Travel and Toile was started in December, 2009, as a way for me to let my family and friends know of my adventures whilst studying abroad in London, England. I knew that phone calls would be expensive, and a blog seemed like it would be a nice medium in which to journal. However, it quickly turned into something different. In my travels, I began to take a lot of photographs, and got very interested in photography. Instead of sharing silly little anecdotes and such, I began sharing my photography here.
By Summer of 2010, I was back in the USA, living in Brooklyn, and back to writing articles, this time with better photography, and just as interesting subject matter. I was reminded that good photographs could occur anywhere, and that every locale was fascinating for its own reasons. It was at this point that I really started to notice that objects, places, and the like that are not conventionally thought of as "beautiful" can appear to be so under the artistry of a good photographer. I was hooked.
Fall 2010 saw the beginning of my Inspiration Fridays series, which accounts for nearly all of my most popular posts to date. The first few were just for fun, a way for me to be silly and share what interests me outside of the realms of photography and travel, and from there, the idea just soared. Now I write an Inspiration Fridays post every week or two, and the most popular ones are viewed more than 1,000 times a week.
For Christmas in 2010, I got a new digital camera from my boyfriend, Danny, and started having even more fun with photos! Even though I don't post them here very often, I've been playing around with film photographs from lomography cameras, a very nice film cam gifted to me by a dear friend, and disposables, and I credit my interest in these gadgets to my digital camera.
I took a sabbatical from my blog in Summer 2011, to work on my photography, and my career as a Voice and Speech Instructor for actors, and developed a new vision for Travel and Toile- that through this blog, I could make people more optimistic. Perhaps, I could help others see how beautiful this world is, and how many wonderful things exist in it despite all of the struggle and hardship. So, that is my current goal with this blog. I want you to have fun, I want you to see the world in a positive light, and I want a space in which I feel free to express myself, and my art. These days, I feel like it's going pretty well!
In December 2011, I gave in to a long-time desire, and started Style Sundays. Fashion has always been a passion of mine, and I'm blessed to have a job where, as long as I look decent, I can wear essentially whatever I like. Despite this, I have not been as creative as I can be with my style choices. By forcing myself to pose for pictures every Sunday, I'm making bolder clothing choices, and increasing my confidence. It's very different on the other side of the camera, and though I'm used to acting on film, still photos are a bit more difficult for me. It's becoming easier, and, it's a lot of fun!
In January 2012, I updated the design of the blog to resemble an old French theatre. The header became a photograph from the Saint Chappelle in Paris, and my idea is to evoke the theatre inside of the Palace of Versailles. Previous designs of mine had been based off of other blogs, ones I read, ones I like. However, they didn't scream me. This new design does. I'm sure I'll tweak it more as time goes on, but at the moment, I'm quite happy with it.
In December 2011, I gave in to a long-time desire, and started Style Sundays. Fashion has always been a passion of mine, and I'm blessed to have a job where, as long as I look decent, I can wear essentially whatever I like. Despite this, I have not been as creative as I can be with my style choices. By forcing myself to pose for pictures every Sunday, I'm making bolder clothing choices, and increasing my confidence. It's very different on the other side of the camera, and though I'm used to acting on film, still photos are a bit more difficult for me. It's becoming easier, and, it's a lot of fun!
In January 2012, I updated the design of the blog to resemble an old French theatre. The header became a photograph from the Saint Chappelle in Paris, and my idea is to evoke the theatre inside of the Palace of Versailles. Previous designs of mine had been based off of other blogs, ones I read, ones I like. However, they didn't scream me. This new design does. I'm sure I'll tweak it more as time goes on, but at the moment, I'm quite happy with it.
I took another break in spring 2012, and redesigned the layout again. The title was a flower photograph. It was pretty. I wasn't feeling it.
Then, I completely overhauled the blog! I renamed it "The Brooklyn Adventurer" because Travel and Toile is a hard name, no one pronounced it right, and I live in Brooklyn and love to adventure.
Adventure on, travelers!
Then, I completely overhauled the blog! I renamed it "The Brooklyn Adventurer" because Travel and Toile is a hard name, no one pronounced it right, and I live in Brooklyn and love to adventure.
Adventure on, travelers!
A little bit more about me: I'm Emily.
I'm originally from the tiny town of West Grove, Pennsylvania, in the USA. At one point, I studied abroad in London and got to see
a lot of places in Europe, and now I live in Brooklyn, New York City. I
work as a voice and speech instructor and a secretary at an acting conservatory. If
you've seen "The King's Speech," it's kind of like that. Kind of. I'm just a beginning instructor, and the people there are kind enough to be teaching me more. It's a glorious set up, and I'm super-grateful!
I love medieval art, romantic literature, anime, Shakespeare, floral dresses, orchestral metal, dumplings, lattes, steampunk, flowers, gothic architecture, live theatre, and role-playing games. I'm often found in coffee shops with a book, a latte, a beret on my head and a smile on my face. Basically, I am a huge nerd with a penchant for finding a reason to love everything... which is why I try to capture the world as I see it and share it with you! Every day I try to learn more about what it means to be human, create art, and enjoy our shared experience of the planet on which we all live.
I have an amazing family, good friends, and a wonderful man, Danny, whom I am extremely lucky to live with.
I hope you enjoy Travel and Toile!
I love medieval art, romantic literature, anime, Shakespeare, floral dresses, orchestral metal, dumplings, lattes, steampunk, flowers, gothic architecture, live theatre, and role-playing games. I'm often found in coffee shops with a book, a latte, a beret on my head and a smile on my face. Basically, I am a huge nerd with a penchant for finding a reason to love everything... which is why I try to capture the world as I see it and share it with you! Every day I try to learn more about what it means to be human, create art, and enjoy our shared experience of the planet on which we all live.
I have an amazing family, good friends, and a wonderful man, Danny, whom I am extremely lucky to live with.
I hope you enjoy Travel and Toile!
No comments:
Post a Comment