February Interview 2#

I had the incredible good luck of being able to interview Michelle from Creature Type; a Style, Illustration and Fashion blog. I've been a fan of Michelle's blog for a long time, and her work is incredible. I feel very grateful she took the time to speak to me, so I'd love if you all went and visited her. 

Enjoy!

1. Could you introduce yourself a little to my readers? :)

I'm Michelle Volansky, an illustrator and graphic designer from St. Louis, Missouri. I work daily as a production designer at a culinary magazine, do freelance illustration and design work, and sell my handmade goods at craft fairs at on Etsy. My style is very feminine and colorful and I love playing with textures and pattern.

2. How did you get into Graphic Design and Illustration?

I've been an artsy kid my whole life, always enjoying drawing most of all. My first dreams in life were to teach art or be an animator, but during high school and college I realized that I most enjoyed working on still images and became more interested in illustration. Graphic design and illustration just went hand-in-hand for me and I thought design would be a practical, lucrative skill.

3. As an Artist/Designer; what inspires you?

I'm inspired by other creative people, fashion, interior design, patterns, color, and pop culture.

4. Could you name one of your heroes?

I'm not sure about heroes, but some of my favorite artists who inspire me to try harder every day are Mary Blair, Alphonse Mucha, and Glen Keane. :)

5. You have a fantastic sense of style, does it come naturally or do you really make an effort?

Thankfully, my style has always come naturally to me. It's never been something I've obsessed over. I think if you just draw a lot, your style will materialize organically. 

6. If myself or one of my readers wanted a custom illustration from you, are you open to that?

Definitely! I do lots of work for people who want portraits of themselves, pet, and/or family and illustrations for blog headers and other design elements. I do currently have a waiting list, but if you're interested pricing or snagging a spot on the list, you can always email me at creaturetype(@)gmail.com.

7. What is a typical day like for you?

On a typical weekday, I go to my design job at the magazine until around 4pm. After work, I always try to have dinner with my boyfriend and try to get some other work done--illustration work for clients and myself, any freelance design work I might be working on... close to craft show time I'll be busy working on sewing, printing, and jewelry making.

8. Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in a creative industry?

My biggest advice for any creative person is that if you want your art to be more than a hobby, you've gotta be ready to HUSTLE. Life doesn't get easier after school and you have to be a self-motivated go-getter or else nothing will happen for you. This is the area of my life/personality I work on the most. I could always be working harder, longer, and smarter! :)

9. Through the internet and blogging, people's lives can sometimes seem beyond perfect. Is there anything you struggle with which perhaps people wouldn't realise?

Haha, well, people probably I assume I'm more professionally successful than I feel I am. I know I'm always looking at other bloggers thinking "Wow, how does this person make enough money on their work/blog/shop to survive full-time?" My ultimate goal is full-time freelance so I get really jealous of those people, but I often later realize that they don't actually support themselves. Sometimes they work day jobs or multiple part-time jobs they don't ever talk about on social media. Many times they're supported by spouses or parents. This can be a relief but also really disappointing. I think like, "If they can't make it, how will I ever?"

I just try to remember how lucky I am to be able to do so many different creative things and support myself with art & design skills, even if they aren't 100% on my terms. I'm very privileged to even get to do that and I have an attainable goal to work towards. 

10. Can you name your proudest moment?

I like to think my proudest moment is yet to come, but my proudest in recent memory was Strange Folk Festival 2014. I was asked to design the promo illustration for the event, so I got to see it used on websites, printed promo materials, t-shirts, and even a billboard(!!!). I collaborated with other people and made patterns for fabric, nail stickers, and tote bags. I worked so hard to make awesome things for an event I love participating in and shattered my sales goal. It felt so great! 

Michelle's bloglovin, Twitter & Facebook.



