Thursday night in Vancouver we found ourselves at the workspace of design collective Also Known As (AKA for short). They just happened to be having a show opening that night (with some killer talent, obviously) and of course we were thrilled to accept their offer. Jesse, Carolyn, and Josh were excellent hosts, taking us on a tour of their space and making sure to introduce me to Jeff Hamada of Boooooooom, whom I’ve long admired and who told us about AKA in the first place. It never ceases to amaze me just how easy it is to fire off an email or two and then a couple of hours later they are right there in front of you, talking shop and sharing inspiration. I just hope this isn’t the last time we get to hang with these gracious new friends! We just have to find away to make our geographical distance work for us and put together some kind cross-country collaboration, eh?

*Oops, I forgot to mention that these photos are from AKA except the first and the last, which are from my iPhone.

Wednesday & Thursday were spent wandering around the historic Gastown neighborhood, here’s my highlights from the day.

+ Breakfast & coffee at Nelson the Seagull in Gastown. Open kitchen, bright white interiors, succulents, and rustic reclaimed furniture. (Not pictured: grapefruit halves, drizzled with honey and garnished with almond slivers and mint leaves).

+ The Inventory shop, home of the gorgeous Inventory Magazine.

+ I wanted one of everything at the Old Faithful Shop, even their chummy French Bulldog, Boss.

Image by Arinovfedyshin, quote by Thoreau, stitched together by Pennyweight.

Another South African blogger! I wonder if there’s something special about South Africa that makes such stylish ladies! Mariah Breitenberg is the mind behind Size Too Small, make sure you don’t miss her Year in Cakes series and I especially treasure these Margaret Killgallen tree prints she posted recently.

+What’s the story behind your blogs name, size too small?

size too small is actually the name of one of my favorite Sufjan Stevens songs. I think everyone assumes it’s a reference to fashion and clothing always fitting a size too small which I don’t mind because a lot of my blog is fashion and style oriented but it’s actually just a song I love and I thought it would make a good blog name.

 
+ What was the first blog that hooked you?
Style Me Pretty- my wedding appeared on their blog in 2009 shortly after I had gotten married. Honestly before then I didn’t even know that style and lifestyle blogging was such a huge industry. Someone emailed me and said “your wedding is on style me pretty today” and from then on I started reading blogs. I was hooked.

+ We hear A LOT about big bloggers but not so much about the little guys. In your words, small bloggers are important because _________________.
I think everyone has a unique point of view and style. Reading someones blog is like getting a glimpse into the things that inspire them. It’s fun to be exposed to those things no matter how big or small. Also a lot of the smaller blogs provide fresh ideas and content from projects they are involved in in their own lives. When I do an event or have an interesting work project I try and share it on my blog. Or even if it’s a friends house that has been beautifully designed and decorated- those are the things I love to blog about.

+ Blogging is a TON of work and rarely pays the rent. your family think you’ve lost your mind… so what drives you to blog?

I started blogging because I had been really inspired by a lot of other blogs out there. I had just gotten married, moved from the USA to Cape Town, South Africa and wasn’t working in a very creative job. I needed something to put my creative energy into, so I started size too small.

 
+ Some bloggers are veritable celebrities who snap and tweet every moment. How comfortable are you with being “out there”?
I don’t mind being “out there” necessarily, but I can’t really be bothered to pursue things I don’t enjoy. For me, so far that kind of includes most social media. I tried twitter but it just wasn’t me. I do think all of the various forms of social media are great tools for building a business or building your blog. Also some people just love it- if that’s the case, go for it.

+ Internet culture is obsessed with numbers and rankings. Do you follow your stats? How are they useful to you?
When my blog started to get a lot of traffic I would check my stats a few times a week. Now I hardly I ever look at them. It was really important for me to find a balance between my blogging life and my real life. I found I was getting too sucked in to numbers and stats. Now I’ve struck that balance and it makes all the difference in the world.

+ Do you strive to one day be a big-time blogger?
The main thing with my blog is that I’ve always wanted it to be organic. If people like it great- I’m glad they are being inspired. If it gets bigger I’m fine with that, if it doesn’t I’m also fine with that. My goals tend to be more career oriented, and right now I can’t see my blog as being or becoming my career.

+ Your guilty pleasure blog? Go.
Yikes! I don’t have one!

+ Your turn, ask us a comment or feedback. What’s the one thing about the blog world that’s got you stumped, the thing you’re dying to ask somebody but haven’t?
Hmmmm, you know I think bloggers have done a really good job of being transparent about how the “industry” (if you want to call it that) works. I think a lot of blogs are run by amazingly talented, creative and down to earth people and I’m just glad they are putting that creativity out there for others to be inspired by and enjoy.

