It was sometime last year that I first became aware of Heather Fonseca. She was doll designer from Los Angeles, and had a design blog but began frequenting and commenting on many of my favorite personal style blogs. Her blog was mostly about design, but soon she started posting street style pics and outfit posts. Originally her self named blog was exclusively about design, particularly doll design but as she fell into the world of personal style bloggers she started sharing her own passion for fashion, and her own personal style. Last April, Heather decided to spin-off these interests into a blog of its own, and The Style Confessions was born. It started out strong with a clean blog design, and thoughtful, well written posts. The Style Confessions is most definitely on my must read list.
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| Heather and I posing together when we met for the first time last summer. |
Since she has been a keen supporter of me in my endeavors, and is now one of my sponsors, I asked Heather to share the differences of her doll design website and blog, and her personal style blog. Since we all blog for different reasons, I was curious to hear about the motivations a blogger has when writing more than one blog. Heather explains the differences between her professional and her personal style blog:
Design Blog
vs. Personal Style Blog
HeatherFonseca.com
promotes my freelance fashion doll design business by displaying my portfolio
of designs to potential clients. The
blog on the site is meant to present me as a dynamic, creative designer with a
great interest in fashion illustration and doll design.
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| Heather shares her love of doll design on HeatherFonseca.com |
According
to just about everything I’ve read about blogging you should present yourself
as an expert in your field. To do
this you write interesting, meaty articles about issues affecting your
industry. So last year I wrote an
article for my design blog about a very cute new doll that had many of the same
features as a competitor’s product.
I wondered out-loud if they might have copied the concept. Almost
immediately I received a number of e-mails from friends in the toy industry
begging me to take down the post before someone saw it. I altered the post, and
now keep my articles on the positive and fluffy side.
The
problem with writing fluff is that it’s boring. After my attempt at addressing
important topics failed I found myself facing a really bad case of blogger’s
block. Although I still have a blog incorporated into my on-line portfolio I
only post about once a month. I now focus on sharing new drawings when I have
time to work on them. (Because the work I do for my clients is confidential I
cannot post any of my current projects until they arrive on shelf.) Every so
often I’ll write a light and positive article on the subject of dolls, toys or
fashion illustration.
The
early part of 2011 found me grappling with a design blog that still hadn’t
found its voice. Meanwhile I was becoming more and more fascinated with fashion
blogs, especially the one’s that showed off the author’s own style with outfit
posts. Pretty soon I started
posting my own outfits on my design blog. I realized that this kind of personal
expression needed it’s own home so in March of 2012 I created my first fashion
blog.
"I view fashion as a designer, as a woman AND as a blogger."
TheStyle Confessions™ started as a way for me to express my personal style,
creativity and interest in fashion. But as I posted photographs of my outfits I
realized that I wanted to do more than just show off my wardrobe, I wanted to
inspire other women to feel beautiful and sexy and glamorous too.
Now
as I’m creating new posts I think about how the photos or text might inspire my
readers. My friends tell me they’re trying out clothing that they normally
would never have considered because of something they saw on my blog, so
perhaps it’s working.
My
favorite fashion blogs are the most personal ones. I enjoy the glimpse into another person’s mind, closet and
personal style. I know the author is only showing me an edited version of her
life, but the feeling that I’m seeing how a real woman dresses and lives in her
clothing gives me an appreciation for her styling choices and current fashion
trends that I have never gotten out of a fashion magazine. Many fashion blogs
are a lot like mainstream magazines as the models are very young women. I enjoy
them regardless of the age of the blogger, but I still feel more mature women
are in the minority. My goal is to create a really beautiful, elegant blog
filled with gorgeous photography that will appeal to women of all ages.
The
work I do in fashion doll design requires a constant stream of new apparel
ideas. I have to spot new trends and figure out how they can be worked into an
outfit for a doll. The Style Confessions™, on the other hand, forces me to look
at fashion as personal expression.
I look at new fashion trends and wonder how these shapes and styles will
look on real women. How will we feel in this clothing? How will this style look
on me? I view fashion as a designer, as a woman AND as a blogger. Seeing
fashion from these different angles expands my mind and makes me a better
designer. Writing a fashion blog inspires my work in a way that my design blog
never did. It truly is a creative
outlet.
Heather's Design Blog: heatherfonseca.com
Heather's Personal Style Blog: thestyleconfessions.com
