Guest Blogger Marianne, Nordic Bliss.

As promised earlier on today, I would like to introduce Guest Blogger, Marianne from Nordic Bliss blog and owner of  her online shop,  I'm very excited to be able to have Marianne here today, as I have been following her blog for a while now and watching as her new online venture unfolds,  I'm sure you will find Marianne's  post an inspiration and pleasure to read,  Enjoy!

Hello, my name is Marianne and I've been given the honour to be a guest blogger on This Home Sweet Home. You probably haven't heard of me before so I thought I would start with an introduction. I'm 26 years old and was born in the very North of Norway, up where the sun doesn't shine in the winter and never sets in the summer. After 5 years in Norway our family moved to Sweden, then we moved to Denmark, then we moved back to Sweden, and then (I know, I know, I've written "moved" too many times already) about 5 years ago I decided to move to England to study bringing my Swedish boyfriend with me.

Photographer Ditte Isager

Since then I've finished my studies and gotten married to that Swedish boy. Together we have started to become quite settled here in the UK. Furnishing and decorating our little flat and the rest of the process of creating a home has sparked my interest in interiors and designs. For years I could sit for hours looking through lovely blogs and interior magazines to get inspiration for our own place.

Picture from Alvhem

As I was hunting for pieces for our home I didn't always find what I had in mind and other times when I did find something I liked it was not in a price range of a newly graduated young couple. Being a bit of an optimist who starts projects without realising just how much work is involved I decided to start my own shop - Nordic Bliss (and after convincing my other half that this was a great way to spend our savings). It's our little space online where we sell carefully selected yet affordable products from Nordic brands. I try to focus on smaller brands that are not high street but have potential to become great. So far we have products from Hubsch, Madam Stoltz, Lapland W Design, Ylva Skarp and Shyness.

Pictures from Boligmagasinet and DesignoForm

I've collected a few products that would help keep me warm these cold winter days.

1. Pillow from Fine Little Day 2. Wall paper from Bodie and Fou 3. Teapot and Cup by Höganäs from The Lollipop Shoppe 4. Wool rug from Nordic Bliss 5. Felt basket from Nordic Bliss 6. Log side table from West Elm

It has taken time to find out what "my" style is and of course I have moments when I fall in love with pieces that wouldn't really go well with anything else in our home. But after years of searching I've come to realise that there is a deep rooted Scandi inside me (surprise!). I want white bright rooms - a Scandi cliché perhaps, but as I mentioned - the sun doesn't come up in the winter - we need all the light we can get. Details in natural materials such as cotton and linen and pieces and accents in wood to bring nature inside.

Picture from Livet Hemma (Ikea Live)

I also blog so if you want to see more pictures like these here you are welcome to visit me there.

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Thanks once again to Marianne for kindly agreeing to be my Guest Blogger today.

Guest post, Christina Greve of Divas and Dreams.

Hello everybody, today I am delighted to introduce you to the lovely Christina Greve (who I'm sure needs no introduction)  writer and photographer of Divas and Dreams blog.  I first discovered Christians blog  while taking part in the Blogging Your Way course run by Holly Becker (Deco8) back in 2010, and have been an avid fan ever since, and been meaning to have Christina as guest for ages now!

Christina's Blog struck a cord with me, her photography has  such a lovely aesthetic about it, and at the time I had just started an AS level photography course at my local college.  I was very interested in  learning that Christina is a self taught photographer, and her blog  is full of very beautiful  photography that I just love, and,  I am pleased to say that I will be taking part in Christina photography workshop very soon!

So I thought it would be great to have Christina as guest here on This Home Sweet Home to share with you some of her thoughts on photography, blogging, and running her workshops.  So without further ado I give you Christina Greve,

So Christina welcome to This Home Sweet Home its lovely to finally have you as a guest here.  Make yourself at home and grab a cuppa of your favourite drink....Which is...? 

Coffee - to be exact; nespresso with sugar and creme..lol... I drink to many of those during the day but it makes me happy :-)

Would you mind telling us a little about yourself,  background and what you did before taking up photography?