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Making The Most Of Valentines

Valentines is just peeping around the corner, and this will no doubt bring 'Yay!'s from some, and 'Naayyy's from others as always. I'm one of those in the first camp, I absolutely love it! Now before some of you think it, I know it's been commercialised to hell and back, and I know you shouldn't need a day to remind you to treat your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/partner extra special. I 100% agree with you on that, and there's nothing more sad than a couple who don't make an effort all year around, and then suddenly feel they have to go out to buy flowers and gifts etc.
But here's the thing; I'm lucky enough to be in a loving relationship where we do show affection all year around. And I'm not saying this to brag, because I just believe it's how it should be. I've also been single on Valentines day, and still enjoyed it a lot. The point is to make the most of it in the best way possible. And isn't that a good life lesson anyway? Find happiness in everything! It doesn't really matter how you do it, just don't moan about it, and see it as an excuse to be even nicer to yourself, or someone else!
So, I decided to jot down some ideas of things you can do to make the most of Valentines this year whether single, loved up, or... in-between? ;)

1. - Pick the bestest, feel good movies and have a marathon surrounded by blankets, cushions and plenty of yummy snacks. Invite a friend, or enjoy it alone! And I mean that, enjoy it. 
2. - Pack a picnic and surprise someone with a spontaneous day!
3. - Write a list of reasons why you care for someone on notes, fold them up and put them in a jar. Leave the jar somewhere they will find them.
4. - Send an anonymous Valentine to someone who needs an extra smile :)
5. - Cook a meal from scratch, light some candles, and enjoy making your other half feel special.
6. -Write cute post it notes and stick them in random places around the house for someone to find.
7. -Run yourself a gorgeous bath, using candles and bath bombs. Extra points for music playing.
8. -Offer to do 3 good deeds for the day. You'll make someone else feel good!
9. Vow to do something you've always wanted to do! Treat yourself!
10. Remember that loving yourself is just as important as loving someone else.

Hope everyone has the bestest Valentines ever! x



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Catching Up

The past week or two has been really hectic, but it's mostly been good. I had a good old haul at Primark last week, you know the kind where you only pop in for one thing but leave with a huge load of bags? Yeah. I can't do that again! But I did manage to get some amazing Little Mermaid pj's in there; my life dream. Also, Adventure Time (yay!) and Central Perk T-shirts. Win. Probably the best thing to happen though was booking a trip to Amsterdam in 5 weeks! A friend of mine invited Gary and I, and even as skint as we are right now, we knew we couldn't say no. Neither of us have ever been, and it'll be a fantastic chance to take the trip with a group of friends. I plan on taking about a billion photos, so I'm sure a lot of it will make it to the blog.
The downside to this week was my back just giving in on me. I've had back problems for years now, and as painful as that can be, this time was something different. It felt like I had pulled a muscle or something and caused me absolute agony on Wednesday. I had to call in sick to work as when I tried to leave the house, I only got a few streets away before I couldn't walk anymore. A day of rest and painkillers was much needed. Thankfully it eased up a little, and stretching it out has helped.
Right now I'm working on my next creative project for the month of February, check out this post if you have no idea what I'm talking about. It took me a few days to decide between a writing challenge or something else, but ultimately I think I chose right. I'll do a post soon about what my writing challenge is all about, but I'm really happy and excited about it! Be sure to check back soon to see what I'm up to :)
And that's all from me really for now. You can follow me on the socials shown below if you wanna keep up with me day to day, but for now, hope everyone is having a lovely week. Bye!
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The Books I Read Over & Over Again

Source

Anyone who knows me personally, knows how much of a bookworm I am. Whether it be on my Kindle (I finally gave in and got one last year), borrowed books from the Library, or brand new, beautiful ones from Waterstones. You can guarantee I'm always in the middle of a book, old or new; and delving into imaginary worlds at every opportunity.
Over the years there have been some editions to my bookshelf which have become firm favourites, and I decided to share some of these with you. Please be kind, because some of these are admittedly embarrassing, but it's so good to indulge isn't it?! - And I'm sure I'm not the only one with guilty pleasures. Although 50 Shades of anything can bugger right off, thank you very much.
So here we have it, my list of repeats I happily experience over & over again; The Millenium series (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo..) The Harry Potter series, The Perks of Being A Wallflower,  The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection,  The Gargoyle (Oh my god everyone read this!)  The Hunger Games,  Stargazy Pie, The Catcher In The Rye, Twilight series, How To Be A Woman, (..And this!) The Cuckoo's Calling, The Davinci Code, The Snowman, The Silence of The Lambs, The Secret Garden.
I just know there are so many more I'm forgetting about - which annoys me! But I'm sure I'll keep adding to this list if I remember any. Now dear reader I have a request for you! Tell me your favourite reads that you love to revisit, and suggest me anything you think is worth me trying! :)
Hope you're all having a great week!





