As the nights draw in and going out into the cold seems like a grueling task, we’ve started to take a little bit more inspiration from craft bloggers and stay indoors. Armed with all the tools, we’re finding ourselves curled up on a Sunday afternoon trawling through our favourite DIY blogs and giving some tutorials a go. Recently, we were thrilled to stumble across The Lovely Drawer, a super crafty blog penned by the lovely Teri. Teri is a freelance designer, illustrator, and stylist, as well as blogger who’s captivating updates make us want to reach for the closest pair of scissors to try to remotely match her skills.
With fresh content and stunning crisp photography, The Lovely Drawer has become our one stop blog for all things creative. Not only does Teri dabble in DIY, but also lends her hand at cooking! We for one are drooling over the baked cinnamon sugar donuts and maple carrot, apple and bacon soup recipes…yum! It’s no suprise then that Teri landed this month’s title of blogger crush of the month. We sat down with the lady in question to find out all about the inspirations and history behind The Lovely Drawer…
How did The Lovely Drawer come about?
The Lovely Drawer came about two and a half years ago when I was hoping to create an online scrapbook to document my projects and inspirations outside of my in house design job. Very quickly I realised that I enjoyed keeping it even more than I thought I would. The practice of creating more often didn’t sap my inspiration but instead gave me so many more ideas and having the freedom to try out different things meant I was able to hone my style and eventually focus the purpose of the blog. Because it started as a bit of fun (you can tell by the terrible photos back then), with no calculated intentions, it developed quite organically until finally I started using the tag line ‘Style inspiration and DIY ideas’. This summed things up and gave me more intentionality in what I was posting. It took me a long time to think of myself as a blogger because first and foremost I’m actually a designer, however the two things have mingled quite nicely together. I’ve just kept at the blogging and near enough all my collaboration and design opportunities have come through that. I wouldn’t be a full time freelance designer now if it wasn’t for those opportunities.
What’s your favourite part about running the blog?
My favourite part about running the blog is just the amount of creativity it allows me. I love dreaming up an idea or project in my head and then seeing it come to life. It’s so interesting to look back and see where my head and skills were at over the life of the blog. It also gives great freedom in realising ideas quickly. You can think up a project, execute it the next day and have the post out the following day if you felt that strongly about it. You just can’t move that quickly in most industries. There’s usually a long winded design and costing process, printing takes time and you’re always working seasons ahead. Obviously that’s necessary for those environments but I love that blogging bypasses those limitations. It’s taught me to always be ready with ideas and I’ve learnt to work at a much quicker pace.
What’s your favourite part about running the blog?
My favourite part about running the blog is just the amount of creativity it allows me. I love dreaming up an idea or project in my head and then seeing it come to life. It’s so interesting to look back and see where my head and skills were at over the life of the blog. It also gives great freedom in realising ideas quickly. You can think up a project, execute it the next day and have the post out the following day if you felt that strongly about it. You just can’t move that quickly in most industries. There’s usually a long winded design and costing process, printing takes time and you’re always working seasons ahead. Obviously that’s necessary for those environments but I love that blogging bypasses those limitations. It’s taught me to always be ready with ideas and I’ve learnt to work at a much quicker pace.
What inspires you to write?
Everything inspires me to write posts. Sometimes something hits me and sometimes little pieces of inspiration build up to create one big idea. I’m a visual magpie so I love Pinterest and interior magazines but lots of the time I’m just looking around when I’m outside, whether that’s in nature or surrounded by shop windows. That’s often the best way to get original ideas.
What are your bookmarked blogs?
My bookmarked blogs is a tough one as I could go one forever but number one is always Sugar and Cloth. Ashley’s DIY projects are so creative and I fall in love with her colour palettes over and over. I also love Emma Dime for her flawless aesthetic and fun mix of content. Her images never disappoint. Fall for DIY is a bookmark for beautifully slick and yet playful DIY ideas. The kind of things you genuinely do want to own! Passion Shake for amazing home and interiors inspiration. That girl must spend a whole lotta time on Pinterest but I’m more than grateful. Almost Makes Perfect for her gorgeous and yet simple DIYs in muted colour palettes that would work so well in anyones home or wardrobe. I often think, ‘I can’t believe you made that’. Paper & Stitch for all round inspiration and lovely DIY ideas. Everything Brittni touches seems to turn to gold. Finally, Oh The Lovely Things has amazing round ups collating all the best DIY projects, recipes, shop items in one place. Clemence has impeccable taste. I could go on but we’d be here all day!
What’s your must have item from Laura Ashley?
My must have item from Laura Ashley would definitely be the Pineapple Champagne Table Lamp. It’s such a fun yet stylish piece and I love the colour. I would probably have fruit themed everything if I could.
Be sure to bookmark The Lovely Drawer for crafty DIY tutorials and yummy recipes!
Who would you like to see as the next blogger of the month? Have you got a favourite blog we’ve overlooked? Do let us know…
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