Interviewed, written & creative direction by Naomi Brearley
There is something to be said for the effective multi-taskers in the world. They juggle, they balance, they sacrifice. They often take on more than they can handle because for them living life to the fullest is about trying everything possible (at least once).
Admirable isn’t it? I would tend to think so, because I am one of these people. All of us here at StyleCircle are these people to varying degrees. Come to think of it, these days it seems more and more of us are labeling themselves with the term multitasker. In fact, I think there’s more to be said about those who aren’t multi-taskers. Wouldn’t we all love to be able to do one thing at a time, really really well, and feel complete peace before moving on to the next thing? I know I do. And so does Loriana Savo of The Blissful Brunette.
Like the rest of us here at StyleCircle, Loriana is a Ryerson student. This means, the girl is hella busy! As Loriana knows from being a Business / Human Resources student (and previously a psychology major), this glamorous Ryerson student life comes with a lot of work; copious amounts of assignments, readings, more assignments, and exams. There is also work work – as in girl’s got to pay her bills. There’s the social scene – Loriana is young, she’s trendy, she lives in downtown Toronto – hello she’s cool! And being cool means being busy – going places, meeting people, catching up and most definitely, being seen.
So take all of this and then throw a growing, dynamic, content-intensive fashion and lifestyle/wellness blog into the mix and you start to wonder, when does this chick have time to sleep!? According to her, it’s not much and it’s not often. But that’s what life is like up here in the Six; and we love it. And we most definitely wanted to know more.
Check below and find out what else made Loriana Savo, and her passion project The Blissful Brunette, show up on the StyleCircle’s radar.
SC: So it says on your blog that you are a student living, working and studying in Toronto. Tell us more about that.
LS: Well I started out as a psychology / sociology major and realized it wasn’t for me. After doing that for a year or so I decided to switch into business because I thought it was more practical and there would be more jobs available to me after university if I knew business. Currently I am specifically in human resources, and don’t necessarily see myself working in that field, but its interesting and definitely useful.
SC: What do you see yourself doing after school then, if not business?
LS: At the moment I’m very much into styling and creative direction in fashion. I really like the idea of styling and putting looks together to tell a story so hopefully after I graduate I’ll do a short program in fashion styling at Humber or somewhere and that will allow me to specialize my skills a little further than they are now.
SC: Why did you decide to start your blog?
LS: I really enjoy writing and sharing ideas. I am a huge writer, and I really like cataloguing my thoughts and feelings as a form of creative expression. So I started The Blissful Brunette as a way to express myself, post outfit inspiration photos and just share and organize everything I liked, thought and was inspired by and it grew from there!
SC: So it sounds like this blog came about very organically.
LS: Yes, definitely organic. It was more for myself at the time when I started it. It was basically a personal diary and I never expected to get the response out of that I have.
SC: What response is that?
LS: Incredibly positive! So many of my readers became really connected to the content I was sharing and my audience grew very quickly. They are very vocal, and comment all the time and give tons of feedback. I definitely use them for inspiration, and when I saw the audience growing I just embraced it and started to create more of the content they wanted to see. I also have been contacted by a lot of brands and businesses saying awesome things about what I’ve shared or posted on the blog. Many of them have wanted to collaborate, or have me endorse their products so the growth has been really great.
SC: What would you say the three biggest challenges are with balancing your blog with the rest of your life?
LS: Well I am a full time student, and I have a part time job so time management is definitely number one. Managing my time is super important especially with my job because I need to make sure I have enough time to do all my work and then get to work and make money. Organization is number two. I definitely want to get in the habit of being more organized and put together so I’m trying to make schedules for myself to stay on track. I’d say the third biggest challenge is publishing content. Finding inspiration for things to post on the blog is tough sometimes, especially when I have a million other things going on. This blog is also a hobby it’s not my job; so I never want it to feel like work. A lot of the time when I can’t come up with something new it begins to feel like too much work and too much of a obligation. So I try and take a break and disconnect if I ever start to feel overwhelmed or it begins to take over too much of my time.
SC: When you do have those inspiration blocks, is there anything that you find helps break you out of the slump?
LS: Taking a break, disconnecting and regrouping to find fresh ideas. I take time for myself, I see my friends, my family and just reduce the pressure and eventually something comes. Messages from followers and brands also help jumpstart new content because when other people develop the ideas of what they want to see, it’s easier for me to write it.
SC: You talk on your blog a lot about wanting to move to Los Angeles. Why are you so interested in being in LA?
LS: Omigosh I love LA! I went to LA last year for ten days by myself for the first time and it was the most amazing experience. I only knew a few people there so I stayed with them and had them show me around, but other than that I knew no one and was able to explore and discover the city all on my own. The vibe and the lifestyle that the people live there is just so enticing to me – they are incredibly laid back, there’s no rushing or sense of feeling flustered. Compared to my life in Toronto, where the city is go-go-go all the time, I needed to see their slower pace of life for myself; and it did not disappoint. And I absolutely loved it. Everything there just screams laid back, casual, peace.
SC: So in addition to the amazing lifestyle vibe (I’m totally in agreement with you on that by the way) what do you think you can achieve by living out there instead of Toronto?
LS: Well at the moment I am really into styling, so being out there would be really great because there are so many people in the industry who live and work out there. Stylists, celebrities, fashion bloggers and lifestyle gurus all seem to be in LA either all the time, or very frequently. Being out there would be really great for working opportunities and meeting the key people in the industry I’ve always wanted to work with.
SC: What is one thing you are most thankful for that has come from having your blog The Blissful Brunette?
LS: Meeting people. A lot of the content on my blog, although fashion based, is also very health and wellness based in terms of positivity and confidence and so on. So by having this blog its allowed me to meet so many amazing people and learn about them and share things that I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t have the site. My people are definitely the best.
SC: What is the one thing you’re least thankful for?
LS: Content demand and having to be consistent. I absolutely love my site and expressing my ideas but I really don’t like the constant pressure to have to frequently post content, and make things exciting to generate traffic. The blog is my hobby that I use to decompress and find inspiration, but I never want it to feel like a job, and when you have an audience that wants new content all the time it starts to add more pressure and is less of an enjoyable hobby.
SC: Last one, I promise. What do think are the most important skills for other students who want to work in the fashion industry eventually?
LS: Number one, hands down is a strong portfolio. Compile your work, your school projects, stuff you do in your free time to show employers and industry people that you actually know how to do the things you say you do. If you have no proof, then it doesn’t matter what you tell them. Number two, I’d say be connected. Be on a range of social media platforms and be conscious of the content you share. Use it to make a personal brand to show creative employers who you are and what you can do professionally. Third, network, network, network! Especially in fashion, because more and more its becoming about who you know and how you can make opportunities for yourself by meeting the right people. If you don’t go to events or put yourself out there to become connected to people in the industry, you’ll have a much harder time making that solid first impression.
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If you want to know more about Loriana and her blog, find her online at theblissfulbrunette.com, on Instagram @theblissfulbrunette, and on Twitter @lorrsavo.
All images were taken from Loriana’s blog.
