I've been a busy bee recently. All of the various events and previews are starting up behind the scenes and I will yet again be adding many items to a never-ending wishlist. It's a good thing my tastes are so versatile. My main connection with Laura Ashley has been finding a few of their vintage garments at various charity shops and flea markets and wondering what the story was behind them. The company has been around since 1953 and picked up on various trends such as the printed scarves Audrey Hepburn wore and reinterpreted Victorian silhouettes in the late 60s. Now in 2012, their successful blog has been running for a year and a few of us gathered together to celebrate the achievement (as we all know how tricky it is to keep such things going) amongst treats from The Vintage Patisserie and soothing music by Liz Lawrence.
Creating a successful online outpost for a brand is a particular skill, it should feel natural, never too sparse and find creative yet considered ways of sharing its ethos. I feel that there are only a few examples where the blog could truly survive in its own right (it seems the Guardian was reading my mind as I found an article that matches some of my views) and it really comes down to carefully imagining the brand as a person and the things they would like to see and do. Luckily the Laura Ashley blog ticks all of the above boxes, sharing any discoveries beautifully amongst recipes, interviews and insights into the company. A room above their Kings Road shop was adorned with some festive wares and there was even a tree where you could choose a present, lucky dip style. I think this was the precise moment where I realised that Christmas is just over two months away and the prospect of special stuffing and never-ending pigs in blankets was an exciting one. Has the festive feeling kicked in for you yet?
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This looks like so much fun, I do love Laura Ashley, they seem to pay attention to the details which is always a good thing!
ReplyDeleteMaria xxx
I couldn't make it along to this one unfortunately, gutted!
ReplyDeleteDid you get to try the perfume? How was it.
Looks like they have lots of lovely things for Christmas x
Great issue to raise, I've done brand blogging for years and its incredibly difficult - when you get it wrong, it really clunks. Look forward to seeing where this side of the industry ends up going x
ReplyDeletea blog birthday party, don't think it's ever hear of one of these before. nice excuse for a knees up
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely interesting - the brand blog birthday! I am loving all the tea and cocktails malarky. So my kind of thing too!
ReplyDeleteIt is so true that it is hard to make a post that presents genuinely a place, its atmosphere and all without getting into the publicity thing. I really like your blog by the way, I'm a new follower from Quebec and I just love it! Those pictures in this post seems like an English Dream to me, nice cups of tea, and flowers everywhere.
ReplyDeleteOlive xox