As a part of our #DesignforHealth campaign, coming up this February, we are lucky enough to be working with some of the countries most exciting lifestyle bloggers.
One of our first collaborations is going to be with #TidyLife’s Antonia Ludden. Although focused on home and interiors, Antonia also writes beauty, fitness, fashion and family weekend lifestyle features and was up for the challenge of styling Black + Blum products and coming up with some lunch recipes for us.
Image credit: Antonia Ludden, #TidyLife
A mancunian and mum of three boys, Antonia has been running her blog since 2012 and is a huge interiors enthusiast.
One of her 2018 interiors goals is to try the ‘Kon Mari’ approach of de-cluttering. Marie Kondo’s ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying’ was originally released in 2014 and inspired many homeowners with her approach to decluttering based on her native Japanese values, in order to surround yourself with items that make you feel happy. Inspired by Marie Kondo’s new book ‘Spark Joy’, Antonia says in her New Year Goals post: “ ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying’ was a big hit with lots of people a couple of years or so ago, but I studiously ignored it then as I didn’t feel that I had the energy to tackle a major home overhaul. However, I’ve just bought her newer title, Spark Joy, as the ‘new me’ is ready for a radical clear out. I figure this tried and tested method is definitely worth a shot, so I’ll let you know how it goes!”
Antonia’s openess to a Japanese approach to organising a home, struck a real chord with the Black+Blum team. One of our founders Martin Blum’s wife is Japanese and inspiration for our very first Box Appetit product came from the traditional bento box that he would bring to work. It was beautifully designed and presented the Japanese food inside in a much more desirable way than standard food containers. Looking at lunch boxes in the western market, we realised that children had the option of fun lunch boxes, but for adults, there was very little on the market. This inspired us to redesign the lunchbox and was the starting point for the whole Box Appetit range.
Ahead of our collaboration with her, we caught up with Antonia to ask her five burning questions:
What is your most memorable moment of your blogging career so far?
I think being offered my first collaborative opportunity, which was with DFS – it was nice to have my blog recognised and to be invited into a professional studio to style a room set. Very exciting!
What impact has blogging had on your life / career?
It has enabled me to have a good deal of flexibility in my day, which is great – I can do the school run, but blogging is very time-consuming and I often work at weekends and in the evenings to meet deadlines, and you never really switch off from social media conversations and keeping track of everything.
How do you stay inspired about interiors?
There are always new collections arriving in stores and trends emerging, so I never get bored, I’m always excited to see what is new. Also I find Instagram a great source of inspiration, some people are so talented at decorating and styling their homes, I love seeing all that creativity.
Is there anything in the interiors world at the moment that is really exciting you?
I’m loving tropical prints in wallpaper and curtains and velvet sofas!
What do you think is going to be a big trend this year?
I think our love affair with plants will continue and lots of macrame planters, wall hangings and tasselled boho-inspired cushions and ethnic rugs will continue to be huge for SS18.
Antonia is going to be working with us creating recipes and styling some of our Box Appetit products, including our Box Appetit lunch box and thermos flasks