lovely little inspiration: audrey lin of brunch at audrey’s on blogging, writing, & photography

Audrey Lin of Brunch at Audrey's

Audrey Lin of Brunch at Audrey’s

Happy, Happy Monday, All!

This morn I have a wonderful little interview with Ms. Audrey for you…

I stumbled upon Brunch at Audrey’s by complete chance just several months ago, and am so very glad I did. From the moment I landed on her homepage, I knew that her personal lifestyle blog would be an absolute favorite read of mine. And I was totally right.

Audrey is a remarkably talented writer and photographer, and it is such an honor to feature her here on Lace & Lilacs today. Audrey – thank you so, so much for answering the questions below. Everyone else – I hope you enjoy this post.


1) When and why did you begin blogging? Was there something or someone in particular that inspired you?

A new friend at summer camp told me to make a Tumblr account and follow her, so I did, because I figured it’d be a good way to start a budding friendship (it worked). It came in handy junior year of high school and fed my procrastination habits.Tumblr is great. You keep on scrolling and scrolling, consuming the never-ending supply of pretty pictures, clever text posts, funny GIFs, cute animals, cute guys… Then it started consuming me. Everyone wants to gain followers. People want things quick. You burn through the original content and are left with repeats. Many sacrifice authenticity for what they think will gain them the most notes.On September 30, 2013, the beginning of my senior year of high school, I decided that I didn’t have to limit Tumblr to a micro-blogging platform and so created my personal lifestyle blog with the help of Kevin, who blogs over at Thou Swell. He inspired and introduced to me the world of lifestyle blogging, where people curate and create their own content. It appealed to me at once, because there’s something very fulfilling about making something of your own and putting it out there, and possibly becoming a source of inspiration for someone else too.I also found this to be a perfect opportunity to pick up a different kind of diary-writing. I’ve started several diaries and finished none, and figured that expressing myself through a different medium would do the trick. I’ve always liked the idea of documenting my life and being able to look back to it years later, like a time capsule.I’ve since switched platforms to Blogspot and have taken a different direction with the blog, although I’m still not quite sure which direction I’m taking it in… which is a great metaphor for my life I guess haha.

2) So, Audrey, you were born in Los Angeles, raised in Beijing, and are Taiwanese by blood. Now you’re attending college in the states! How have your experiences in these different places effected your outlook on the world?

I lived abroad and studied at an international school for eight years, which gave me travel opportunities I never would have otherwise had. I remember going to Moscow for a choir festival, Bangkok for a swim meet (with my best friend and without my parents, which was so much fun), and Sichuan to rebuild houses, amongst many other trips.Something I noticed about the international community is that we like to think we’re worldly because we’ve seen more places. But that’s a delusion, because no matter where we are, we’re stuck in our own little bubble, and that’s what I didn’t realize until college.I’ve just finished my first year of college, about to start my second, and it’s easily been one of the most transformative experiences in my life. I have no doubt that it will continue to transform me over the next three years. The people I’ve met are the most empowered, passionate, purposeful, driven, clever, funny, cool, quirky people I’ve ever met. We’ve had conversations that have made me laugh, made me think, made me question, made me uncomfortable, left me wanting more. At college I’m constantly challenged and so is my outlook on the world.
By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey's

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey’s

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey's

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey’s

3) Do you have a favorite post on your blog? If so, what is it?

Ah this is so hard to choose! My blog is a personal lifestyle blog, which means that most (if not all) posts come hand in hand with memories. I’m not sure whether my answer will be for your question, what my favorite blog post is, or unintentionally steer toward the unasked question of what my favorite blog-documented memory is.

With that being said, my “favorite post” is So College. It doesn’t show the greatest sample of photography like this one might, but the thoughts behind it mean a lot to me. The event at hand is a sleepover, but the musings are about the feeling of permanence, or the lack thereof, and coming to terms with it in college. I also personally love the candid polaroids. They aren’t the most aesthetically creative snapshots, but they feel very in-the-moment, and that’s what I love capturing with my blog.

4) You have such a way with words, Audrey! Is there anything in particular that inspires your writing (for example, a time of day, a specific place, etc)?

Inspiration is perishable, but the good news is that it isn’t a scarce resource (x), and my favorite place to draw it from is my everyday life. My life is pretty average, but it’s the little things that count, right? I bring my camera around wherever I can, I sift through the photos I take, and I base my writing off of that. This is why I love personal lifestyle blogging so much. Everyone’s life is different, everyone’s stories are different, so everyone has something different to tell. And at the same time, there’s something that connects us all.

Sometimes I’m stuck for inspiration and my own personal life isn’t enough to feed off of, so I try to find it in just about anything else. Sometimes I’m in the mood for reading other blog posts, or for reading novels, or for watching vlogs, or for chatting with friends, or for good food, or for a shower, or for a break.

When I’m on a roll, I let myself keep rolling, because inspiration is fleeting. That’s why you might find me online at odd hours of the day, or night.

Oh and I’m also a fan of epic movie soundtracks. You get the awesome music without the distraction of lyrics.

5) Your photography is lovely, too! How did you become interested in taking photographs, and is there a particular subject that you most love shooting?

The last few months before the end of high school, my friends and I decided that it was about time for us to take advantage of our city, to do all those tourist-y things we laughed at tourists for doing, to do all those local things we took for granted, because it’d be the last time in a long time we’d all be together to do it. Our great adventure, our last hurrah.

And the way we decided to go about it was through photography. At this point, I myself hadn’t gotten into photography yet, but most of my friends had been doing photography and graphic design for quite some time now, and through this project it started rubbing off on me.

Little signs of life are what I’m most interested in, even if it’s just a dirty mug. I love catching people unawares (#candid ftw), even if it’s just a hand. In fact, sometimes I find faceless portraits even more interesting than ones with faces. I’m not so hot at posed portraits, but that’s something I’m definitely interested in working on. In the meantime, inanimate objects are pretty good at ignoring me when I’m there, so I like taking advantage of that by getting up close and personal with a low aperture.

I also enjoy food photography, but I’m not sure if I’m enjoying the food part more or the photography part 😉

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey's

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey’s

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey's

By Audrey Lin | Brunch at Audrey’s

6) What blogs do you derive the most inspiration from?

The Fresh Exchange manages to find inspiration in every little thing—clothes are more than just clothes, interior is more than just interior, places are more than just places, business is more than just business. They find inspiration from life itself, which is very much what I aspire to do.

I also read The College Prepster quite religiously because it’s like catching up with an old friend, and also because I find it the most relatable as a young lady and student in college. Other relatable personal lifestyle blogs I love are Ice Pandora and Sailboat.

Jennypurr never fails to bring fresh content and offer different things to think about. The Nectar Collective is also a great source; I even based my 2015 blogging goals off of a worksheet they created!

When I want to escape my reality, I find inspiration over at Paris in Four Months and The Londoner. Everyone needs a bit of Paris and London!

7) What advice would you give to someone just beginning their a) photography and b) blogging journeys?

Disclaimer: Will not work for all. I’m not particularly comfortable with giving advice because people get the idea that it’s a one size fits all but it’s not, so my advice is actually something I’d like to pass on from someone else: with anything you do, first figure out WHY, because purpose fuels you in a way that passion can’t (x). My addition to that is to also know that you’re not bound to it; it’s okay for your “why” to change. I had a little trouble with that myself—over-commitment issues pft, or more like over-compensation (x). Now that we got that out of the way, what I find works for me is to:

a) Just keep snapping. Every snap is one step closer to The Picture. