SHOW US YOUR SOCIAL - EMMA KATE CO

You may know Emma Kate [@EmmaKateCo] for her gorgeous travel photography, her knack for coffee iphoneography, her beautiful hand lettering, or her creative design projects that have us all scattering love and self-care. But, as I discovered straight up, we both have the voices of little girls, and we both got dressed that morning. *high five*  That is what I love about connecting with people that I follow on Instagram.  At first I’m nervous, and then I remember that they are real people too –and that’s what ShowUsYourSocial is about. To find a bit more about the WHO, and of course the HOW of some of the Instagram accounts we love, like and share.  

To me Emma Kate has created a life she loves. A life, and business, around what she loves to do.  If you're a creative, a dreamer, an explorer, an ideas woman - if you want to build your personal brand doing what you love >> then you'll love this interview.  Emma Kate is fast becoming an online powerhouse - collaborating with the likes of @FatMumSlim & @BlogSociety,  and I took a peek behind the curtain to see how she did it!  

You seem to be in a new city every few days - where in the world are you now?

I’m in Adelaide. This is my home and my base, so I’m here for the next few weeks.

How did EmmaKateCo get started?

Travel is everything to me, that’s why I live.  Design is my work. I’m just a girl that makes pretty things and has an obsession with the world.

I started on Instagram at the end of 2011. I was in France at the time and I remember my very first post. It was taken on my Parisian balcony and I used the Nashville filter—you know the one with the horrible border. I thought it was the bees knees! I didn’t even know there was a feed for Instagram, I just thought it was an app to add a filter before posting the pic to Facebook.

I’ve made lots of mistakes along the way, but I just do what feels right.

 How has social media helped you on your path?

For me, social media held the power to meld my two worlds—travel and  design— together.

Instagram makes the world a lot smaller. It connects you with people that you normally wouldn’t dare to talk to. It’s acceptable to reach out to your idols: I have my phone, they have their phone, and no matter where they are, all of a sudden we’re having a conversation.

When I started collaborating, I saw the benefits that a social media following enabled. Having a real sense of community opened doors.

What’s your biggest challenge with social media?

Instagram is beautiful and important, but it’s just a highlight reel of my amazing adventures. I do have days when I stay in my pajamas and work in my design cave.  It’s important for people to know that Instagram is not the whole picture. I keep it real, but I keep some things private.

What do you attribute to your online growth - was there a tipping point where followers came much more quickly? A magic number?

It’s exponential—the more followers I get, the faster I grow. Launching the second round of #scatterlove with Chantelle Ellem from FatMumSlim was an important project for me. It was the first thing I’d done since returning home from London and I was afraid that I wasn’t posting travel photos anymore. But people loved it!

I also started my blog around the same time and think that having a platform to post on, beyond Instagram, was a big step in the right direction.

How did Scatter Love start?

I approached Chantelle [@FatMumSlim] because we both had huge love for paper and stationary. I was terrified. She was so potent, well known, and loved, on social media –I put it off a whole year! Then one day, I was sick in bed with tonsillitis and I needed to make something. So I sent her an email and she said yes! We came up with the idea Scatter Love together, from a place of intention to do just that, scatter love. To send love, heartfelt love, via postcards, across the globe. And it was really beautiful to see how far it has reached.

What’s your SM routine?

I don’t have a strategy. I just post when it feels right.

When you get overwhelmed, what helps you stay motivated and on track?

I don’t really need to find motivation–because my work is so much fun, it really excites me.  

When I started I had no idea. I was, and still am, learning so much. I make mistakes. I try to keep perspective and trust that I’ll figure it out.

Your #bloglovefest initiative with Blog Society is all about self-care: how do you practice this in your everyday life?

I’ve got my new collection launching in the next few months, lots of trips planned and my first workshop booked in. Sometimes I forget to eat, and forget to sleep. But this new initiative has made me look at how I need to walk my talk and take care of myself. I’ve got April’s #bloglovefest quote ‘slow it down’ on my car dashboard to remind me to slow down, not literally as in speed limit, but to slow down in life!

The best advice you’ve ever been given and why did it help you…

My favourite quote is from American poet Mary Oliver: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” What is the point if we’re not living our dreams? Go for it!

What would you say to someone who was considering doing something similar but didn't know where to begin?

Life is on your side. We can be scared that its not going to work, but know that we are meant to be living our dreams. We are meant to be exploring what makes us excited.  If your message is coming from your heart –if your  ‘why’ is at the center of it, it will work. Jump and the universe will catch you.

Fave:

phone app – vsco cam

to follow – Jennifer Elizabeth.  A London based girl that shares beautiful coffee in cafésettings, but it’s her words, ideas and quotes that bring something else to her photographs. She’s poetic.

emoticon – sun with outline

new thing – wordswag

website/tool – coffitivity.  It plays you murmurs of conversation like being in a cafe. When you’ve working alone, it’s a nice familiar sound.

It’s my first workshop and I’m excited to share everything I’ve learnt and for people to just play. Everyone is creative, and when we play and have a go, we discover out creativity.

She’ll be bringing her experience teaching origami and scrapbooking at her local craft shop during school years, and of course her 4 years of rocking social media + her experience in how she built her 16k strong tribe, trusting her why and following her dreams.   Grab your tickets for what will no doubt be an amazing workshop.