for example (I heart Gmail a lot), to be taken seriously as any kind of business, I think it really helps to have your own specific, paid-for email address. It just gives a professional impression from the get go. Seems crazy to me, as a website business, to be using a free email address that’s not attached to your URL.
JUST START! For some people, the hardest part about starting a blog is just that: starting. You can procrastinate until the cows come home about the perfect blog name, layout, theme, whether you’re good enough, if anyone will read it and if you’ll run out of things to say, but you really just have to start. It’s that simple. What’s the worst that can happen?
Having said that…
IF YOU’RE NOT TRULY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT, DON’T BOTHER. I blogged for 18 months without earning a cent and I spent hours and hours of my time on Interiors Addict because I just bloody loved it. It was a long time before people started telling me I could make a business out of it and even longer before I started to believe them. You pretty much have to really want to do it, even if you don’t get paid (which is why I never really advocate starting a blog with making money as a priority), to be able to keep going, day in, day out, week in, week out (and that’s as far as many people get because they simply don’t care enough). But if you love what you’re going to write about, the rest can come later. Go for it! Passion will get you a really long way.
You can come and hear me speak about making money from digital publishing at this Pozible event in Sydney as part of the Digital Writers’ Festival next month. You can also watch it online and it’s free.
The winner, as chosen by the lovely ladies at Kip and Co, Kate, Alex and Hayley, is Jessie Brakenridge, a graphic designer from Adelaide. Congratulations @jessiebrakenridge, you win a $500 Kip and Co voucher which we’re sure will add some style, colour and fun to your bedroom!
Kate said: “Her images are really stunning and the colour in each is balanced beautifully. Cute use of all these amazing treasures! And like here at Kip where we try to use colours in fun ways, Jessie has nailed it! Really ace job and obviously a very talented still life stylist!”
As usual, the guest judges were bowled over by the number of great entries and found it hard to pick just one winner. The girls have kindly decided to give two runner-up prizes of $50 vouchers to @design_salt and @pastelpeppermint. “We love @pastelpeppermint for how she has combined colour with something she loves — her two gorgeous cats Tortilla and Pinto. What ace names and great pics!
“And @design_salt because her very stylish photos were just really beautiful and how could we go past a jelly banana with chia on the ends? Genius!”
Winners, please contact me so we can pass your email address into Kip and Co. Thanks to our gorgeous guest judges and sponsors, we couldn’t think of a better brand to support our colourful themes this month!
Something really cool happened this week, in the middle of 7 Vignettes’ January challenge. We passed the magic 50k mark on the #7vignettes hashtag. Quite the milestone! It comes two years after I started the Instagram photo challenge. Seems bonkers to think it has been 24 months. And it’s still going as strong as ever if not stronger. I am so happy!
Now, I have always been a big fan of social media and the positives it can bring. I have met some of my now closest friends via Twitter and my husband and I first starting chatting on Facebook after being introduced by a mutual friend! 7 Vignettes is one of those social media things that keeps on giving, month after month, year after year!
Something special happened this month, other than reaching the big 50k. There’s always a great feeling of friendship and positivity around the challenge but this month, probably partly because of it being New Year and partly because I made a concerted effort to encourage newbies to give it a go, we had a lot of first-timers on board and boy, did they love it! And I loved seeing them loving it.
I even wrote this blog post yesterday to try and encourage more people to stop being scared and just have a go and have fun and stop being self-doubters. I hope it may encourage you too!
The January challenge finished yesterday (I’ll be announcing the winner tomorrow) and I always feel a little sad when I wake up the next morning and there’s no new pix (for another three weeks anyway!). See you all on 1 February, I hope! Make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter to get sent the themes first!
Still asking yourself what is 7 Vignettes?!Read all about it here with a fun video interview with The Block’s Darren Palmer on why it’s awesome.
Just one week today, it will be time for another round of our fun Instagram styling challenge 7 Vignettes and this month, West Elm are on board to celebrate the upcoming opening of their new Chatswood Chase store in Sydney. As a north-of-the-bridge girl, I’m pretty excited about this! Here are the themes for those of you who like to get prepared in advance! This round, the winner gets a $300 West Elm voucher to be spent in store or online.
Our guest judge is Williams Sonoma Australia’s social media manager, Chantal Brady. Make sure you tag her @westelmaus and us @interiorsaddict and use the hashtag #7vignettes. All the basics on how to take part can be found here.
In other exciting news, we are so close to reaching 40,000 images shared on the hastag that I’m confident it could happen this round. Exciting!
