So I did a thing. I went to my first bloggers event since starting work during the Summer and it was a lovely evening. The Glamorous Owl, set in the heart of Newcastle, is a lovely and unique shopping experience for the crafty people. Claire opened the shop to celebrate the local arts and crafts talent based here in the North East. The Glamorous Owl is now home to over 80 local artists showcasing their work including Claire’s beautiful silver and gemstone jewellery.
We were welcomed to the event with glasses of Prosecco and the burning scent of Pumpkin Soufflé, which was like Christmas and Halloween blended into one candle and smelt good enough to eat! It gave me a chance to catch up with Claire, I met her whilst working with Chloe from Prosecco And Pie and MD of Bumble and Bloom Media, as well as meeting a few new faces: Sandra from Chicest, Tasha from Hello Freckles, Kate from High Tea And Heels and Alexis from Newcastle Sparkles.
The shop is home to many artists work from upcycled cake holders made from bottles for your cupcake display and bottle clocks for that added uniqueness to your living room, to affordable handmade cases and bandanas for the love of your life. By that I mean your four legged furry friend of course! There’s something in there for everyone but you will also discover something different every time I visit.
Claire decided to have a general chat upstairs in the gallery where she explained how she makes her jewellery, her inspirations and a bit about the gemstones themselves. It was so fascinating listening to such a passionate, down to earth person talk about what she loves. I haven’t had that for a while. Cupcakes were given out to everyone and I got a special treat from No Muu who also stock in Claire’s store. Music was played in the background and cups of tea and coffee flowed throughout the evening as Claire talked through her jewellery making and inspirations.
Her gallery upstairs is a perfect place for artists and photographers to promote and sell their work. The space is also home to monthly workshops and events that Claire decides to hold. I think that The Glamorous Owl is a lovely place to find that perfect gift or for a little treat now and again. The night finished with a small goodie bag and a chance to buy anything from the shop. I didn’t get anything on the night but guaranteed I will be back sometime soon.
Have you been to The Glamorous Owl? Is there something similar in your town?
♥
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Today I have decided to share with you an interview with a special kind of person. I have been lucky enough to have been taken under Chloe’s wing over the summer for work experience and I thought it would be interesting to interview her. She is the MD of her own PR and Marketing consultancy, Bumble & Bloom Media. I first heard about Chloe through a twitter conversation about finding a bloggers list for those in the North East however since then I have learnt that she has quickly become one of the most inspiring people that I have met! Within a year of setting up her business she has won many awards including The Guardian’s ‘Rising Star’ Award 2014, Digital Business Of The Year at the Sage Northern Star Awards 2015 and was officially recognised by The Guardian’s Start-Ups Of The Year 2014.
Can you tell us a bit about Bumble & Bloom Media?
“Bumble & Bloom Media is the PR and Digital Marketing Consultancy I launched in October 2014. Bumble & Bloom Media is a completely different concept to some of the North East’s most respected and established PR or marketing agencies – we are an extra pair of hands, a trusted advice service to give our clients peace of mind by saving them time and money when it comes to raising awareness of their businesses and reaching out to existing customers and new ones.”
Where did the idea to start Bumble & Bloom come from?
“I’d secretly daydreamed about running my own business growing up, but it wasn’t until I had worked as a journalist for two years and a sales and marketing communications assistant for an independent business before studying English Literature at university that I found myself with a key set of skills that small business owners in particular would really benefit from access to. After taking the plunge and leaving journalism to work freelance as a copywriter for businesses to test my theory, starting my own business was a natural, obvious progression as I was having the most fun and rewarding experience.”
Who has been your biggest help or inspiration?
“I started Bumble & Bloom a year ago at the age of 23 which felt incredibly young to start a business. I had a really detrimental habit of telling myself that only “grown-ups” could start a business and be successful in doing so, but what I failed to realise at the time was that I was already grown-up and more than capable enough to do just that.
It’s thanks to local enterprise agencies like Project North East and free courses on everything digital from building WordPress websites and SEO that inspired me to keep on learning, keep on pushing myself out of my comfort zone and giving me valuable advice and support along the way.”
What do you like about your work so far?
