Tomorrow, we officially finish our week (and a day) celebration of International Blog Day. When we originally discussed the possibility of celebrating International Blog Day we planned to only spotlight a handful of our favorite blogs on August 31st. We quickly realized that we loved TOO MANY blogs and it would be nearly impossibly to narrow down our favorites to fill only 1 day. So version two of International Blog Dayquickly took shape and we concluded that if we highlighted two blogs each day for an entire week we would be able to get a good amount of content up from some of our favorite reads. It was only a matter of hours however that option 2 quickly went kaput due to an overwhelming amount of responses from some of our favorite bloggers! Not only were we flattered they responded to “little ol’ us” so quickly, but we were honored that these amazing Blog-ettes trusted us to use parts of their original content. {This may not make sense to some of you, but in the blogging world using someone else’s blog content is a big “No, No” without written approval.}
Anyways, one of the bloggers we where most anxious to hear back from but also resigned to not getting a response from was decor8 blog. Decor8 blog, (to us) started the home decor blogging revolution and when you are that important, a lot of people tend to want your time and attention . We didn’t think getting a response was even possible since (most likely) there are hundreds and thousands of emails flooding her inbox on a weekly basis. Boy, were we wrong. As we sat in our office one bright and dreadfully hot Arizona day, I opened our email account to see that we had a response from the one and only Mrs. Holly Becker! (The Founder & Editor of decor8) I think I may have fallen off of my chair when I saw her name pop up in our inbox. and then I proceeded to faint when I read that she thought I was “cute”. Got chills? Me too.
Emailing back and forth with Holly was like a blogging dream come true. It is no secret that we brag to anyone who will listen that WE have been following decor8 blog from some of her earliest posts…. I’m talking 2006 people! It feels like only yesterday that I stumbled upon decor8while sitting at my mothers kitchen table with my boobie Joanna. Since then, decor 8 has been apart of my life and I have loved every minute of it. Wow, I digress. Although it is near impossible to sum up the awesomeness of decor8 blog in one post, I will attempt to highlight some of the best aspects- in my personal and professional opinion *wink.
Meet Holly Becker, an American writer and design consultant who splits her time between her offices in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Hannover, Germany. Through extensive travel throughout North America and Europe, along with working for major magazines and interacting with talented artists and designers worldwide, Holly’s catalog of daily finds keeps her closely tied into the field. Plus, it allows her to work as a design consultant & writer (while keeping her style fresh and creative).
In addition to decor8 and her design practice, Holly is a weekly columnist at Real Simple magazine online and she maintains a second blog, Haus Maus, where she documents her life as an expat. {Sidenote: Haus Maus is Holly’s little diary for documenting how an american sets up house in Germany. Haus Maus is also the nickname her husband Thorsten calls her.}
Holly also founded Blogging Your Way in February 2009, a series of online workshops that she instructs virtually for 200 students about creative blogging, writing from the heart, and making a blog and personal reflection of your own style and taste.
That’s not all folks! Holly has also worked for a number of top magazines, newspaper and television networks. Some of her most recent work includes: working as a columnist for Domino magazine online (2006-2009), Cookie magazine online (2008-2009), and as a bi-weekly columnist for the Boston Globe (in their Style & Arts section reporting on design trends). In addition to this, she has worked on assignments for HGTV, HGTV Ideas magazine as a Style Editor, Boston magazine, Adorn and LUXX magazine in Singapore.
Phew. Let me take a moment to catch my breath.
Now do you understand why we were NOT expecting a reply?! Although Holly has all that on her plate she still makes time to: email back bloggers in the making like us, be active with friends and family, travel, be a wife, and get this……. remodel and move into a new place in Germany!
This is one of the rooms in her new place. It’s all so dreamy. You must Go HERE to check out more! Oh, the floors.
Another aspect of decor8 that I absolutely love, is seeing Holly’s own personal style. Yes, she highlights amazing artist, designers, and products, but there is something about seeing her own purchases that makes my heart pitter patter. For example, Holly bought a 1940′s Jugendstil Style Vintage Buffet and these Wood and Wool Stools for her home! Seriously, how can you not love her after seeing her incredible purchases. It is obvious that she puts a lot of thought into her own purchases and I am completely inspired by it. (I tend to grab the cheapest thing around to fill the space in my home… totally backfires! Within a week I am completely over it.)
Holly also knows the value of “the Martha”. Her post Martha, Where Art Thou? made me appreciate the access I have here in America to “the Martha”. I often shake my fists at “the Martha” but, in all reality, I think she is an absolute genius. (even if she has thousands of Martha minions working for her and coming up with ideas.)
Like I mentioned earlier, decor8 highlights some of the best products and designers around. What makes decor8 posts so unique is her global perspective. One of my absolute favorite products EVER is Sandra Monat’s (from Herzensart) collection of viking plates. I have posted about these amazing plates before, however they deserve another shout out!
Sandra is a German artist/designer and without decor8 I would never have stumbled upon these. That is why Holly’s perspective is so inspirational for readers. You will always find unique at decor8.
Lastly, decor8 is more than just a blog highlighting home decor trends and products. Holly makes it a point to get in touch with her readers and their personal lives. She often does “Real Talk” posts, where she makes an observation or poses a questions in which readers are asked to give a “real” response. My personal favorite is Talk It Out: Half Empty, Half Full. She writes, “I will call this space the “Half Empty, Half Full” corner today. It’s where you can literally dump what makes your life, or job, or anything “half empty” but make sure that before you end your post you include your “half full” feelings, too.”
I encourage you to go read her readers responses.
In conclusion, we adore decor 8 and you will too!
www.decor8blog.com
Haus Maus
decor8 Twitter
Facebook
decor8 Amazon Store
Holly,
Thanks again for your kind email response. You made our day year!
xoxo,
The Bella Girls
(Sarasa Pool)
(
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