This week, Sarvin caught up with our favourite vibrant London blogger Kaylie, (@girlwiththeredbob). We find out Kaylie's favourite colour, why London is the most inspiring city and how she balances working life and her blog.
You're most definitely a certified London girl. As a London-based blogger, what is your favourite thing about London?
My favourite thing about London is that there is certainly something for everyone and every part of London has its own character - for example, West London is chic, East London has a hipster vibe and North London is alternative. London is a very welcoming city and it accepts you for whoever you are. Whilst London is a very manic city, I love the variety of green spaces around London which allows you to get away from the craziness.
Your Instagram grid is so colourful and joyful! How do you choose the perfect locations for your photoshoots?
Oh, thank you! That's so nice of you to say! I have a folder saved on Instagram containing London locations that I would like to photograph. I then envision the vibe that I want to capture for that photo and then pick an outfit in order to convey that vibe. For example, if I want to create a fun photo, I would go to the colourful houses of Notting Hill. However, if I wanted a whimsical photo, I would be off to one of the Royal Parks scattered around London. This also applies for collaborations I receive as I believe an outfit generally gives off a "vibe" and I choose a location which compliments that vibe.
You mention on your social media that blogging is just a hobby for you - how do you balance your working life and your blogging life?
My work comes first and my career is something that is very important to me and something I have worked very hard to reach the position I am in currently. However, I also need an outlet and photographing/ blogging is my outlet. I try my very best to ensure that my weekends are my "me" time (in Finance, it's not rare to work the occasional weekends) so I spend most of my weekends blogging which involves going out to take photos, filtering through the photos taken and editing. I then do as much as I can in terms of planning my feed for that week. This allows me to focus on attending to my emails and engaging on Instagram during the week.
How did you navigate your blog this throughout the Covid-19 crisis?
For someone who predominantly photograph the outdoors, this period has allowed me to look through my archives - to look back at my travel photos whether it's abroad or locally and to see them in another light. I tend to accumulate a lot of photos per location and only a couple see the light of day on my blog and on my Instagram which really is a shame considering how much time photographing each location. Furthermore, there have been times when I disliked the photos when I first saw them but seeing them again has made me realise just how great some of the shots were. Besides going through my archives, I, like many bloggers, was inspired to create home content. I live in a very small apartment in London so space restriction was a big hurdle for me. However, creativity is boundless and I am incredibly proud of the few shots which eventually made its way on Instagram.
Alongside fashion, you are also a travel blogger. Where are your most favourite places you have visited and why?
One of my favourite destination I've had the pleasure of visiting is Iceland which also happened to be where my husband and I went for our honeymoon. Both of us love nature and Iceland is definitely the freak of nature. We spent 5 days driving along the south coast where we saw everything from the black sand beach, ice glacier, rushing waterfalls, volcanic lakes, natural hot springs... It was everything we could ask for and more. I also love the alps around Europe and some of my favourites include the Swiss Alps around Lake Geneva and German Alps around Bavaria.
And finally, what is your favourite colour - you only can pick one!
I would say Red - it's such a powerful passionate colour and a great colour to wear to create "drama" in my photos.