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How Blogging Changed Everything

The best thing to come from 2014 was definitely this blog. I owe so much to it. If you've followed me for a while, you may already know some of the ways this blog has changed things. But I wanted to write a post giving you all the full story, with the best ending- Spoiler alert. We'll have to back right up to the start here, to give my story some context. So please forgive me if this gets too long, but I will try to keep this as brief as possible.
My qualifications and experience have been a little shaky to say the least, the past few years. After school I went on to study Art and Design at college for A Levels, and I spent my best years so far there. I absolutely loved it, I learned so much, had brilliant friends and felt so inspired and ambitious. After that though came University, and this is where things got a little different. I started out on a Graphic Design course, and sure enough made plenty of friends and had a great first year at Uni. I knew something wasn't right though. The classes bored me out of my mind, I weren't being creative in any way, and I kept putting off work until the last minute. Or sometimes, even playing on the sympathy of my friends to do it for me! - I owe a lot to my friend Jason for this. He was a lifesaver! 
Anyway, I knew I was on the wrong course. And as scary as it was to realise, I told my tutor about how unhappy I was. She suggested I switch to Fine Art, although I'd have to start again as a first year. This didn't bother me though; I liked the idea of a fresh start, and maybe this would be the change I needed.

With Laura

So I dropped Graphics, said goodbye to some of the best friends ever, and started again as a Fine Art student. Unfortunately, things didn't go right here either. Sure enough I made friends, including Laura - whose blogs you can find here by the way! - but I always felt kind of distant. This time is what I now refer to, as the worst time of my life. Somewhere between 2009-2010 I kind of lost myself. I ended a relationship with a nice guy, to start one with the worst guy. Don't get me wrong, me and the nice guy still needed to break up (he's still a great friend), but I then went onto the most unhealthy, fucked up, twisted, cruel relationship I've ever had. It started to change me. I lost all my confidence, I was no longer the 'loud/funny/bubbly' girl I used to be, I had been replaced by a quiet, unconfident, weak person. I didn't make much effort with Uni friends, or any friends to be honest. My work began slipping behind, and I had lost my creativity.
Then the relationship I was in got worse, ..much worse, then ended abruptly. I had been thrown out of the place I was living, I dropped out of Uni, and had to go live back home with my mum. I was unemployed, not in education, living out of boxes, and feeling pretty alone. I fell into a deep depression, and could barely get myself out of bed some days. I didn't even bother unpacking my things for 2 months. My parents were lovely and so supportive, they tied everything they could to bring me back. 
And then.. a few months later, my Dad died. Suddenly and out of nowhere, he had a heart attack and was gone. This was the most painful thing that had ever happened to me, and it still kills me to realise the last times he seen me; I was in a deep depression. He never got to see me change, grow, be happy again. That first year after he died is kind of a blur to be honest. But weirdly enough, it forced me to pull myself out of my depression. I had realised how short life is, how much I needed to make the most of any time I had.

Shortly after, I met Gary and began working part time jobs. I started to see my friends more, and feel a little more like myself again. But flitting from one crappy retail job to another was hell. In my spare time though, early 2014, I decided to start a blog. I'd been toying with the idea for too long, and finally decided to give it a go. I had suddenly found a place to encourage my creativity, find others with the same likes, learn and grow. 

I've made some amazing friends, found something that inspires me, and brings me some great opportunities. And as of December 2014, my blog landed me a digital/tech job for a website company - even though I had NO experience or relevant qualifications. How crazy is that?! After much encouragement from Gary to actually apply for the Social Media/digital jobs I'd been lusting after, I finally got a call for an interview. I had put on my CV; the address to my blog/social media and just how much I wanted to change my career to go into this sort of work. And somehow, it worked. I was honest in my interview about my lack of experience or relevant qualifications. But I expressed my passion for this sort of work, and talked about everything I do in my spare time to learn and get involved. I talked about my blog, and how important social media is today. My employer was impressed, and offered me the job 45 minutes after leaving the interview. It was the happiest end to 2014 I could have ever asked for. 
I am now learning so much more than I imagined in this job, and getting valuable experience I would never have dreamed I could. It just goes to show that blogging is now being taken seriously, and if you are passionate enough about something, even without the experience - it is still 100% possible to go for.
I look forward to seeing what new things are in store for me in 2015, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Remember, don't give up!


