Picked a name out of a hat and the winner of the Shopbop x The Anthology giveaway is…
Arielle Quan. Congratulations! Enjoy your $100 gift card. Don’t spend it all in one place. Just kidding — you have to!
[Photo of Ms. Hepburn found here.]
P.S. We have more giveaways coming up on The Anthology so watch this space!
Emilie writes:
I follow your blog and am so impressed by all you’ve seemed to accomplish through it. I was hoping you might be able to give me a couple tips on how to gain exposure? I post my posts on my Facebook page, but obviously that only generates so many hits…
Hi Emilie,
I could go on for hours about this (and if you’ve sat in on one of my classes at SFU, you’ve heard me do just that) but these 11 points sum it up quite nicely.
1. Reach out. Oh hey! You’ve just done that. Social media is well…social and that’s a beautiful thing. Comment on other blogs, tweet @ people, share links you love. But reaching out offline is just as important as online. You’re in Vancouver (such a pretty city!) and the Couv has a gazillion events that people actually attend — art openings, restaurant tastings, fashion shows — you name it, there’s a community dedicated to it. Don’t yet get invitations to these media-only events? Send an email introducing yourself to local PR reps, they’re lovely people (hi guys!).
2. Study the blogs you love. Analyze them to death. What do you love about them? How do they make you feel when you read them? Do you like the photography? The subject matter? The writer’s voice? Ask yourself why you click on them when you click on them. Is it that you’re bored at work and you want a bit of an inspirational pick-me-up? Whatever it may be, keep a list of your answers.
3. Study the blogs you don’t really like. Dissect them because you can often learn as much from other people’s mistakes as you can your own. Does the blog look like a mess? Does it bore you? Does it drive you crazy that the blogger only posts once every three months? While I’m not suggesting you become a hater, it is smart to spot some of the pitfalls bloggers fall into.
4. Study your own blog. What do people respond to? What do they share? What do they like (I mean this in the Facebook sense of the word). Take a look at your Google Analytics. Ask your friends and family for input and conduct a reader survey. Look back on your first few posts (and laugh!) — what do you know now that you didn’t?
5. Take it seriously. Be professional. Make business cards, network, prepare a media kit, be consistent in how often you post.
6. But don’t take it too seriously. When momentum really starts building it can be stressful, busy and exhausting so sometimes it helps to remember we’re not saving lives here.
7. Set goals. And I’m not talking about traffic, I’m talking about big picture goals — what do you hope your blog will do for you in five years? What career path do you hope it will send you down? Write these things down and post them somewhere you can see them. It’s amazing to see how quickly you’ll start checking them off.
8. Start doing what you want to be doing. That’s the beautiful thing about self-publishing: you can get practice, learn as you go and build a portfolio while you do so. Want to do on-camera work? Record video posts and get comfortable in front of the lens. Speaking of appearances, keep folders of your media exposure — save copies of magazines you’re mentioned in, footage of TV clips you appear in, screen grabs of the websites you’re profiled on (don’t just save a link because it might get taken down).
9. Treat your blog like a brand. What does it stand for? What makes it stand out? Make sure your Facebook page, Twitter feed, Pinterest account and the like all align with your brand personality.
10. Love your readers. Make sure their time is well spent, or at the very least, well wasted. Entertain them, inspire them, make them laugh, make them cry — whatever, just don’t forget who you’re talking to. And on that note, your boss and your mother are reading your blog so keep it kosher.
11. Love your blog. It’s more fun that way. <3
Happy blogging, Emilie. I hope this helps!
[Photo by Sherry Lu.]
P.S. A little while ago Shona asked How Do You Do It? And I answered right here.
P.P.S. Have a question you’d like a reeeeeally long answer to? Send it to KDundon@TheAnthology.ca
The last time I was in Seattle I had brunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Don’t judge me — it was New Year’s Day and it was the only restaurant near our hotel that didn’t have a long lineup. But still, I know, I know, it was the lowest point in my dining career. So when I went to Seattle a few weeks ago I was on a mission to eat at local joints where the menus don’t come with a separate (and frightening) nutritional info binder.
After much research, many recommendations (thank you, Anya!), and some quality time on OpenTable, my ladyfriends and I went on quite the culinary tour — park picnics and all:
1. Le Pichet means “Pitcher” in French, so naturally we had one filled with wine at brunch. Was it after noon? No, but we were on vacation for crying out loud.
2. I ate neither anchovies nor olives at Anchovies and Olives, but I did have squid ink pasta, which was the most delicious pasta I’ve ever had. Which reminds me, I need to get my tentacles on some more.
3. Even though their rooftop patio was closed, we had brunch at Terra Plata, where they make kombucha cocktails. Just sayin.
