Sam of Fluffyland : Featured Blogger Interview
May 06, 2010 | By
Sam of Fluffyland might be one of our youngest featured bloggers to be interviewed yet—but with 6 years of blogging under her belt, she might just be one of the most experienced! Whether you love sewing, handmade goodies, or narwhals, you’re still to enjoy Sam's blog. Let’s take a minute to get to know Sam and find out what blogging secrets she can share with us.
Please start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your Fluffyland blog.
I am a second-year engineering student at Case Western Reserve University, and I love making things. I sew with every spare minute I have, I love taking pictures, and I've dabbled in just about every craft you can think of. My blog began as a way to chronicle and share my crafty endeavors—it’s no fun to make things if you can't share them with others!
When did you first start selling your creations online?
I actually started selling my items through Fluffyland in 2004…if you do the math, I was just starting high school! I had owned the website for a little while in order to teach myself web languages, but when I started to make more little sewn goodies than I had room for in my house, blogging seemed like a logical step. That's probably the best part about starting young; I'm now 20 years old and I've got almost six years of business experience!
Between your school work, business, blog, sewing, and social life, how do you find balance?
Balance? Balance is silly. As a full-time college student, I'm not likely to find balance anyway, so I might as well cram my schedule with things that I love. I do make happy balances: I'll stuff narwhals while watching a movie with friends, or blog as a form of procrastination. It can get very hectic at times but I like to think it's better than being bored.
Where do you see your blog and your business heading in 2010?
Well, after the huge narwhal rush over the holiday season, it looks like I'll be making lots more narwhals! They're my most recent item and by far the most popular, especially because they're so hard to find elsewhere. I recently did my first craft show and now have my products in a brick-and-mortar store for the first time, so I might explore more such ventures.
I love the pictures on your blog, do you feel that having great pictures is important for a good blog post?
Absolutely. Pictures are everything to a blog. Strong writing is important but without a decent picture, most people aren't going to bother to read what's been written. When you’re blogging about colorful, cute, creative things, pictures are essential.
Do you have any advice for new bloggers?
Keep going. Starting up a blog can be frustrating because you're talking to the entire internet as a whole, yet nobody is reading. But if you blog regularly, believe in what you write, and have cute pictures, you'll get readers in time. It's all about confidence.
What’s a fun fact most readers don’t know about you?
Tough question! I think I've shared most of my "interesting" quirks with my readers over time. But here's a little one: of all foreign foods, Mexican is definitely the one that I could never get enough of.
Last but not least, why do you believe that supporting handmade and indie is important?
When you buy handmade, you are paying someone to do what they love. You get a quality product that was lovingly made, and they get to continue in their craft. Buying handmade is like paying people to be happy and getting something awesome in return—everybody wins, and the world has a little more happiness.
Sara Moore is the Head of the Content Department on ArtFire.com.
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