As most of you have probably figured out by now, LFB took a break for the last week, but is finally back, better than ever (and with a new design, to boot).
After running LFB for a good few years and putting my heart and soul into this online space for the better half of a year, I needed to take some time away from the daily blogging world to really think about both LFB’s present and future – what I want LFB to be and also what I hope LFB will grow to become. So now it’s time for a bit of a heart to heart. LFB and the community that I have been able to build through this online space has been a special space for me since its inception. But it has really been within the last year that LFB has become a space I am extremely proud of. What started out as a fledging fashion blog has grown to encompass creativity in a broader sense and has also turned into a platform for conscious living.
I hope this space will only continue to grow and that I will eventually be able to expand LFB into more than just a blog. However, even going at the rate that I have been, to continue to blog with the same kind of voracity, frequency and dedication, while still holding LFB’s posts up to the high standards I hold them to is just not sustainable without making some significant changes.
I’ll let you in on a little secret – blogging can become a full-time commitment if you choose to view your online space as more than just a hobby, but treating a blog like a job without it generating an income is not sustainable. I have chosen to step away from the design world for the time being and am currently spending my work days focusing on LFB and my photography. LFB is a project that I am so passionate about, that I would like to turn it into a full-time career in order to keep it alive. Now let’s get one thing straight. If I was only interested in fat paychecks and a cushy lifestyle, I would have stuck with the design world, because the pay is great and the work is stable. But I thrive on creativity, community, and exchange of ideas. Which is why I have decided to continue with LFB and my photography and work my ass off to turn both into businesses from which I can live from in order to continue creating amazing things.
The decision to focus on LFB as a business is one that I am making after a lot of consideration. I just know that there is no way that I can maintain this space and dedicate the amount of time I do to it without moving in this direction. I also want to do so many more things with LFB and would love to have the means to make those dreams a reality. Now, as with any new thing, I have no effing clue if this will be a success, or if I will be closing this space down a year from now with my metaphorical tail between my legs, but I mean, hey, if you don’t try, you’ll never know, right? I will be scraping every last goddamned penny for a while, but I hope that it will be worth it in the end.
To reiterate: My decision to really try to view LFB as a professional space is a decision I have made in order to really try to keep this space alive. It is also a decision I have made in order to be able to focus my Mondays through Fridays on creating incredible content, growing the LFB community, and refining just what LFB is all about – conscious living and creativity. What does this mean for you as readers? Well nothing really except that LFB is going to be getting even bigger and better – starting with bringing you daily (yes daily! content). So go ahead, and read below to hear about what you can expect from LFB from now on…
A New Look
No your eyes are not playing tricks on you – LFB has gotten a bit of a facelift – which is still in fact a bit of a work in progress. (You may notice some broken things here and there, but me and my dev friends are on it!) My larger goal of turning LFB into more of an online space/magazine was a big part of why I chose to re-design the site during LFB’s week-long absence. There is now a larger emphasis placed on imagery and individual posts are much easier to read. Categories can be accessed via the top navigation as well as the side bar, which also includes links to current relative topics that may be of interest (current ones: Christmas and Cozy).
More Streamlined Themes
LFB will focusing heavily on conscious living and creativity as the driving themes and motivations behind all that will be posted here. What does this mean in terms of changes around here? Categories will remain much the same, but there will be a much larger emphasis placed on aspects of conscious living. This means that LFB will be expanding its conscious living coverage to travel posts, fashion and beauty posts, as well as home and living posts. Expect more posts on organic & sustainable fashion, beauty, and, travel; as well as product, shop, and restaurant recommendations for independent/local stores and/or stores who focus on sustainability and ethical practices. Creativity, which is a huge part of living an inspired and conscious life, will be making room for creative writing as well.
The navigation has also been streamlined to include LFB’s four main conscious living and creativity categories: home and living, inspiration and creation, style and beauty, and travel. Each category can be navigated by a drop-down menu which highlights the main subjects in each theme. Reoccurring series in each category are also accessible via the menu.
Sponsorships & Giveaways
With the growing commitment to cover more aspects of conscious living, LFB will now be doing giveaways in order to give back to the LFB community as well as bring awareness to companies and products which are committed to conscious living. We are all entitled to treating ourselves now and then so why not do so from companies that we are also happy to support? Through giveaways as well as sponsored (and non-sponsored posts too, of course) I hope to highlight smaller, independent companies who definitely deserve our support. Now I want to be very clear here. I hold LFB to some pretty high standards – probably too high for my own good sometimes. I have turned down 99% of the offers that have come my way over the years as I just can’t justify supporting wholesale shops with less than savory business practices or companies who ignore both human rights, our health, and the well being of of animals and nature. LFB is making a commitment to only work with companies or specific lines within companies that promote sustainability and conscious living.
You can now also advertise with LFB! If you are have a private business or blog that you think would appeal to the LFB community and focus on aspects of creativity and/or conscious living, you can now advertise with LFB. Advertisers will be visible in the LFB sidebar and featured in on the blog as well. I will be filling you guys in on advertising more next week, but if you are already interested in purchasing ad space, let me know. (contact@lovefromberlin.net)
Daily posting & a Growing Team
I really hope that you can all understand why I am committed to turning LFB into something profitable in order to keep it alive and running and to grow this space into something even more fantastic. I also want you to know that if I am able to turn LFB into a profitable space, I want to make sure the content is better than ever. Now, LFB is not generating any money as of now in order to keep it afloat, but I have managed to get two of my dear friends on board as we all believe in this space and want to create a community for like-minded people who care about making the world a better place. By adding some more people to the LFB team, the quality and content of LFB is only going to get stronger.
Do not worry – for those of you who enjoy reading my more personal posts, LFB will still primarily be my baby. But by adding additional people to the equation, LFB can do even more and cover even more topics that I may not be as qualified to comment on.
I have also decided to make a commitment to a daily posting schedule, because I want you guys to know that I mean fucking business around here.
User-generated Content
A blog is nothing without it’s readers and the community that is created around it. The LFB community is honestly one of the biggest motivations behind keeping this space alive. As such, I want to do my best to continue to grow this community and make it even more interactive. I have some really big ideas cooking for ways in which we can create an even more interactive LFB community. So stay tuned to learn about ways in which you can contribute and interact with the LFB community as well.
But some times will be remaining the same
As much as I want to turn LFB into an interactive platform, I think there is something to be said for blogging. Although not everyone takes blogs seriously, I do and I know the blogging community does as well. What I love most about blogs is the personal voice and the actual individual behind the words and behind the photographs whose passion and dedication keep things alive. I don’t want LFB to ever loose this intimate touch. Although LFB is expanding to include a small team and is broadening some of it’s subject matter, LFB will remain my personal space with my thoughts and ideas. I will be continuing with more personal series, like Anatomy of an Outfit and Photograephie and will remain the primary author of LFB posts.
In closing…
If you have made it through this whole post, kudos. It was a long one, but one that I think was necessary. It has always been my goal to remain as transparent as possible with you guys and to do what is best in order to keep LFB alive. Ultimately, I cannot really see these changes changes having kind of negative impact on LFB or your experience of LFB. If anything, things may become even more stressful for me as I try to commit to a daily schedule, but I guess that just makes me an over-achieving masochist. I really hope that these changes turn LFB into an even better resource for creativity and conscious living and will increase the opportunities for us to interact with each other as a community. Oh, and be sure to check back tomorrow to meet the new LFB team members!
Don’t forget to check out LFB’s podcasts & sign up for LFB’s conscious living challenge.
