All photos in this post from Victoria's Instagram
Victoria is by far one of my favourite bloggers, but not to only read her blog, but to work with. Classy, gracious and genuinely a lovely person who I am super proud to call a friend. Making a massive name her herself in the blogging world, but
doing it her own way and with such inimitable style and sparkle. Not only does she research, write, and take photos for her blog Inthefrow she is also a Lecturer in Fashion Retailing, a fashion retail graduate and
fashion doctorate grad. (Not a lot going on then!) This is why we decided that Victoria is most defiantly an inspiration - and asked her to tell us about what she does, and how she fits it all in! Hope you enjoy!
Tell us about what you do.
In the daytime Im a fashion retail lecturer at the University of Manchester after nearly finishing a fashion PhD.
What does an average day at work look like for you?
An
average day includes writing lectures, possibly marking or chatting
with students about work, giving my lectures to 120 students or writing
my thesis. I do love it though.
Do you primarily work alone or with other people?
Generally alone or with another lecturer, but we always come together as a group every now and again to talk ideas over.
Is this what you wanted to do as a child? Did you end up in this job by “accident” or was it a planned career choice?
No
by accident really. After my degree I fell into the PhD and after that
it is the natural progression to move into lecturing. So that’s where I
am now.
But
then I have my blog, so lets talk about that. Its far more fun. I had
no idea I would get into blogging, so it was totally unplanned and a
great surprise.
How long ago did you start on this path?
Around 20 months ago now, in October 2012 I started blogging.
How long were you doing it before you made it into your career or primary form of income?
Its
not quite my primary form due to my actual job, but I would probably
say in a year or so I could make it my primary income if I wanted to. So
I guess 2 and a half years?
Did anything significant happen to get you to that point, or was it a series of small steps?
To the point its at now, it was small steps to build it all up and make it what it is now.
What kind of education do you have?
Almost at PhD level now, depending on me getting these corrections written, arghhh.
Do you think official qualifications are important for someone entering your industry?
For
someone who wants to get blogging, perhaps not so much unless you want
to brand yourself as an expert. Otherwise anyone with a fab personality
and a great way of writing can do well in blogging.
If
you went to school, did you enjoy studying? Could you see where it
might lead you at the time? What advice would you give to someone else
who might be studying to get into your industry?
I
did love studying yes. I was quite an inquisitive child and loved to
learn new things mainly. I studied textiles and art and hoped it would
lead me to fashion design, but it turned out I loved marketing much
more.
What do you think is the best thing about what you do?
Blogging
gives you a pretty cool social life. Lots of events, parties and
champagne to drink plus the opportunity to meet some awesome people.
What’s the worst thing?
It takes up the majority of my spare time because I’m addicted to it.
Would you call yourself a workaholic, & if so, are you alright with that? Do you think that’s normal for your industry?
Definitely.
At the moment I’m struggling with how much I have to do, but otherwise I’m extremely determined to do well in my career so it doesn’t really
bother me.
What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?
I
would say you have to have something different now to do this as there
are so many bloggers out there already. You need to be innovative.
...How about number two?
Dont just do it for the products. Do it because you love to write and you want to build it into something amazing.
What do you wish you had known when you first started out?
I wish I had known how fantastic it would be and how much time it would take up due to my love for it.
Are there any major misconceptions about your job or industry?
People may think its a breeze, but in fact its really hard work and takes up so much of my time.
Do you ever have any ethical dilemmas with the work you do?
I
often worry about people thinking I’m selling them too much stuff and
that they’ll think Ive sold out. But I only talk about products I love, so
I hope that doesn’t happen.
What is the best thing that’s happened to you as a consequence of the work you do?
I’ve won a Company award, modelled for some incredible brands and gotten to meet some awesome people.
What motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
Im
motivated every day by how amazing my followers are, and the feeling
that I want to give them something new to read every day. And also the
idea of being able to do it full time drives me on further.
Who do you look up to within your industry & why?
I
love bloggers such as Native Fox and Beauty Crush who just ooze style
and seem so lovely. Id love to sit down and have coffee with them some
day!
Rate how happy you are with what you do out of 100 (100 being the best, 0 being devastatingly awful) on an average day.
I would say I am around 75. Still hoping to do better but so proud of my achievements so far!
Is there much career progression available to you? What would you like to do next?
With blogging there will be an end point and at that time, Id love to start my own business. So we will see :)
Do you think you’ll continue doing this for the rest of your life?
Definitely not, but I will certainly do something in a similar niche. Fingers crossed!
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