4. We ate a late, late dinner at Barrio, where the tacos aren’t quite as good as La Taqueria’s, but they come close.
Though we stayed downtown at the Hotel Monaco (where this stellar self-portrait was taken) we spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill — had a happy hour picnic in Anderson Park (see first photo), took a quick stroll through Totokaelo’s new location (which is gorgeous!).
And stocked up on exotic salts at Sugar Pill. We even managed to squeeze in some spa time at the Four Seasons.
The only thing we didn’t do? Go to the Cheesecake Factory.
P.S. Come along next time — follow @TheAnthology on Twitter.
What’s this? A brand spanking new column? Why yes, yes it is! Workspace takes us inside the creative spaces of some very creative people. First up, the coffee table belonging to Niki Blasina, a blogger from Vancouver who writes the always hilarious and ridiculously stylish A Haute Mess (if it’s not one of your favourite blogs already, it will be).
Here, the naughty hautie takes us through her workspace, in her own words…
1. My computer: this is the heart and soul of my workspace because without it, I wouldn’t have work! Or a workspace for that matter, because I would be homeless. So… it’s pretty important.
2. I don’t always have fresh flowers, but I like to as much as I can because I think having something like flowers and/or other plants add something special to your workspace. The small vase is great because you only need to steal a few at a time from your neighbor’s yard, so they’ll never notice. (But these ones are from my mom. Precious!)
3. Day Planner + iPhone: Who needs a smart phone when you have a sweet Mead “Upper Class” day planner? Well, I do. (But just for instagramming, duh.) I still like to write everything down, old skool, so my day planner and my iPhone are the second most important items on my “desk,” because they keep me organized and connected.
4. I usually have a few lookbooks and magazines piled on top of my one and only coffee table book (Vogue Magazine’s People, Parties, and Places). Sometimes they inspire new posts, or serve as a reminder of posts I have planned in my head, and as more come in, they get moved to the unseen (and unsightly) stacks on stacks on stacks on my real desk.
5. Other important items include various pens and highlighters for writing and doodling in my high school style day planner, and a daily urine sample for my probation officer that I keep in my favourite speedo-clad-cartoon-man mug. Just kidding, it’s tea. (My probation officer requires stool.)
6. I almost always have a candle lit, because I like my spaces smelling nice, but moreso, I have a weird paranoia about smells. You know when you walk into someone’s house and it smells weird/has a certain smell to it, but you never think your own house smells weird? Like how people generally don’t smell their own B.O.? This is my fear. And by being OCD about candles, I know my house doesn’t smell like soup, or farts. It smells like an extreme fire hazard.
P.S. While you’re sunning your buns, click your way over to Niki’s blog A Haute Mess.
Have I ever told you about the time I got an iPhone? It was many, many, many years coming and last week I finally pitched my Blackberry and entered the iWorld. Has my life changed significantly? Well, typing got a tad more difficult, but Instagram entered my life. And that makes me very, very happy. Here’s why.
1. Every cloud has a silver lining. Or so says my favourite new umbrella by Lulu Guinness for Fulton. (Thank you, Fulton!)
2. Meet my two beasts, or at least part of them. She was keeping warm by laying on the heating vent in my office, he was just being a brat.
3. A vintage necklace I got from my sister. Or maybe she got it for herself and I just took it from her. My memory’s a bit hazy.
4. My family’s dog Bear, who stole a head of lettuce right out of the garden and went on the lam.
5. That’s me, learning to use my iPhone.
6. Gorgeous handmade gold cuffs at Frey Wille. (Did you know Vancouver is home to one of only three Frey Wille locations in North America? Neither did I.)
7. As I was scouting locations for a campaign I’m working on, I stumbled upon these beauties in the forest.
8. That time I went on a boat cruise chartered a yacht.
P.S. For pretty things, fun things and behind-the-scenes things, follow Kelsey Dundon on Instagram.
Who among you isn’t addicted to online shopping? That’s what I thought. Because I’m an enabler, The Anthology has teamed up with Shopbop to give one of you lucky ducks a $100 Shopbop gift card.
Looking for new espadrilles a la Grace Kelly? Use the gift card to grab a pair of Soludos shoes. Jewelry box looking a little empty? Put it toward Heather Hawkins jewelry (I especially like the horn necklace). Or if you want some bad-to-the-bone basics, put it toward some Helmut by Helmut Lang. Need more inspiration? Cruise the Shopbop blog.
For one entry: Comment on this post and tell us why you love shopping online. Because getting a package on your doorstep feels like a present even if you bought it yourself.
For two entries: Write on The Anthology’s Facebook wall.
For three entries: Holler @TheAnthology on Twitter.
The contest is open to Anthology readers worldwide (gift card is in USD). Contest closes 5:00pm PST June 28, 2012. Good luck!
[CLOSED] Congratulations Arielle Quan!
In her latest dispatch by Katie Burnett, a friend, actress and writer living in London shares her favourite things to see, do, eat and drink in Paris.
