Great Expectations!

Oct 14

Oct 14 Great Expectations!

Feeling a little in the mood to ponder and reflect my blogging Journey thus far I decided to check the date of my very first post this morning as I couldn't quite remember the year LOL..... (it was 22 of September 2015) I found myself nostalgically reading through some of the first attempts I had at writing a blog post and what I thought were my "best efforts" at that moment in time.

Much as I'm trying to recall my reasons for starting a blog at all I can't seem to find one or remember why I did....There was no big ideas in my head or no grand dream or means to an end... There was however, a feeling of wanting to be free and being able to say whatever I wanted and I suppose my reason for starting it is so deep rooted in my physic self that I don't quite understand it on a more practical level.

However, what I do know is that I needed to do it and release that "pent up" part of myself that I had folded and tucked away for quite a number of years. I had plenty of passions and interests and felt very strongly about the idea of re-using "stuff" and not saturating the planet. I was doing this constantly in my own life. I was always wearing clothing that I would have picked up from a charity shop etc , or re-purposing (upcycling) an old piece of furniture that most people wouldn't have wanted. I decided to write about my life and my projects and my collection of quirky weird and wonderful clothing that had been collected over the years.

And so VIOLINKIT was born . The name of my blog..........Hmmmmm............It was a nickname I had acquired when I was in school and growing up in Thurles in Co. Tipperary. I won't say here who first decided that VIOLINKIT was a super nickname for me (and secretly and begrudgingly I thought it was rather a clever name too) but it was born out of a combination of my first name Kathryn and the fact I was a classical musician who played Violin........Hence VIOLINKIT!!!!!!!!!!!

I was always worried that it would stick with me as a teenager and in my twenties but as the years went by and I left Thurles and headed to college and work etc it too faded into the distant past. I hadn't thought about the name until 2015 when I was trying to come up with a name for my blog. I had all sorts of vintage and fashion themed names on my list and then I remembered...... I laughed to myself when I re-called the memory and the boy who first dreamt it up... Just as quickly I dismissed it and went back to the drawing board to re-think. However try as I might I couldn't get the name out of my head and so I gave in.....

So now its October 2017 and my blog and I have travelled a very unpredictable journey. There have been highlights.....being awarded the Silver Award (second place) in the VbyVery Ireland Blog Awards just a week ago the pinnacle so far. It was a huge positive for me and Violinkit and one I had never dreamt would happen this year. Now that it has I'm kinda dazed as to what to do next....do I continue doing exactly as I have been ...or do I up my game and really work to improve on my weaknesses....

The night of the awards on the 5th of October was a great fun and vibrant event. It was sponsored by VbyVery from Littlewoods Ireland and all ten fashion finalists were dressed head to toe in VbyVery designs . I was given a choice of outfits to pick from their "New In" range and I was not disappointed by the variety of choice I had to choose from. I was allowed to pick an entire outfit plus shoes and accessories . I felt like a child in a candy store.

So lovely this butter soft leather dress by VbyVery.

The deep fringing gives it a vintage native american vibe.

I was aware however, that VIOLINKIT was all about a "fashion fusion" between modern and vintage so I did my best to keep within the boundaries of this theme. I chose an amazing leather black dress with deep fringing that ran around the hem and chased its way up on the side slit of the dress. It swayed and danced as I moved around the room and I truly enjoyed my Pocahontas moment in the sun. It was a delightful vintage inspired tribute of homage to unique Native American style. My caged style black satin sandals were surprisingly comfortable and very flattering on the leg. Lastly my delightful bag with its Marou feather handle and Gucci style frontal design paid great homage to all the velvet themed accessories that are so on trend for A/W17.

The velvet front on this bag and pretty embellished buckle give it a real sumptuous feel.

Couldn't believe how comfy these sandals were on the night.

My wonderful ensemble of treasures that awaited me on the night.

All in all, I was a very happy bunny making my way to the awards night (which took place in the Academy on Lower Abbey Street in Dublin) in all my sumptuous finery curtsy of VbyVery. A very big THANK YOU! ....(NO pun intended....Ha Ha!)

Lastly , just curious if any of you fellow bloggers have experienced competing in blogging competitions etc and how have they affected your blogging career with regard to opportunities?Would love to hear all your opinions and thoughts on this one. Talk soon.

Lots of love VIOLINKIT XXX