About
What age are you?
I’m 23 years old.
Where do you live?
Belfast, Northern Ireland. Although we are on the island of Ireland we are part of the UK – so most of the shops I buy from are typical UK high street shops.
What is your dress size and how tall are you?
UK 16/18. It really depends on the shop! I’m 5”1 (and a half).
What does body positive mean and why do you identify your blog as a body positive blog?
As far as I see it being body positive is pretty simply not being critical of yours or anyone else's body. It's avoiding terms like "real women" (absolute nonsense term) and realizing that every body is real and every person has the right to feel comfortable in their own skin and dictate what they will wear and how they feel about their body. I don't care for fashion rules, I will wear stripes if I want to wear stripes and if Gok Wan tries to tell me I shouldn't well he can get lost to be quite honest.
Where do you usually shop?
I live on a tight budget so it’s all UK high street for me really. I buy most of my clothes from New Look, Primark, River Island, ASOS etc. I love Topshop but they only go to a 16 (something I take issue with) so it depends on what the fit of the item is like. I buy most of my jewellery from Topshop and online.
Uni and Work
What did you study and where?
I have a BA Hons degree in Film Studies with a Minor in Sociology, and I just graduated from my Masters degree in Film & Visual studies both at Queen’s University Belfast. My writing was focused on gender and sexuality in film. My BA dissertation was on representations of women in films with female directors, focusing on Sofia Coppola and Jane Campion. My MA dissertation was on the representation of sexual violence in film, with an extensive focus on the films of Lars von Trier.
Where do you work?
I work in a supermarket, a job I took up when I started Uni. I’m currently working with Belfast City Council in a business programme to get my baking company up and started. I bake for friends and family and occasionally for parties and weddings, but I’m in the process of getting all of my legal certificates and getting a website going. I have to have my business plan submitted by March 2012. I’m excited!
Do you earn a lot of money?
No, definitely not. I have always worked through university but only part time as it was really important for me to work and do well in my studies. My BA degree was paid for with student loans but you can’t get a loan for an MA so once fees were paid I had nothing to live off but my part time job as you don’t get a maintenance loan. I just finished a few months of unpaid work and the rest of my income is made up with my cake orders. I hope I’m some sort of proof that you don’t need to be loaded to run a decent blog, you don’t need new things every day to blog about. And remember, ebay is your friend.
Blogging.
What camera do you use?
I use a Canon 1000D. I don’t claim to have any photographic expertise, I just know my camera and I know what I like.
What do you use to edit your photos?
Photoshop and Picnik.
How did you get followers on your blog?
It didn’t happen overnight, I’ve been blogging for 3 years on blogger and 10 on livejournal before that. You can’t expect to start a blog and get followers right away. The blogging community is just that, a community – and the best way to gain readers is to interact with other bloggers. Be active, read lots of blogs and comment, tweet, get to know people. Help other bloggers out, and don’t see anyone as competition. I’ve made a lot of friends through blogging, and that’s one of the most important aspects for me.
Do you make money or get a lot of free stuff through blogging?
I’ve never made money from blogging. I occasionally get offered items for free to review but I turn most of them down because I don’t want to recommend something I wouldn’t pay for or think is overpriced, or if it’s something I don’t believe in. You wouldn’t believe the amount of companies who ask me to accept clothes to review that don’t go above a size 14. That’s just not going to happen. I won’t endorse a company that I or my readers couldn’t buy from.
