Happy Anniversary to us! It’s been a whole year since we started our blog, and 286 posts later, here we are. It’s been a wonderful ride and we have had a year for the books. We are incredibly thankful to all of you for reading, sharing and laughing with/at us along the way. Because we have a few oceans and more than a few countries between us, we can’t have a proper party to celebrate, so we decided to interview each other instead. Totally the same as a party.
C: I’m in London, wearing a giant sweater and the Roots sweatpants that Tiff gave me. I’m drinking coffee, reveling in the delights of a toasted crumpet and wondering how long it will rain today. Ella Fitzgerald is playing in the background, and I’m feeling good about the coziness level in this room.
T: It’s Wednesday morning in Phnom Penh, and I am still in my workout clothes from three hours ago (because blogging > bathing) as I write this, contemplating about whether this would be a good time for a double espresso to power me through the rest of the day.
C: Oh man, just a few million things. A year ago, I had designed one grey dress and was extremely nervous about moving forward in an industry I felt I had no place in. Now, I am looking at what role I want to play. I had initially wanted only to design, but after this year, I want to combine the design process with working in sustainability or textile sourcing. I am much less intimidated, and now feel like my unconventional background will be an asset. I have learned a lot about inspiration and how to develop an idea into something beautiful, and maybe more importantly, that everyone in this field has a different story, and being different is a great thing.
T: I realized that I am nowhere near being able to design things for people yet. I had this moment where I realized that I hadn’t given enough time to work out creative muscles, play around and make mistakes. But I’m looking forward to doing more of that in the next year. One thing that I did figure out is that I do love story telling. The year has allowed us to meet so many people who are just doing it beautifully and so well and the first thing I want to do is follow them around with a camera and tell their story (but not in a tabloidy kind way like that sounds). This gets me super energized and motivated for the next year, in the way I don’t need any coffee or any chemical stimulants for.
C: SO many things. I love that it keeps Tiff and I connected even though we are a million miles away. We always have something to talk about, and its really wonderful to know that there is always someone there on the other end of the line. Also, it’s a place where I can lay it all out. I use the blog for documenting everything from design inspiration to food to venting about things that frustrate me. Admittedly, I overshare a bit on this thing, but it has served as a amazing outlet for sharing stories, even when they are messy. I think it’s important for people to know that transitions can be uncomfortable, but worth it, and that the spastic, chaotic moments in life are just as important as the happy, satisfied moments. The weird stuff makes it real.
T: So when Cait moved to London this summer, all of our friends asked “But what about blog?!?!” The truth is, we are on the road for a huge chunk of the year. We’re probably only in Phnom Penh at the same time for about a 3-4 months of the year together. So while we do Whatsapp pretty much everyday, conversations are still pretty short and with busy schedules and 6 hour time differences, Skype sessions are few and far between. The blog and our Instagram winds up being the bestest way for us to keep in touch with our posts. We get all into each other’s spaces that way. I get to see what she’s learning and vice versa. It’s like we’re not thousands of kilometers apart. It also keeps me sane. We all know that’s a nice thing. In order to keep the wheels spinning, I’ve taken a couple of consulting gigs. But having this blog and being able to produce work that I’m truly proud of…I’m beyond thankful for it. They should package that feeling into a little pill.
C: Basically everything, which is how it should be, I think. We have changed the type of posts we do, and initially, we had plans for specific things that each of us would write about, but some of those haven’t been as interesting as we thought they might be. One of the biggest changes is how we work. We started by doing everything together, but realized that the benefit of having two people on the blog is having two distinctive voices. We have different ideas and styles, and having two perspectives involved makes the blog better. We both have things we tend to focus on, but we both love style, story telling, and food, and there are not rules as to who covers what. A year into blogging with Tiff, we trust each other to bring all of those ideas and styles to the page, and I am constantly thrilled by what it brings.
T: Oh my gosh. So much. We had all these plans and we thought we had infinite time when we first started the blog. And so much of that was influenced by what we saw other bloggers doing. But since then, we’ve whittled things down in attempts to keep it tight. I love colour and I thought I’d be doing a regular colour pairing series. We also wanted to more regularly cover fashion and style icons we love and emulate. And so many others. We’d still love to re-introduce those, but right now we’re keen to c0ntinue putting our time and effort original content and telling our own stories. Whether it’s Cait’s designs, or makers I’m meeting (and err..stalking) in different parts of the world, I feel like that’s what we’d like to focus on.
C: No clue. There are a lot of posts I love on this thing. The Alchemy Design Co post was one of our first interviews, and continues to be one of the coolest places in town. The Black Tie Remix post was fun to do because we both got to do things we hadn’t done before (modeling and fashion photography). The same goes for Tiff’s Romper post, and it was fun swapping roles and seeing her swagger in front of the camera, when she is usually behind it. I also really love John’s Fancy Booze posts, and the gif that Tiff made for Lin’s grey dress makes me happy every time.
T: Why did we think of this question? There are so many. I’m probably most proud of our first two Cool Kids interviews we started out 2015 with. I love reading Cait’s words and it was so wonderful to interview Alchemy Design Co. and the dudes behind Kettlebell Café. At the same time, Cait’s final cut are also super fun. One of our first photoshoots also turned out our first GIF. But very easily, any of John’s Fancy Booze posts also round up my faves.
Thank you again for visiting our blog. We love friends, so keep in touch! Reach us at caitandtiff@gmail.com and find us on Instagram @caitandtiff.
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