“That anything is possible. Bumble & Bloom Media has evolved so much in just a short space of time, but always for the better. Whether it’s working with new clients on exciting new projects, being published in a book or winning the awards I have been very lucky to have won so early on in my business journey. Getting to manage your own time/schedule will never get old either – in theory if I never want to work a Monday again I never have to!”
What’s the best thing about being your own boss?
“I get to be as ambitious as I like, which sounds odd because before I started my business I didn’t necessarily consider myself wildly ambitious. Of course I wanted to get a good job and work hard to get promoted etc and work my way up the career ladder, but suddenly I feel like the world truly is my oyster and all those positive, motivational quotes you always like on social media are talking to you almost! When you are your own boss the only person in your way, or stopping you from achieving your dreams is usually just yourself.”
What challenges have you faced with Bumble & Bloom? Is there anything that you would have done differently?
“I work with up to 20 clients at any one time; sometimes even more, which is essentially like having 20 part time jobs in one month! There are days when I’ll reply to one email and six pop back in its place from various other people, or I’ll wake up refreshed, check my phone and have something crazy like 163 emails which can be overwhelming. I’m also really terrible at taking days off, these days I find it difficult to switch off. I can no longer binge on Netflix and very, very rarely “indulge” in lazy days in my pyjamas unless I’m exhausted or ill because my mind is constantly thinking – “Oh, this could be finished, or this needs doing” so watching TV seems like a waste of time which could be spent completing various tasks on my to-do list. I care a lot about my clients and their businesses, which I think is why I find it hard to put myself first sometimes even when they tell me off for working so much or working so late!”
Have you ever thought about giving up? What stopped you?
“Not even once! It took me a long time to find the courage to leave journalism and the safety of a full time, respectable job but even in the early days when I was still establishing myself and not earning a lot of money for example, I seem to have this accelerator pedal inside me so even when I’m exhausted or have writer’s block I push on, because I am having the best time of my life with Bumble & Bloom and there are always exciting new opportunities that pop up which instantly renew my energy or creativity.”
Where do you see Bumble & Bloom going in the next five years?
“I’d love to run more workshops, helping de-mystify how to use social media and create amazing marketing strategies for people’s businesses or blogs for example. I tested the water and hosted a one-off “Blooming Marvellous PR and Marketing” workshop in June which sold out, so I added a second session a week later in case anyone else wanted to come along and that sold out in just over an hour!
I often daydream about having my own office, it’s going to be a very Pinterest-worthy office! I’d love it to be in an old rustic converted barn or beautiful scenic location – somewhere I could bring my dogs to sit beside me while I work and have space to meet clients. The best of both worlds!”
How do you manage to keep a work/life balance?
“Truthfully I’m still trying. Some days I am absolutely on fire – my paperwork and emails are all answered, my desk is tidy, my to-do list ticked off…. And the next I can be manically typing at 10pm at night because I’ve had a burst of creativity or a full day of meetings and haven’t done any work or answered an email all day.”
What’s your favourite thing to do when your not working?
“I’m not your average 24 year old; I adore flowers and the outdoors so often go for a wander to the beach with my dogs, or drive up Alnwick Garden or a nearby National Trust property to wander around their gardens if it’s a nice day. I love a spa break – so am slowly working my way around the region’s spas when funds allow and have a terrible weakness for handbags so like to go shopping to treat myself after working hard!”
Is there any advice that you would give to aspiring students who are interested in freelance PR work?
“It can be hard; especially when you’re faced with job rejection letters or don’t get answers to your work experience requests but stay open minded. Having a blog definitely helped me build a brand presence and a social media following, which helped even more so when I came to launch my business so try think outside of the box and be resourceful. Sometimes the best jobs are the ones you didn’t even know existed.”
I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to Chloe for giving me an insight into the world of freelance work. What’s your opinions on freelance work or would you prefer to work in an agency?
I don’t really know where to begin with writing this but I also think it is quite important to write about it and hopefully not be judged or frowned upon by anyone. I am currently sat in bed with a full packet of Oreo’s and a roll of tissue paper just in case this gets a little emotional. You never know this post might not be published for some time after writing it and yes that does mean I have probably edited it so many times, adding information in, removing different parts out – I don’t know but I do know that this needs to be said.