I’m arguably too obsessed with my pets, so when I got the opportunity to review PosterCandy, which takes your Facebook, Instagram and hard drive snaps and turns them into prints, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to create a montage of my cats and dog. I’m not crazy, I promise!
The final result is beautiful and with PosterCandy’s easy to use website, affordable pricing and poster sizes that are designed to fit frames readily available at IKEA (that’s where I got mine from) and photography and discount stores, it is the perfect low-cost option for creating unique, personal art.
Olivia’s creation
Coming in portrait, landscape or square sizes, you can create anything from a small poster with six images to a huge A0 size poster with up to 368 photos! PosterCandy also makes single prints, a perfect way to create a beautiful keepsake for a loved one far away or as an imaginative invite.
The website though, is what makes the experience so easy, with the application uploading your chosen images direct from your device or social media sites. The simple drag and drop system allows easy placement where you want, or you can jumble or randomise. You can even add text, crop images or save projects to return to at a later date.
Once you’ve finished your artwork, the PosterCandy team will take care of the rest, using the highest quality production materials and printing processes, before the poster is shipped to your doorstep.
In this digital age, treasured photos more often than not never come off your device, and in fact before receiving this poster I can’t remember the last time I held my photos in my hands! But with prices starting from 65 cents for single image prints or $15 for a poster, PosterCandy is making the switch to hard copy easy.
We asked The Block judge and interior designer Darren Palmer what he thinks of our monthly Instagram styling challenge 7 Vignettes. Watch what he had to say in this short video…
If you’ve been thinking about getting on board and joining in the fun, find out more here.
This month we have a very unique and lovely prize for the winner: a framed Hermès scarf from Provincial Styles worth $560. Our guest judge, stylist Jacinta Preston, is back for a second turn as she can’t get enough of 7 Vignettes! And who can blame her?
This month’s guest judge Jacinta Preston is back for more
Fiona Longmire, from Provincial Styles, loves all things French, and started making beautiful homewares from vintage and new Hermès scarves as part of her French-inspired online homewares business. Her framed scarves are divine. This hot pink one up for grabs is called Printemps Ete 69, and was first issued in 2010 . It represents women’s fashion over the past few decades.
One of the unique features of these scarves are the hand rolled edges. The framer hand stitches the scarf onto a board and then puts a second matt around the scarf, still leaving the edges of the scarf visible.
Here are the themes…
This month, I decided to crowdsource them and more than half of these are from you, the readers and participants. The most interesting is probably haft-seen, which is a traditional table setting of the Iranian spring celebration where seven items beginning with S are displayed. For our purposes, you can use ANY seven items beginning with S. Mixing it up a little and learning a little about other cultures in the meantime! Women is for International Womens Day in March and fashion is for the Hermès scarf prize. And Italian because Tuscany is the first stop on my big European adventure, starting this month.
Good luck to everyone taking part. 7 Vignettes starts on Saturday 1 March. Excuse me if I’m quiet but I’ll be in New Zealand being MC at my friend Amanda’s wedding!
Next month, I’ll be in Milan for the furniture fair halfway through 7 Vignettes. Eek. That’s going to be one exciting week!
New online destination Urban Couture is offering free e-decorating services to its customers and an innovative DIY moodboard tool.
By using the site’s Couture Boards, you can select a template for a room or space to curate and style the interiors by literally dragging and dropping from a huge selection of products. Using “share” tools, you can then communicate the designs through your social media networks, creating interactive mood boards and inviting friends and members of the design community to interact, while also viewing other people’s styled spaces for inspiration.
Visitors to the site can even get a free e-decorating session from founder and interior stylist, Katriarna Rodgers. Urban Couture is also an online store for homewares and furniture, stocking brands like MCM House (their exclusive online stockists), Xavier & Me, NUD Lighting, Oscar & Lulu and Billy Heckenberg.
As you probably know, I’m getting married on Saturday and then I’ll be off on honeymoon for the best part of a month. Oh my goodness, I can’t wait! It’s been a big year!
But I couldn’t just leave the blog unattended, could I?! So as well as planning the finer details of my wedding, I’ve been busy scheduling plenty of content for you over the next few weeks. Thanks to a bevy of guest posters I have some really great stuff to share with you. There have been so many great contributions in fact, it’s made me decide to open up the blog to guest posts long term, so if you’re interested, check out the guidelines here.
I’ve asked my good friend and former colleague Lorna Brett, who has HEAPS of social media and community management experience under her belt, as well as a serious love of all things interiors and a delightful personality, to blog-sit for me and look after the social media side of keeping you guys entertained! There’s nobody I’d trust more for the job.
