5 Happy Blogger Inspirations: We Are Social

Today's '5 Happy Inspirations' post is a bit different as you might notice. I am not presenting five happy home decor or furniture finds, but five happy and incredibly inspiring (not to mention successful) bloggers and friends. I've met them at the imm Cologne furniture fair at the 'We Are Social' panel this Monday. Five bloggers who inspire me ever since I started blogging. Five bloggers who managed to turn their blogs into businesses and who are real social media rockstars. And I am pretty sure you know all of them!

1. Holly Becker, the epitome of a design blogger and owner of decor8, one of the most inspiring and charming persons out there in bloggerland. I met Holly back in 2011 for the first time at her book party in Munich and attended her 'Blogging Your Way' e-course prior to launching my humble Happy Interior Blog. Holly reminded us all to speak and blog from the heart. Be open and think of what you want to share with the community out there!

2. Will Taylor, the colourful Mr. Bazaar of Bright.Bazaar, is one of my long time blogger friends or better yet blogging bro'. We share so many interests and likes that we call ourselves brothers separated by birth. It was great and refreshing to see him talk about the huge success of his blog and how we can boost our social media presence through smart networking. One tip I liked: look around your networks, ask for help if you have questions and don't feel intimidated. Its through collaborations that you can grow your blog.

3. Costas Voyatzis, the stylish and creative man behind the super successful Yatzer blog, came all the way from Athens. I was beyond happy to meet him and speak with him in person - he is such a cheerful and cool guy with lots of design knowledge and a refined aesthetic. He compared social media to cooking - it is about the ideas, ingredients and skills that you have to put into a good meal or a good blog. I loved his reference to a 'digital breakfast' - our common habit of checking all our social media accounts first thing in the morning. 

4. Steffi Luxat, the beautiful lady behind the über-cool German blog Ohhh...Mhhh... had a fabulous idea for her presentation. She asked her blog readers to send in short videos and tell us why they read her blog. It was absolutely lovely and touching to see how a blog can influence people and make them happy! Share things that make you happy and that will make others happy!

5. Micle-Mihai Cristian, the mastermind of the internationally renown blog Freshome, is a super cool guy with lots of personality. I enjoyed the way he presented his visions and the story how Freshome has become a platform for 40 million readers. He was very down-to-earth and highlighted the importance of tools to track your performance and detect areas that grow so that you know what works for your readers. I enjoyed speaking to him and have great respect for this guy!

Last but not least - here is one of my favorite slides from the panel discussion with five important reminders for every blogger out there - this was part of Costas' presentation. Oh and not to forget: I've met so many blogger friends from all over the world - old and new friends - during the event. I am so grateful for all the positive energy that was present! Thanks to each of you!

Photography by Igor Josifovic (excuse the poor photography due to unfavourable seating and difficult light)

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Currently I am in a crazy state of mind. I am a bit overwhelmed and excited for all the upcoming events and news. But let me give you a short insight into my frenzy: Yesterday I was telephone interviewed by one of Germany's national TV station for an upcoming online coverage of the furniture and design show imm in Cologne. Which leads me to the second point. On Monday I am off to Cologne to indulge in two days of furniture design and interior trends. Moreover, I will meet oh so many fellow bloggers and friends there. In my official day job function I will host a blogger lunch with some of my greatest blogger friends such as Holly of decor8, Will of Bright.Bazaar, Chedva of Rooms & Words, Nic of Luziapimpinella, Ricarda of 23 qm Stil, Clara of Tastesheriff and many more. After the lunch I will attend the blogger panel 'We Are Social' with Holly being the key note speaker and other superstar bloggers from Freshome, Yatzer and others. And then I will head over with some of my blogger friends to attend the Future Living Award hosted by Siemens Home Germany and Architectural Digest with the internationally renowned Italian architect Matteo Thun as a key note speaker. The next day I will visit a few exhibitors as part of the new German lifestyle blogger network blogSALON and I will meet up with Veronika of Modenus and her BlogTour Cologne crew. Oh, I am so, so excited! So much to do, so much to see, so much to learn, so much to take with me. But first I will enjoy the weekend. Oh and on Monday I will share with you some of my favorite shots from my holiday trip to Paris. Alors mes amis, have a happy weekend!

Photography via Selectism

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Happy Guest: Bright Bazaar

Hello, Happy Interior Blog readers! It's so fun to be guest blogging here today whilst Igor escapes to sunnier climes! My name is Will and I blog daily over at Bright.Bazaar about all things colourful and eclectic in interiors. I thought it would be fun to replicate one of Igor's fab regular features, Five Happy Inspirations, so here are my top five Must Haves of the moment:

1. I'm pretty sure my heart skips a beat each and every time I see the Wilmot sofa in the window of my local Habitat store. The Scandinavian simplicity appeals to my urge to keep key pieces of furniture pared-back - I like to use them as a canvas to add lots of colourful brights. Rest assured, if this piece made it into my Bright.Bazaar home, it would soon be acquainted with a pile of vibrant textiles. I'm thinking hot pink or yellow would be a match made in sofa heaven!