+ Do you have a favorite source for awesome content?
I like We Are Selectors and The Scout for this. Also photographic journals are great for being exposed to new photographers.

+ Your top three favorite posts you’ve ever written?
Probably… my Now & Then posts, where I pair up a current fashion designer with a style icon of the past, the 12 Days of Christmas blogger series I did last year with some of my favorite bloggers and a peak inside my friend Jen’s home.

I’m currently in British Columbia (going to Vancouver tomorrow & Thursday!) and even though we’ve been traveling for the last 16 hours, there is free wifi at the moment so I can’t resist popping in w/ a post. Not sure when I will have this chance again, so I’m taking it! Love these works by Connor Harrington, they are a totally surprising mash-up of traditional portraiture and graffiti. Beautiful color & energy, they are super unique indeed. Via Design for Mankind.

Bonus BitBlogger post for the week! Aren’t you lucky grasshoppers! I wish I could take credit for discovering Wolf Eyebrows, but that honor falls to my Bitblogger partner-in-crime, Kate of Arthound. Written by Catherine, a South African copywriter & art lover, Wolfeyes covers everything from photography, fashion, food and all manner of arts & culture.

+ What’s the story behind your blog’s name, wolf eyebrows?

I’m part Dutch, Greek, British, Canadian and South African. Somehow this mixed
heritage gave me rather wolfish looking eyebrows, hence the name. It is an unusual
characteristic that is particularly unique to me.

I later found out that there is a Japanese folktale called The Wolf Eyebrows, which is
about a suicidal man who goes into the mountains to find a wolf to devour him. The wolf
refuses to kill him and gives him a hair from his eyebrows instead. The wolf’s eyebrow
hair gives the man the ability to judge the character of anyone he encounters. I quite
liked the story…strange and slightly melancholic.

+ What was the first blog that hooked you?
To be honest I can’t recollect the first blog that hooked me. Blogging came so
seamlessly into my life that is hard to distinguish a beginning. But I do remember that
some of my early favourites were Smitten Kitchen, for me, for you and The Sartorialist.

+ We hear A LOT about big bloggers but not so much about the little guys. In your words, small bloggers are important because:
They offer an alternative view. Smaller blogs have the space to really explore ideas
without being bound by expectation, audience or sponsors.

+ Blogging is a TON of work and rarely pays the rent. Your family think you’ve lost your mind… so what drives you to blog?

I’m a very visual creature and blogging is a great creative outlet. I majored in History of Art at university and I love to draw. I see my blog as a curated collection of beautiful things. I’m also an insomniac, so it helps fill my sleepless hours.

+ Some bloggers are veritable celebrities who snap and tweet every moment. How
comfortable are you with being “out there” ?
I made a very conscious decision not to share my personal life on my blog. I think that it
comes from the fact that I am a rather shy and introverted person. Occasionally I’ll share
the odd photograph or drawing, but that’s about it. In a way I think that the things I blog
about are a good enough representation of who I am without getting caught up with the
messiness of my private life.

+ Internet culture is obsessed with numbers and rankings. Do you follow your
stats? How are they useful to you?
I do. I like to create content that people want to read, but not to the point that I have to compromise what I want my blog to be, so following my stats is a good way to balance
the two.

+ You used to write about art for magazines and other print publications. How is blogging different from that work?

Writing for art journals and print is very much dictated by the tone of the publication and its audience. It is also a much more theoretical and analytical style of writing.

 
+ Your guilty pleasure blog? Go.
The Superficial, it combines celebrity gossip with sarcastic commentary. I do feel pretty guilty after I visit it though.

+ Your turn, ask us a comment or feedback. What’s the one thing about the
blog world that’s got you stumped, the thing you’re dying to ask somebody but
haven’t?
I often wonder how to get involved in more blogger collaborations. Miss Moss asked me to be a contributor on her tumblr called BKFST and I love it. So I’d like to know how to grow my network of blogger-friends more.

+ Do you have a favorite source for awesome content or inspiration?
Flickr, it’s an endless archive of amazing art, illustration, history
and photography.

+ Your top three favorite posts you’ve ever written?
This question is difficult to answer. I think they would be the posts that are an on-going
feature on my blog:

1. Friday Fox- a selection of foxes (real and imaginary) to end the week
2. Outfits and Landscapes- comparisons between street fashion and landscapes
3. Miscellany- a jumbled collection of things that I have been appreciating recently
4. (One extra post…) Food & Art- comparisons between fine art and food

Thanks for the opportunity!