Events: AMARA Interior Blog Awards
Goodbye summer, hello autumn! It's cold and foggy but I absolutely love it (apart from a cold that I am carrying). It's time to change the fabrics around the sofa and on beds, with wooly throws and heavier duvets. The fireplace has not been lit as yet, but even for the coziness it creates, I am inclined to give it a go tonight. Another week drew to an end as well and we are getting closer to the blogging highlight of this year! The AMARA Interior Blog Awards. You know AMARA the online interiors shop, brainchild of Andrew and Sam Hood. Well they have an annual celebration of all things interiors and award the best bloggers in this industry. Seasons in Colour got nominated for an award in July and after a month or two of voting we came to the end of the 1st crucial phase of the awards and into the shortlists. Another couple days of waiting and then it was announced:
We have been shortlisted for an award, WAIT WHAT?!!!
< BEST DESIGNED BLOG >
It's surreal but since being nominated for an interiors award, I have felt more motivated than ever about blogging. The posts are more regular, I have attended lots of events and the networking, oh my God, that's done on a whole different level. Generally, I feel like a modern Hermes, wings on my feet bringing all you interiors loving people news and views about, well, interiors!
So I wanted to thank everyone who voted and tweeted, retweeted and favourited their support for the blog's nomination, which is a very special category:
best designed blog.
YOU GUYS ALL ROCK!
Now, this is a great category because not only do you blog about design, but it's also about how you manage to get the message across to your audience. So I wanted in this post to give you an insight into the blog and what it would mean to be recognised for how the blog delivers its message.
If you have read the 'About me' page, then you know that I have come about the world of interiors through the renovation of two properties. I am a qualified lawyer by trade and have worked for over a decade in a role fighting financial crime in the City of London. It's a full on job, and for many years I would do my 9-5 and still brought work at home. In 2013, I decided to take a break from work to slow down, focus on family and myself and what better time for that than when we were about to embark on a new adventure of buying a house. Wow. A house. BIG COMMITMENT. That's me above juggling balls - the house, the job, the blog. I never seem to get it right... I also have a love for drawing!
When I set out to create Seasons in Colour, I had already been reading other blogs for years and I sometimes felt overwhelmed with the information, which was not presented in a very cohesive manner. I don't think this is down to the authors of these blogs, not at all. In my view while the content was there, most blogs were limited by the medium of delivery - the blog platform itself, be that wordpress, blogger or other.
With that in mind, I created a website with a blog element. This allows me to create beautiful static templates to which the reader can return again and again (like the colour inspiration page, which is updated on a weekly basis with new products in each colour or the shop the look pages, here). And all this in addition to having a blog that is updated 1-2 times a week.
It takes a lot of work to maintain a website. Especially as this means keeping around 15-20 individual pages up to date with content as the seasons and trends change. But I love a good challenge and I hope that you do too.
Want to take a tour of the website with me?
This is where I aim to post the most exciting news as well as introduce new brands, which I have done in the past with Collectie and Makana Home as well as new talent in design. My header and footer stay the same throughout so you can always return to the homepage easily or look up the main categories which are Interiors, Blog and Shop. You can always skip to the footer to find a contact page as well as take a tour of my home.
Here you can explore various interiors by style or colour and get inspiration on fabrics and lighting through my Pinterest boards. You can also get ideas about Interiors books that I recommend and which can deliver more than just pretty pictures! Check out my interiors books page.
You can also discover new brands and my 'objects of desire'
I opted for an elaborate table of objects carefully placed to create a 'colour wheel'. You can click on most colours and discover products or interiors based on the colour you chose. Some colours have not been released as yet as I am working to add the right interiors and products which I think you will find relevant. This is where most of my time is spent as maintaining the underlying pages for each colour takes time. A lot of it!
The shop
Intended to allow you to "shop the look" I come up with Interiors ideas and provide links to products that I would chose to recreate the look or style. Some product links may be 'affiliate' links which means I will earn a small commission if you follow them and choose to buy a product from the Vendor advertised. Nevertheless, all vendors are well known for delivering exceptional quality and craftmanship as well as great service. Most of them I have already used in the past. Others, I aim to use in the future!
This does not need any introductions. Being my biggest love but also my biggest weakness as I have been blogging less than others and obviously building content takes years. I hope this is not going to count against me in the awards, especially as the award is more about the design of the blog and not just the content. Fingers crossed!
Seasons in Colour HQ
Here's where it all happens: SeasonsinColour HQ. It is not always so neat - of course not, you should habe seen the OTHER side of the room! This is where I have my monthly magazines spread open, fabric samples, my own hand drawings (which I will be posting about soon) and of course a lot of Year 2 work books as the office is also used by Jr.
What would it mean to win an award?
As if you have to ask?! Through the nomination process, I have already come to know fellow bloggers that I was not previously familiar with and I look forward to catching up with them on the Awards night but also offline in general.
Award winning is superbly motivational and a reassurance that 'I am doing the right thing'. It's a beginning of a new chapter in my life and hopefully will lead to a new adventure. It's also a great responsibility (last year's best designed blog was "Lobster and Swan", one of my favourite blogs) and a challenge that I am totally up for.
There is huge competition and everyone really deserves an award, so if you like what you see and read....
Cross your fingers for me!
xo
Jenny @ seasonsincolour