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February Interview 1: Meet Amy

If you caught last month's interview with the lovely Megan, you'll know I'm finding different people every month that inspire me, and convincing them to answer some of my questions. I really do feel amazingly lucky that each request so far has been met with a YES! :) In fact, for February I have TWO interviews for you guys! How awesome is that?

First up the fantastic Amy whose blog I have followed for around 4/5 months and fell in love with. She truly inspires my own Art in ways I could never express without sounding lame - I really hope you guys visit her here, and show her all your love. I managed to grab her for a few questions...

1. Could you introduce yourself a little to my readers? 

:) Hi!! I'm Amy and I'm currently in my first year at university studying Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern design. I blog over at www.thecreativeoutlook.co.uk 

2. How did you get into blogging?

I started "fashion" blogging in 2012 after finding out about Lookbook (does anyone even use that anymore?) but I soon deleted that because it wasn't for me really. I then began a lifestyle blog in 2013 which I sort of stopped in August 2014 and changed it into what I have right now... I think art blogging is definitely what I'm most comfortable with. 

3. As an Artist; what inspires you?

I love Alexander McQueen's work (before his death) because of his stories behind the clothes and performances. They always meant something and he really thought about his concept. Movies by Wes Anderson inspire me because he thinks about everything; the colours, the sounds, the little details you’d probably ignore anyway. Caitlin's blog (bollykecks.tumblr.com) has inspired me a lot this year, especially with my journals because she's so out there and arty. There's so many artists/designers I follow on Instagram as well! Ahhh too much to choose from. 

4. Could you name one of your heroes? (Whether a personal or professional one)

I have no idea, hmmm I guess I don't really have one.

5. You have fantastic talent, does it come naturally or do you really struggle to get the results you want?

(Thankyou!) and without sounding too sure of myself I think it comes naturally for me. If it isn't looking or working out how I imagined it then I just do whatever I can to make it work in my favour. I suppose being in art school means that it's all experimental anyway so I don't have anything to lose when trying stuff out. I also don't share everything so if I do think it's completely rubbish then nobody will see it anyway. 

6. Is there a particular piece of your own work which is your favourite?

Noooo I have no favourites, I think I end up disliking everything I do after a while!

7. What is a typical day like for you?

Well, I'm at uni 4 days a week and that consists of workshops, lectures, lots of drawing, gallery visits, making compositions and having crits. On the days that I'm off I either have a lie in or go food shopping. Being a student means I don't really have much money to spend on fun things...

8. Could you give any advice for people wanting to be more creative?

Just paint, draw, write, take pictures or do whatever you feel like doing! Don't give up and don't consistently compare yourself to everyone else because it's pointless and won't help you. Everybody is different and not everyone will like what you create. 

9. Where would you like to be in ten years?

By then I'll be about 30 so hopefully i'll be selling some of my work somehow... maybe handling my own business or working freelance. It'd be great if I kept my blog up for that long as well!

10. Can you name your proudest moment?

Getting onto my course at uni. It's one of the best courses for what I'm doing and I felt so happy that I'd actually been given a place. I found the interview process really stressful but thankfully it was all worth it in the end! 

*Hope you guys enjoyed Amy's interview!

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Meet My February Advertisers

The month of love is upon us! I'm not sure how it's February already, but I'm excited! As much as I love Winter, I'll be glad to get this last leg of it out the way, to make room for Spring. Of course with it still being so early on in the year, it still feels as if everything is lovely, fresh and new! Anything is possible and 2015 is the year for new things. Speaking of new; I have to introduce you to my February advertisers! This is your chance to find a new blog you may come to love, or welcome someone new with open arms into the blogging community; and I for one am thrilled by this :] First up we have Kim;

Kim is someone who is still fairly new to blogging, and I hope you'll all send her lots of love and support during what we all know is a bit of a topsy turvy time! Kim blogs about her life, beauty and Fashion, with a whole lot of personality put into each post. I'd like to add she is also one of the sweetest girls around, and if you like, you can catch her on Twitter here.

And next we have Emma!

Emma's button look familiar? It should do; she already advertised with me for January! Emma blogs about all things health and fitness related and is a true inspiration! I'm so happy she's back on my sidebar for another month, and it's so nice to have a familiar face. We regularly swap emails now on what we're up to, day to day ramblings and cute things. Emma is a truly lovely person to chat to, and you can get her on Twitter here!

I really hope you guys visit these two lovely ladies and show them all the lovely blogger support we can muster up! :] Have a great month everybody!

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