Featured Member

Featured Blogger of the Week – Ginseng & Thyme

Welcome to the nineteenth of our Featured Blogger series. This is a space that showcases all of you awesome bloggers in Manchester and the North. All you "WeBloggers" 🙂

Interested in being featured? Get in touch at [email protected]!

FEATURED BLOGGER OF THE WEEK – Ginseng & Thyme

Name: Ginseng & Thyme

Blog URL: www.ginsengthyme.com

Twitter followers: 211

Instagram followers: 380

Facebook: 142

How long have you been blogging?

G: We've been blogging since early February 2017, but we established the blog 6 weeks before that, taking some time to build our website, form our 'brand' (shudders at the thought of calling the blog a brand...) and started teasing folks on Instagram & social media for a month before we launch with our first post 'Cheap Eats’.

Why did you decide to start your blog?

T: I did a little bit of blogging, if you could even call it that, while I was at Uni. I absolutely loved doing it, but it wasn’t very good and I was terrible at taking photos and being disciplined about it. Luckily, Georgie excelled at these exact parts, so when she asked if I would be interested in partnering up I jumped at the chance. I think it’s safe to say we make up where the other lacks.

What do you hope to achieve for your blog in 2017?

G: It's a bit brash, but if we're honest (and I speak for us both here...) I think we're hoping to earn a little bit of money from it. Money doesn't mean happiness, but it would be amazing to build a big enough audience to start pulling in a few partnerships with brands and build the blog from a passion project to a business.

T: Yeah monetising the blog would be great. I’d love to be able to do this at least part-time.

What is your favourite social media channel & why?

T: I mean Instagram is amazing, especially for what we do as it so visually driven, but I’m obsessed with Pinterest. I find it so inspiring and I get some of my best ideas from trailing through images for hours. I use it for so many aspects of my life like food (obviously), style, body positivity and even DIY. I like being able to see other peoples collections too, it’s usually a really good insight into someones world.

Who is your blogging inspiration?

G: I was heavily inspired by the other WeBloggers in this awesome community that we've become a part of. I know that's an extremely cheesy answer but before the lovely SpamellaB invited me along to the first proper meetup last summer I was pretty behind-the-times on the ol' blogging front... However, there's a blogger called 'From Roses' I've been a fan of for years, as she graduated in the year about me at Uni. Rebecca is based in Nottingham, I just love her clean-cut gorgeous photography. She mainly focuses on beauty & still life, which I love reading about (because beauty is my personal passion!) it's always nice to grab inspiration from the most unlikely of places.

T: I really love Rachel Roddy of Rachel Eats. She lived in Rome with an Italian husband and little boy, and her food is so simple, stripped back and delicious. It’s a little bit dated now, but it’s one of the first blogs I ever got into, and it still makes me envious even today.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give other bloggers & aspiring bloggers?

G: Don't be afraid to experiment and get outside of your comfort zone, and then don't beat yourself if that daring thing you did doesn't work out the way you'd hoped.

T: Yeah, Georgie and I are always experimenting and trying out new things, but they don't always work out. The successful blogger is who makes something work, even if it does go tits up. Things always happen for a reason, so try not to stress and use your creative instincts to adapt.

Fun/Random fact about you:

G: I picked up photography when I lived in Hong Kong when I was 13 and I've never looked back since...

T: I used to take my clothes off for money… in the name of art of course.

The Featured Blogger of the Week series is available to all bloggers subscribed to #WeBlogMCR. If you are a subscribed member and would like to be a featured blogger, then please get in touch. You’ll receive exposure to the entire #WeBlogMCR family, as well as coverage across the @WeBlogMCR social channels. It’s great exposure for any blogger looking to get noticed and grow their following.

Not subscribed yet? Don’t worry, you can do so here!