I´m 37 years old and from Denmark. I take portraits of women only and shoots boudoir and nude too. I love, love, love to photograph women! I have lived abroad for 10 years but we are back in our home town Aarhus now - both me and my husband grew up here, actually we where born in the same apartment building since my parents lived right above his parents. I have never really settled anywhere and I´m always on the search for inspiration. The worst feeling I know is to be bored...lol.. Before I became a full time photographer I had my own psychology clinic and had many great years work with coaching, mindfulness, cognitive therapy and meditation. My background as a therapist has definately helped shape me as the photographer that I have become. Both in relation to my messages and my visual expression, and in the contact with the women that I photograph. Very soon they feel comfortable and relaxed, which is of outermost importance for the pictures to be excellent. Furthermore, I have painted art pictures for many years, and not least my background knowledge of colour, contrast and composition gives me strength, when I work with photography

Have you always had an interest in photography and when did you first discover the love for taking photos.

It started when I was a teenager. I got my own analog camera at 13 after saving for month. I learned everything about developing my own pictures in the darkroom and was very excited, but I really dreamed about being a fashion designer and at the age of only 15 I hosted my own fashion show...lol... I was so ambitious.... but my parents always told me that it was IMPOSSIBLE to make a living by being an artist and only a few "made it" to the top. I know they meant it in a good way and just wanted me to get a good secure education, so after a few years in art school I gave in and gave up believing in myself. I took a good education, I got married and got 3 lovely kids....everything creative seemed fare away and I had to become 35 years old before I found photography again...can you believe that! A few years ago I lost a loved one and during the grieving process I picked up a digital camera. It gave me so much comfort and support during that very hard time in my life and it helped me rediscover how much being creative meant to me.

What kind of camera, lens and equipment do you personally use? 

I shoot with Canon EOS 7D and often have either a Canon 550D or a analog camera as a second one - just to create different perspectives. I´m very close to invest in a Canon 5D but I´m not sure my husband agrees..lol.. other than that I use a reflector and fill boards to help me get good light. Oh and I can´t shoot with out my tripod....it´s just the way it is - I want those tack sharp eyes!

Do you have a favourite time of year/place, space lighting conditions that you like?

I love the time from May until September, the light is wonderful to work in when shooting in natural light only. I struggle a lot during winter because that time of year is very cold and dark in Denmark where I live. At the moment I am preparing myself for the winter by learning to work with strobes - honestly I never thought I would go in that direction but if I want great photos during winter time there is no way around it. At the moment I´m investing in Profoto light which is very expensive but gives beautiful light and done the right way it can look almost as you used daylight. My favorite light to shoot in is in the golden sun - just before the sun goes down, it´s so flattering and beautiful!

I find that quite often , photography and blogging seem go hand in hand  especially with homes and interiors blogs, can you give us, say, 3 or 4 tips for taking a great photo at home, with just a camera to create a  photo for a a blog.  

I can sure try :-)

Find the best/biggest window you have. Make sure to shoot during the day when the light is best but avoid harsh sunshine which will make your pictures really ugly with dark shadows. If the sun is to harsh you can use white curtain/bath curtain to cover for the harsh sun. The more soft light you have available the better. When I do still life or food photography I use a white board to put everything on and I use foam boards/reflectors to eliminate shadows. Here is 9 tips to think about:

1. Ask yourself this “Which story do I wish to tell with this picture? Sometime the story is just about a new pillow that you have made or the color of a pretty apple - the story dosent have to be big. But the story needs to get all the viewers attention.
2. Know that the background can make or brake a photo so remove distraction.
3. Move closer to your subject, frame it with your camera instead of cropping it in Photoshop.
4. Adjust White Balance before you shoot.
5. Avoid harsh shadows - it´s not so pretty.
6. Use natural light as much as you can - no direct flash and no direct sunlight.
7. Play with depth of field and create a sharp focus.
8. Keep moving things in your settings and try different possibilities.
9. Use tripod and a reflector.

Wow, thank you for those 9 great tips!  

Did you find any resources, books ,blogs, magazines etc useful when you first started out?

Oh my I did read a lot of blogs back then to find inspiration, today I don´t have so much time for it anymore. I was very much inspired by flickr and all the amazing photos to find there and I made some great friends from flickr a long the way too who still inspires me today. Today I´m also a huge fan of pinterest and instagram - those site gives me great inspiration too. I also took the e-course blogging your way with Holly from decor8 which really helped me getting to know all I needed to know about blogging. I will truly recommend it to all bloggers.