Firstly I would like to start off by saying topics mentioned in this post can be as confusing as the patterns made by clouds in the sky. They are out of my control and it is all part of growing up and learning to love who you are as a person.
When I was fifteen I fell in love with my best friend. This was a big deal for me because I never really felt emotions like these before. The only thing is my best friend was a girl and it left me extremely confused about me as a person and what I wanted in the future. She was literally like a sister to me and there were times where I could not have survived the day without hearing her voice or knowing she was ok. In all honesty I don’t really know what we were. We shared a few kisses and looking back at that time of my life, we did act like a couple when we were at home and it was just the two of us. It was nice, she made me happy and hopefully I made her just as happy. When she passed away, I felt like I couldn’t handle life anymore. I felt like I lost the most important person to me, the person I could tell everything to, my sister. Looking back at the situation now, she was rather like my girlfriend. She knew all my secrets and I knew all of hers, we were there for each other day or night. Not only did I feel lost and probably in some respect depressed by feeling low and down in myself, it also brought a lot of questions. Questions that I haven’t really thought about until I recently became single earlier this year and when I have had time to sit and think about who I am as a person. About a year and a half later, I had my first ‘real‘ relationship with a boy. At the time I thought that’s it I love this person and I want to be with this person for the rest of my life – you probably know the feeling yourself. You imagine having a family with them, your own house and essentially building a future with that person. I was with him for five years, on and off, until I realised just how toxic that relationship was for me. During our ‘off’ stages I was looking at other people, mainly girls and watched many YouTube couples like Rose and Rosie. Even when we sorted our differences out I still watched them, they made me feel happy and ‘normal‘. Even after this relationship came to an end, not long after I found myself in another relationship with a boy but still had questions about my sexuality, however, I never voiced them to anyone or said anything. I think it’s something that I needed to come to terms with myself before being able to talk to anyone else about it. I just wanted to be clear with myself and accept myself for who I am. I always imagined that I would be with a boy and have that kind of relationship.
As Sammy from Little Fickle explains “self acceptance is hard, and maybe it’s something that comes with time, or age” and I agree with that statement. Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying to love who I am as a person and in one respect, accept myself and who I am. I don’t want to be in another relationship where I feel as though something is missing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be in a relationship right now. I feel as though I am still coming to terms with the break up of my previous relationship which I think is fine, he was a big deal to me and made me feel as equally happy as how I was with my best friend from earlier.
I have recently mentioned to one of my closest friends that I think I could be bisexual and honestly I don’t really know her opinion on this confession nor do I know whether she will remain my friend or not. For all I know she could just be thinking that this is a phase I am going through because I am feeling confused or wanting attention, which it really isn’t. I have had time to think about my sexuality and I have come to terms with myself that I am bisexual. I am attracted to boys and girls and in my opinion there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that. Now that I have openly said it to someone, I feel as though I can be myself even though I feel like I am waiting for her to help me through this time of my life. If you are a Twitter follower of mine then you will probably have seen my recent tweets about feeling alone. Not only do I feel alone but I feel quite lost and hoping that I receive some sort of support about this situation soon because quite frankly I need a friend to help me get through this.
I am going to end this here and you are amazing if you have made it to the end of the post – apologies for how long it is! I really needed to get this off my chest. Oh and that packet of Oreo’s has now gone.
I would love to know your tips on coming to terms with sexuality. How have you dealt with self acceptance? Have you got any tips on feeling alone?
♥
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Beautiful Movements is a brand, founded by Kimberley Wyatt, that I have been lusting over for quite some time now. They offer a range of mineral makeup from blushers and bronzers to concealers and foundations to help create rather minimalistic looks – perfect for the Summer when you would much rather spend time topping up that tan over hours in front of a mirror!
The Beautiful Movements range are available throughout Holland and Barrett stores which is where I first came across the brand. Firstly, they are PETA approved and carry the Leaping Bunny logo which is something to look out for when buying cruelty free friendly brands. The products are free from parabens, fragrances and synthetic dyes. If that wasn’t enough for you to be interested in the brand already, they are also suitable for vegetarians and vegans hence why I have fell in love with the brand before testing the products.
