We chat to founder (and photographer, designer and writer) of popular design blogs Studio Home and Junior’s. 
 

My first job was…Tailing lambs, carting hay and other jobs on my parents’ farm as a teenager… followed closely by ski instructing in the USA as a 19-year-old.

And now I’m… A full time design blogger and hunter of inspiring and exciting creative talent exclusively from New Zealand and Australia.

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be… In big trouble as there is nothing else I want to do! 

Talk us through a typical work day… Work days tend to be anything but typical for me. I am based from home and on a daily basis am communicating with brands/designers/artists/creative businesses and clever people to arrange blog posts, partnerships, advertising and often advice in regards to the online world! 

I am also super active across my social media channels and spend time not only sharing what I have featured online that day, but also following links to be introduced to content that is fresh and new for both blogs.

I also work ahead to arrange visits to shoot and interview creatives in their work spaces or homes across the country and in Australia. This is by far my most favourite part of what I do and the most popular features on my site.
I’m constantly working on various ideas to develop both my sites further and attempt to follow suit of those I interview to be an innovator within my industry. The internet down under is still so new and under-utilised – it’s kind of like the wild west and anything is possible!

I wound up in this line of work… By initially starting Studio Home as a way to promote my small interior design business in 2008 – I spent so much time researching products online that I could source from my Queenstown base and I recognised a strong and unfilled niche to share this content with a staunch focus on New Zealand and Australia. Turns out I loved this much more than interior design.

Coming soon to the Studio Home blog: house of interior designer Alex Fulton in Blenheim, Marlborough. Photo by Julia Atkinson

My first creative/artistic memory is… Pretending to be an interior designer using paint samples I had gleaned from my mum (they were shades of peach!) and filing my ‘projects’ in a large folder my dad had been given from an agricultural chemical company.

I’m inspired by… Every single go-getting creative that I interview. Without fail I walk away from each meeting having learned something valuable about survival, business, innovation and stickability from their personal history. I love it so much.

Pipe dream time: I’d love to peek inside the studio/home of… I’ve spent hours spent thinking about this. I’ve come to the conclusion its not one single person but instead, to travel to Europe to interview creative Kiwis and Australians seeking their own creative success far from home. (Also USA, Japan, and Bali.)

My tools of the trade are… Laptop, computer, hard drives, car, a life with very little responsibility apart from my own projects and a smile (for when I need to fake it until I make it!).

One thing I would like to achieve this year is… Finally launch my e-book and seminar series on ‘Online Media for Small Creative Business’, and get spreading the word that it is not as scary and hard as many think.

My work in three words is… Inspiring. Satisfying. Unlimited.