Welcome back to this favorite series of mine, friends!! Today I'm bringing you a true talent and an incredibly put-together lady, Mrs. Erin Hiemstra of Apartment 34.
Erin is a digital communications expert, fashion and décor enthusiast, and a stylist who has transformed her passions into her career. She went full-time last year to pursue her dreams of working with creative clients such as Rue Magazine, Trophy Cupcakes, Mark and Graham and Chloe Rose Boutique among others (yeah, she's that awesome).
Back in the day (AKA fall 2012), Erin was kind enough to recognize Pars Caeli as one of her Noteworthy Newbies, and I'm delighted to have the chance to have her over here with us to peek into her blogging journey.
Enjoy the images and Erin's adventure!
Apartment 34 was originally meant to chronicle the renovation of my first condo in Seattle, a renovation that has never taken place! Six years later I now live in San Francisco and the blog as blossomed into a full lifestyle site and I couldn't be happier.
Just look at my early posts. Horrible image quality, atrocious writing. My whole first year could be considered a mistake but it was my authentic voice at the time.
There are so many reasons I've kept up my blog for so long. First is getting to constantly talk about topics I love and have real passion for - styling, design, fashion, food, travel. I really do find all these things so critical to a well lived life. And then there is the amazing community of bloggers I consider myself lucky to be a part of. I've made true and long lasting friendships with people from all around the world through this crazy blogging experiment. And finally I blog for my readers. I feel an obligation to them - to deliver something fun, interesting and new everyday.
I look for inspiration absolutely everywhere - my files, bookmarks and pins go on for days. Something I hear about from a friend. Everything is a potential blog post!
I'm always drawn to someone with a beautiful well-designed aesthetic, gorgeous imagery, interesting fresh ideas and/or a compelling story. I'm a speed blog reader so there are few that get me to pause and dive in deep but I love it when they do.
I turned Apartment 34 into to my full time job last year, but the blog is only one component of my business.
I use my first career in PR & marketing to offer influencer marketing consulting services to lifestyle brands. In a nutshell, I know help brands I love work with the bloggers I love in creative and mutually beneficial ways. It's the ultimate win-win! I also moonlight as a stylist from time to time. I love helping a brand create a visual look or work with a magazine to style a really compelling shoot. I don't call it my profession though - it's more my little side project!
Oh, my, goodness. Erin has style just oozing from her veins. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us, Erin, and for setting a great example for what full-time blogging/consulting work can look like. It's a delight to have you over!!
If you're having trouble with the comments here, please feel welcome to send me an email at parscaeli@gmail.com or tweet me a note to @parscaeli