London to Paris is an easy, breezy 2.5 hour train ride, and I spent a very hot and beautiful weekend there exploring the city. As someone who loves books, I did a bit of a literary tour, and stopped by the old standards like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. No matter how many times I’ve been to Paris, it never gets old to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance!
Cafe de Flore and Cafe Deux Magots
Located right next to each other in the ultra trendy area of Saint Germain-des-Pres on the Left Bank, these two restaurants are both steeped in exciting history as they were hotspots for Simone de Beauvoir, Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre (among others) to gather and rendezvous with other writers, artists and intellectuals. Tea and a croissant will set you back 10 euros, but it’s worth it!
Shakespeare and Company
For North Americans passing through Paris, this bookstore is a must. Beautiful, crammed and elegant, Shakespeare and Company has hundreds of English books on the bottom floor, and a library on the top floor, which is also used for poetry nights. You can’t remove any books from the library, making it that much more special to sit and read them. (Fun fact: Most of the people who work in the bookstore also live there, and my sister’s friend once lived there and wrote poetry in exchange for her lodging.)
Ernest Hemingway’s House
When Hemingway first went to Paris he lived at 74 Rue du Cardinal-Lemoine in the Latin Quarter. It’s in a great area that’s a few steps from cafes and bars (now home to some of the best happy hours!) and a few minutes away from the stunning Luxembourg Gardens.
Ladurée
If you are like me and love sweets, Laduree is a very dangerous place. Stepping in is like entering Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette – and believe me, you’ll never want to leave.
See a French Movie
If your French is up to it, it’s a lovely experience, especially seeing a movie that won’t be out in North America anytime soon, like the Marion Cotillard film Rust and Bone. Or if you’re stuck in North America, try renting the Guillaume Canet-directed Tell No One (yes he’s the hot guy who wasn’t Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach).
Oh and the answer to the age old question, how many crepes are too many crepes? Easy – as many as you want! How many times are you in Paris?!
[Photos by Katie Burnett.]
P.S. Catch up on Katie Burnett’s earlier dispatches, like her list of must-reads and add to your “When I’m in London” list: Sundays on Brick Lane, Saturdays in Camden Town, Friday nights at the theatre, and East Coast nostalgia.
This vintage dress was quite the find. Especially after giving it a few nips and tucks. Now instead of looking like your mom’s kitchen table cloth, it looks like your mom’s dish towel. There’s less of it, see?
I shortened it, belted it, climbed a tree in it and chased my dog in it. Soon enough I’ll be having seaside picnics in it.
When photographer Sherry Lu shot these photos in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park, I wore this dress with Converse Chuck Taylor Daintys (thank you, Converse) because walking my dog often turns into chasing my dog, so I needed to wear sensible footwear.
Another thing I need: a better-trained dog.
[Photos by Sherry Lu.]
P.S. You know what you need? To follow @TheAnthology on Twitter.
P.P.S. You’ll find the rest of The Anthology’s Before and Afters right here.
Photographer Mark Leibowitz was in Vancouver a few weeks ago shooting street style for Glamour Magazine. (Can’t wait to see those pictures, these are actually his shots from various fashion weeks.)
The man is a crazy talent — just peep his portfolio — and though he may look Canadian in his Teh Scarf, he’s from the Bay Area.
Photographer Paul Melo of Style Quotient captured much of Mark’s shoot on film (can’t wait to see that video!).
And it was funny to see them compare their photo-taking process. Paul declared himself more of a stay-still-and-set-up-the-shot-carefully kind of guy, whereas Mark and his subjects were moving all over the place.
Will my street style shot make it into the magazine? Who knows.
But thanks to this blog and my creative company Northill I feel like my life is one big photo shoot (see exhibits A, B, C, D and E).
And that’s a beautiful thing.
[Photos by Mark Leibowitz for Glamour Magazine except the one of the photographer himself. I took that.]
P.S. Facebook’s one big photo shoot so like The Anthology.
I spent last week in Napa of the North, trekking along the Kelowna Wine Trails, drinking a lot of vino (for research purposes) and playing vineyard frisbee golf on a barrel bull (for footage purposes).
I was hosting segments for Tourism Kelowna and Vitamin Daily. Six segments, in fact, and the videographers from Bent Matter and I shot them in two short days. (Do you know how many in-the-car wardrobe changes that entails?)
I talked sustainability and time travel with Gabe Cipes of Summerhill Winery.
Discussed different types of psychedelic libations with Tony Lewis of the Vibrant Vine.
Explored culinary gardens behind some of Kelowna’s swankiest restaurants and then ate with the chefs.
And met plenty of friendly characters (hi Gordon!). It will all add up to must-watch footage, I’m sure, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
[Just realized how much J.Crew I wore on this shoot. Don’t judge me.]
P.S. Be a pinner-winner and follow Kelsey Dundon on Pinterest.