Profession
Blogger and Graphic Designer
Name
Michelle Haswell
Age
44
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a shithole called Ardrossan, which is a working class town on the West Coast of Scotland. It was a really tough place to live and grow up. Because it was a mining town it suffered great deprivation under Thatcher’s in the 80’s and it never recovered.
School daze - how were yours?
I absolutely hated school. Because it was so rough the teachers had pretty much given up on life so school wasn’t in the least bit inspiring. I was a solid B student and got all my highers but maybe I could have done better in a better environment. I was only interested in art so all my attention was poured into creating things. I wasn’t a swot at all. I did the bare minimum!
What do you currently do and how did you get there?
I have two careers which run in tandem - I’m a fashion blogger and I’m also a graphic designer. I started blogging 11 years ago and was of the early adopters of the platform. There were lots of Live Journals around but only a couple of blogs in the format we know them now. I was an avid reader of a forum called the Fashion Spot and I loved that people were sharing their outfits and talking about collections and designers and I really wanted to explore that in my own space. So I started a blog and took what I was enjoying most about the Fashion Spot and applied it to my own blog. KOS helped shape modern blogging and inspired so many bloggers people know and love, which is really cool.
Typical day
My day starts at 7.00am and it begins with reading and answering emails. I make a rough editorial calendar for the week on a Saturday that will break down the week’s posts into outfit posts, collection reviews, inspiration posts etc. I shoot my week’s outfit on the weekend then each day I will spend time editing, researching and writing in accordance with the editorial calendar. I run two Instagram accounts too - one for ballet and one for KOS - so I retain a couple of hours a week to shoot content for them. In between all of this I’m doing my design work too so my days usually finish about 6pm. Some days are less hectic if I don’t have much design work in, so on those days I can start at 9am, which is a total luxury.
What you working on now?
At this second I am editing on my week’s outfit post and working on the calendar for the week since it’s Saturday. In terms of design I’m working on a website for a large client.
What are your future plans?
I think when it comes to blogging long terms plans are fairly pointless as the blogging industry is in a constant state of flux because it’s so new. It’s still at the stage where it’s evolving but into what we don’t yet know. So I just take it as it comes.
Do you need qualifications to do what you do?
Anyone can blog, not necessarily well but, in principle, anyone can do it. To stand out though you really have to have a unique voice. 90% of bloggers follow the same formulas so they mostly all blend into one big, bland blog but sometimes you get one that does something different or has a unique voice.
Other jobs prior to this one?
As I mentioned, I’m also a graphic designer, which I’ve been doing for 20 years.
Advice to your 15 year old self?
You know, when I look back at 15 year old me I was actually pretty badass! I was totally into metal and was really anti-conformist. I lived in denim, black leather and high heels. I hung out with much older people and spent my life going to gigs. Other girls my age were hanging out at the shopping mall, eating ice cream and being home by 9pm. I guess though I would tell 15 year me that I’m not ugly. I hated my face and spent my whole teenage years just wanting to be pretty. I wish I could tell me that I was fine.
My blog: www.kingdomofstyle.net and my design site is www.michellehaswell.com
