Talk To Me Tuesday – Design Mom

For Talk To Me Tuesday this week, I’m featuring an interview with the inspiring Gabrielle Blair a.k.a. Design Mom.  Her blog was one of the first ones I read when I was a newbie blogger and have looked up to her ever since.  She has the coolest family of bloggers which I know you’ll love as well.

I’m excited about today’s interview and I hope you’ll give her a huge Tip Junkie welcome with your comments and visits to her blog.

1. Not that an introduction is really necessary, but would you kindly introduce yourself to the Tip Junkies?

Hello! My name is Gabrielle Blair. I’m a designer and mother of five. I write the blog Design Mom and am a founder of Kirtsy.

2. Who or what was your inspiration to start blogging?

I started blogging a couple of months after my sister Jordan launched her blog. I loved the pretty photos and clever ideas she posted and I wanted to do something similar. I had toyed around with a more essay-focused blog, but that was too intimidating. And I don’t really consider myself a writer. I prefer to post and talk about pretty things, and Jordan kind of modeled how I could do that. Plus, I needed a good creative outlet to help keep my post-partum depression at bay.

3. How long have you been blogging? Next month (July 2009) will be 3 years. I can hardly believe it!

4. How would you describe your blog in 15 words or less? I blog on the intersection of design and motherhood.

5. Approximately how many visitors do you have on your blog each day?

I receive over 200,000 unique visitors each month. On weekdays, that’s about 9,000 visitors. A little less per day on the weekends.

6. What do you think the most rewarding qualities of blogging are?

For me, it’s having a daily creative outlet, and being part of a community. I kind of lump my blog in with the rest of my social media life (Kirtsy, facebook, twitter, etc.) and I really like that I can have a range of conversations—short and simple to quite developed.

7. What are the most frustrating aspects of blogging?

As with everything in life, I have to work hard not to compare myself or my blog to others. I swear once a month, I’ll explore some new blogs, or some older blogs, and think others are just so brilliant and wonder why I’m not as cool.

8. Do you have a favorite blog(s) you read daily?

I come from a family of bloggers and the blogs I hit first on a daily basis are always relatives — sites like Oh Happy Day and Say Yes to Hoboken , and my son, Ralph’s blog about kids movies.

Outside of family blogs, I have lots of favorites. Kacy always makes me laugh:.  So does The Bloggess (fair warning: The Bloggess is often not rated PG.) I also love reading Café Johnsonia.

9. What keeps you motivated to keep blogging? The prospect of Sour Patch Kids or Peach Pie at the end of the day.

10. What have you done to market your blog this past year?

One of my favorite ways to market my blog is participating in interviews like this. I also twitter whenever I put up a new post.

11. What are you looking for in a guest Mom to feature?

An experienced blogger with good writing skills, good taste and good ideas. I love when the guest Mom is familiar with my audience, but has her own fresh ideas to offer.

12. Where do you find your inspiration and all the beautiful things you blog about?

I am a kirtsy hound — there is always new cool stuff there everyday. I also have a delicious account where I store cool sites or products I want to feature at some point. And the reality of being a mom, and trying to be considerate of design makes it so I am always on the lookout for great things for my kids, my husband, or me…

13. What are the main ways you earn an income from your blog?

Two ways: A) ad revenue. I’m a member of two ad networks – Martha’s Circle and Dwell. And I also sell my own ads to smaller vendors. B) unpredictable opportunities. Blogging is still new enough that you never quite know what opportunities will be waiting in your inbox. Some opportunities are paid – like I might be asked to write an article for a magazine, or help organize a conference.

14. What advice do you have for a new blogger?

Blog on a consistent schedule. And put up posts as frequently as you can. More content typically translates into more readers. Also, as much as possible, don’t force yourself to take on a new persona. Write about what comes naturally. You shouldn’t have to do a lot of research, you should be able to just comment on what you are already doing or thinking.

15. Do you have any suggestions for other bloggers or any success secret?

Like most startup businesses, it can take a long while until a blog is significantly profitable. You’ll probably be working for free (or close to free) for a couple of years. So don’t do it for the money. Do it because you love blogging. Then, you’ll enjoy the ride whether you make money or not.

16. What is your next big goal?

I’ve been told I need to write a book. I’ve never really been interested in doing so, but I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea. So maybe a book is the next goal. If not that, then a Martha appearance would be great. Maybe both.

17. You have so many amazing ideas on your blog, but can you share with us one of your favorites?

One of my favorite blog posts lately is when I revealed my Green Piano. Seeing it everyday makes me happy.

Huge thanks to Gabrielle for taking her time to do this interview.  She’s Skyping into Kelly Ripa one day and talking with little ol’ me the next.  Talk about a fabulous and down to earth chick!