Tamar's blog: www.nestdecorating.typepad.com
Tamar's website: www.nestprettythings.com
Tamar's shop: www.tamar.etsy.com
Why did you decide to start a blog?
One day I stumbled across Alicia Paulson's blog "Posie gets Cozy", I never read a blog before and new absolutely nothing about the concept, I was shocked and delighted to discover a whole world that "spoke" my language and I could relate to. Before I moved to Vermont I worked as Style Editor in a magazine, so writing and using photography were not new to me, I loved the idea of having a bit of myself out there.
How did you come up with the name of your blog?
When I moved to Vermont I thought I would become an Interior Designer, I did a lot of interiors for friends and really love it, my business is called Nest Interior Decorating, so hence the name. But Vermont is tiny and mostly rural and while waiting for clients to trickle in I started designing accessories which become my main livelihood.
How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?
I sometimes design something and say to myself...this would look great on the blog, but that's rare since I sink into a complete meditative state when I design, I hardly ever think of blogging, but when I take photos I try to think of the little details, the colors, the styling everything that would make the work stand out and look great in the blog.
What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?
I really mostly read design blogs and food blogs but here are 3 artists I read regularly:
Geninne, I love her art journal and her style and talent
Alicia Paulson, I love the way she writes and her fun and laid back style
Nina Van de Goor, amazing sense of style and a great artist
Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?
I love blogs that have great photos, I think it's interesting when you get a little personal but mainly I think you should just write about what inspires YOU most, people will follow.
What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?
I love getting comments and feeling like I'm reaching out and inspiring, I get lots of emails telling me that I made a difference in someone life and that feels sooo good!!! It's very isolated working alone in the studio, blogging opened up a whole community of readers that have become like friends and I love that!
What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?
I don't see any difficulty in being creative, it's always rewarding to me, I was always creative, it's my life.
Other than your blog, what has been the most effective way for you to promote your art/design?
I use flickr a lot too, I try to use twitter and facebook but find it a little boring...
How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?
When we moved to Vermont four years ago from a very hectic life style in a big city all we could think about is that balance in our lives and I think we really succeeded in doing the right thing, nature is all around us here, our life pace is slower and we take time to do things in a deeper and more thoughtful way, I spend more time with the kids, I cook a lot, We love to entertain, we grow our own vegetables and generally are loving living the little village life, when we miss the city we have a choice between Montreal (great city), NYC and Boston, so life is good.
What would you like to accomplish by the end of 2010?
I hope my business grows more and more, I would love to get someone to help me a few hours a week and by the end of 2010 to be able to move my studio out of the house and get help on a daily basis, I would also love to be able to afford to travel more, I miss Europe so much!!!!
Thanks so much Tamar for sharing! Your photography and use of color are beautiful and inspiring!