You've gone on to set your self up as a photographer, specializing in photographing women, but you also have lots of lovely photos on your blog of still life/lifestyle shoots, which do you enjoy more, styling and setting up a still life or styling and setting up to capture the perfect shot of your model?

My favorite thing is for sure to style women up, setting a scene, tell a story and capture their portraits. I do all styling myself except for makeup, so then I hire a makeup artist. I love food photography but it´s not my strongest side, just something I do for fun to relax.

Which brings me on to my next question,  when you are not taking photos how do you like to relax, and do you find it difficult working from home to get the right balance?

Relax what is that? Lol... I work too much and if I don´t work I think about work..haha.. honestly some days I work 12 hours... but I never see it as work, I see it as playing. Most of the time I´m at home in front of the computer doing post processing, preparing workshop material, preparing shoots, doing business, blogging, answering emails ect. So when my kids come home from school I´m always here, I´m always available for them and in the afternoon we often go out on a cafe to drink hot chocolate and chat or we will sit along time around the dinner table talk about things we love. My kids are teenagers and lucky me we have the same strong interest and passion for art, music, photography, film and fashion - so there is never a dull moment at my house. My kids inspire me so much and they are also my best friends. We are a very close family. But if I really need peace I will take a long walk in the woods with my husband and our dog - I love that so much and of course it´s even better if it includes a lunch right after - I just love food :-) or I will get a massage or lay in bed and read magazines...ahhh...

You recently started running your very own Divas and Dreams photography workshop, (which I am really looking forward to taking part in) that must be a great feeling, being able to get to a  point where you can pass on your knowledge to other's.  How is it all going and are you enjoying it?  

I´m so happy that you are joining my workshop - that is fantastic! Thank you so much for that. Well the upcoming workshop is only my second one and it sold out in 4 days. I´m used to teaching from my earlier job, but of course it´s new to me to teach photography. I´m no master at all the technical stuff - yet...smile, but I feel I´m very strong on creativty, working with people, posing, styling, blogging and running a business so on those subjects my students will get great information. Most of the women who join my workshops know me from my blog, they know my personality and my style, so they know I´m no tech nerd, but I do know what is needed to make good pictures and I try my best to teach that in a simple, fun and understandable way. I´m just so grateful to be able to teach so many lovely women about my passion and I always learn from them too - I love that. The workshop is a five week long journey and the one in August is sold out, the next one will be held in November. For those interested they can sign up on my mailing list or join the blog or facebook. That way they will know the dates as soon s possible. I love teaching so much that I´m preparing brand new material on portrait retouching and it will be released in the end of this year...yay :-)

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Thank you so much Christina for taking the time to join us here today, and sharing with us how you found your way back to photography, and a little about your self and your beautiful photographs.   Its been lovely to have you, and I look forward to taking part in your workshop very soon.

Interview with....

I received an email just this week from Katie who is the founder of http://www.cocomale.com/, she wanted to introduce her lovely homes and accessories products, sourced from around the world such as Indonesia,Vietnam, Swaziland and Morocco. Well I just had to have a peek, and as well as finding some great products at http://www.cocomale.com/, also discovered that Katie has been one very busy lady in the last couple of years, not only has she changed Career direction, but has set up her own business, expanded into interior design by mail, and is planning her forth coming wedding! Wow I had to find out more about this lady. So grab yourself a cuppa and have a read of our little cyber chat.

Products from the Arabian collection

Over the last couple of years you have been a very busy lady, can you tell us the reason for moving from investment banking to starting your own home and accessories website coco male?

It was a combination of things – boredom with what I was doing (as I’d been doing it for 7 years by then), I was unhappy with the environment and the people in general as it was becoming more and more money- orientated (and consequently less ethical) and my entrepreneurial gene was tugging at me relentlessly to do something on my own!!

whats your own personal style when it comes to the interiors of your home?
My favourite look is undoubtedly the ethnic look, but like Coco Målé, I don’t have just one style.
My living room is a mix of Far East/ Moroccan style, while my bedroom is Scandy chic style in sea blue and white!