2. Another Habitat lust item is their Saunders rubber pendant, which I've been crushing on since I saw it at their press show in the height of the summer. The use of rubber makes the piece all the more interesting as you expect it to be metal at first glance. I also like how it has a light filter underneath to produce a softer pool of light.

3. I discovered Baines & Fricker at TENT London during London Design Festival and their take on the fruit crate is a winner in my book. I love how they've used both type and colour to create a striking graphic effect.

4. I've been waiting a while for Robert's radio to release one of their Retro Revival radios in a colour I could get down with. Well, their Mustard Yellow Radio certainly ticks that box, I love it.

5. To me, scrolling through School House Electric's emporium of lighting and office goodies is as enjoyable as being in a candy store is for a kid. The brand's yellow clock is hand assembled in Portland, Oregon and the second hand moves continuously - a must for me as I'm not a fan of ticking clocks in an office!

Thanks for reading, folks. If you like, you can find more colourful inspiration from me on my blog | facebook | twitter | pinterest.

Mr. Bazaar, aka Will

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Happy weekend, friends! This one will be pretty busy and inspiring here in Munich. After last year's winter expedition in Munich, my fellow blogger and friend Will aka Mr. Bazaar of Bright.Bazaar is inspiration chasing with me in Munich. I have prepared a long list of great cafés, restaurants, and interiors stores. All to be carefully examined, photographed and covered for a Munich special. I won't reveal more, Mr. Bazaar will tell you in due time. 

So while we will be hopping from one location to the other, giggling like nuts, shopping like maniacs, and snapping like weirdos, I wish you all a lovely weekend wherever you are. And don't forget to add a bit of colour and happiness!

Photography via Planete Deco

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From Place To Space: Munich With Mr. Bazaar

Today I am inviting you to a very special trip, one where I don't have to travel but be a happy host. Yes, I am inviting you to Munich today, the city I've lived in for the past five years. In order to give you the authentic feeling of being a guest in Munich, I invited one of my best blogger friends over, Will Taylor aka Mr. Bazaar from Bright.Bazaar. He spent a weekend in Munich and I was more than pleased to show him 'my city' after we'd met up a few times in London. From the start I knew this will be a bright and happy weekend! And so it was! Join us on a festive and inspiring day through the capital of Bavaria! Buckle up!

To boost my guest with energy, I took him for a good and yummy breakfast to one of my favorite spots in Munich, the Aroma Bar. We not only had a great breakfast but also enjoyed the creative and inspiring atmosphere of this shop-restaurant combo and took so many photos until the store owner approached us (who was very pleased we did all of this for our blogs).

Around noon it was time to take my guest to a solid and inspiring shopping trip. We strolled over Munich's oldest and most popular market, the Viktualienmarkt, and bought a few Christmas deco goodies (after all, we are human beings, right?) before we hit a few adorable interiors and decoration stores in the city centre like La Brocante, Depot, Obacht and La Maison Francaise, just to mention a few.

After a good retail therapy it was time to whet our appetite for art and culture. I took Mr. Bazaar to a recently opened gallery called Ponyhof Artclub where we enjoyed the photography exhibit, sipped a few cocktails and coveted the mid-century furniture. Later on it was time for a visit to my favorite Munich based museum, the Museum Brandhorst. A great selection of contemporary art by big names like Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst appeased our desire for art. 

The late afternoon was reserved for some compulsory sightseeing. Parks, architecture, famous squares and monuments were on the itinerary. We also climbed the famous Alte Peter tower (Old Peter's Tower) to have a fantastic bird's view of downtown Munich. A little coffee break in the beautiful Hofgarten park was included of course.

After walking around and dusk had fallen, it was time to warm up with mulled wine at one of the many Christmas markets. We enjoyed the festive fairy lights, illuminated Christmas trees, enchanting wintery scents, the joyous atmosphere and lots and lots of handmade Christmas decoration and ornaments that caught our eye (and camera lenses).

So, did you like our little 'From Place To Space' trip to Munich? If you want to read and see more jump over to Bright.Bazaar. Hope to welcome you soon for our next happy trip!

Photography by Will Taylor and Igor Josifovic

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Big news: This weekend is not only going to be 'happy' but also 'bright'. I am hosting Mr. Bazaar aka Will Taylor from Bright.Bazaar this weekend and showing him the cheers and joys of festive pre-Xmas Munich. Our agenda is pretty tight: Christmas markets, shopping, sightseeing, shopping, museum, eating, coffees, sightseeing, Christmas markets, restaurants and Christmas markets. I am pretty excited to show Will around and introduce him to the city I've been living in for the past five years. And I am sure we won't have just fun, but we'll have many more creative ideas for our blogs. And if you wonder what happens when Mr. Bazaar and Mr. Happy meet up for a happy & bright weekend - stay tuned, I will share our ideas and experiences here! Have a great one, folks!

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