The Products:
Since this time last year I have been trying to finish all the non-cruelty free makeup that I had collected over the years. So naturally I decided to pick up the curling mascara, blush and bronzer that I was running out of. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them and see how they performed.
I have fell in love with the curling mascara since I have started using it. The formula is lightweight and doesn’t leave the lashes looking cakey. Luckily enough my lashes are rather curly naturally so I didn’t need that much of a curl. Unfortunately I can’t notice whether it does make a difference or not but I have found applying two coats increases the volume of my lashes making them look longer.
From left to right: Velvet Dawn Mineral Blush, Summer Warmth Mineral Bronzer
I usually have quite a high coverage finish when it comes to my base makeup including a decent amount of blush and bronzer. I think this is because I am still quite scared of how I look with mineral makeup and grown to love the high coverage finish. However, I have noticed that I don’t always need so much makeup on good skin days. The bronzer and blush make my skin look lovely and healthy which is something I struggle to notice on a daily basis due to self confidence. Velvet Dawn is a lovely dusky pink shade with a slight shimmer where as Summer Warmth is a lovely medium, golden shade with no shimmer – both perfect for those looking for a natural, Summer makeup look.
From left to right: Indian Summer, Cherry Bomb
As usual my favourite products from the range has to be the lipglosses. I have been testing Cherry Bomb which is a lovely sheer pinky toned red, certainly not true to the red in the packaging. Personally, I am perfectly fine with this as I am not that good at pulling off a statement lip. Indian Summer is definitely my favourite out of the two as it is that classic gloss that will go with just about anything. The glosses apply smoothly and the pigmentation isn’t too sticky compared to others that are on the market. The only negative I would point out is that they don’t last long on the lips but its not something that I am looking for from a lipgloss anyway.
Overall, I would recommend checking Beautiful Movements out. They are really inexpensive and are a great way to introduce mineral makeup to your routine. I have already eyed up some more of the lipgloss shades and currently considering trying the foundation out too. I think it is so important to sign the Go Cruelty Free pledge that support brands like Beautiful Movements as no one wants to support brands that are tested on animals.
Have you tried any products from Beautiful Movements before? What’s your thoughts?
♥
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So I did a thing! I arranged my very first bloggers event last Sunday! There was only four of us so it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with some of my northern favourites and meet someone new. The event was ran by Graeme who I have spoken to many times before when I’ve been in to buy my bath bombs and bubble bars. He gave us a guided tour round the shop introducing us to all their products and helped us make our very own Angels On Bare Skin. Overall, it generally made my Sunday morning rather different and personal.
The first step was to add the wet ingredients into a large bowl. These included glycerine, distilled water and of course the fragrance which was rose absolute and lavender oil. The lavender oil is used in many of my favourite Lush products because it is brilliant at soothing irritated skin.
We then added the dry ingredients into the mixture. These included Kaolin that helps cleanse and exfoliate dead skin cells and ground almonds to brighten and tone the skin. We mixed the ingredients using our hands to form a consistency rather like a cookie dough.
To finish, we rolled the cleanser into a rectangle shape and added some lavender before rolling into a swiss roll. We squished them into our own pots and added more lavender on the top for decoration. We were lucky enough to walk away with two rather full pots of our own Angels On Bare Skin cleanser so naturally I gave one to my work experience manager.
To use the cleanser, simply form a paste using water and rub in circular motions over your face. We tested the product out on our hands before the tour round the shop. It made my hands feel so soft and instantly soothed my eczema which was really bad that day. When I am using the cleanser as part of my skincare routine at home, I leave it on for 1-2 minutes if I have forgotten to take my makeup off the night before. I use a cloth to rinse off the product and just like my hands did at the event, it leaves my skin soft and nourished.
Whilst talking to Graeme before the event, I wanted to share more of the vegan friendly products that they have on offer to us. He was kind enough to put together a gift bag for us to take home which included Avobath Bath Bomb, Brazilliant Shampoo Bar which has the same scent as the Sun perfume, a little tin of their Charity Pot and a block of the Love You Mum soap that was part of the limited edition collection for Mother’s Day. All in all, I think it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning and would like to thank Louise, Simone and Becca for coming along and also Graeme for hosting the morning.
Have you been to a Lush event before? Did you get to try making any of their products?
♥
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