The website sells unique products from around the world, have you done lots of travelling, and if so where is your favourite place and why

To be honest, I really don’t have as much time as I’d like to go travelling (when I started I thought I’d be spending 6 months a year in Asia!), but yes I have been fortunate enough to visit quite a few lovely places around the world... Two of my favourite places are Rome – it combines history, with great food and shopping, and New York (of course!), but for product sourcing, Asia and Africa are my key destinations. My most recent trips were to Marrakesh, Kenya and Zanzibar and we have another trip to Vietnam coming up in the Fall.

In your blog you mention your family a little, have they been an influencing factor with regards moving into interiors?

No, the contrary in fact. Most members of my family are involved in interiors in one way or another so I guess I got the bug from them, but they really really didn’t want me to go down that route and convinced me to study economics instead of architecture at university... So as you can imagine, they were horrified when I announced I was leaving banking!

Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding, I see from your blog that your fiance is keen for you to have a relaxing honeymoon (no working!), are you always on the look out for items while you are away to add to the website?

Yes, everywhere I go and I have to contain myself at times not to spend all the company’s cash!!! I’m always on the lookout for things, even if it’s not for buying purposes - I go to competitors’ shops to see what they’re selling, check out what kind of décor restaurants or hotels have and browse the Internet for hours on end...

when you get time to relax what do you like to do?

I like being outdoor as much as possible, so I spend a lot of time in London’s parks, with Coco of course, usually playing fetch or chase on my rollerblades, something I would definitely miss if I ever returned to Greece. I also go to many aerobics and yoga classes (need to shift some pounds before the wedding) and as a typical Greek, I love cooking and eating!!!

You are Originally from Greece, do you miss it?

I’ve been in London for nearly 11 years now, most of my adult life, so in many ways I’m more of a Londoner than an Athenian, but I do miss my family and the food and it is that much harder in the summer when I go back home and my friends are all super tanned! My dad always makes fun of me and says my arms are like loaves of bread (white, not wholemeal bread that is)!!

Products from the Manhattan range

what has been some of the highs and lows of setting up in business, and have you got any tips for people thinking of changing Career direction?

The highs are every time we get a lovely email from a customer saying they were delighted with their purchase or when we get a mention in a major glossy and of course the fact that I can be with little Coco 24/7! The lows – where do I start?! Not receiving any orders at all in the first few days even though 53 people visited the site (I hadn’t heard of conversion ratios back then!); sending e-mail upon e-mail to the press only to be ignored; managing to finally get a product placement in a major newspaper only to find out that the specific product has just been discontinued by the manufacturer (Murphy’s law); rude customers who claim they never received their parcel when we clearly have their signature; or customers giving us a bad review because they tried to call us once at 5.50pm and we were already closed (as opposed to 6pm - yes, we do have some of those unfortunately)... I am a firm believer that one should always do what the heart says, but I would advise people to really think it through properly before making a career move, to be prepared for a lot (and I mean a lot) of hard work, practically no income in the first few years and to remember that all jobs have their problems – the grass is not always greener on the other side. Also, for anyone thinking of running their own business, I have 3 words: self-motivation, persistence and patience.

The products for the website are sourced from developing and third world countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Swaziland, Morocco and you also have fair trade, Eco- friendly and recycled products, why is this and do you think it is important to support and provide fair trade, and Eco friendly products.

Not all our products are fair trade or eco-friendly and I don’t select products solely on that basis, but yes I do make a conscious effort to source as many of these as possible. I think the world, including myself, has come to realise that it’s just not ok to satisfy our consumerism to the detriment of the environment or young children being exploited and it is worth it to pay that bit extra to ensure this. I’m also a big fan of handmade items and good old craftsmanship, which is why most of our products are sourced from countries like Indonesia and Swaziland and not China for example...

and finally your little Yorkie dog is called Coco, is the website named in his honour?

I had the concept and name for the website before I got Coco (although the website was officially launched later on) so it’s actually the other way round!! But it’s funny because people always think it’s pronounced coco male (mail) and so think I’ve named the company after Coco who is a male dog!!

Katie also has a lovely blog which you can find at here check out some Yummy delicious cakes here You can find more lovely global homes and accessories at http://www.cocomale.com/

Thanks to Katie for sharing with us an insight into her new business, and I wish her the best for the future.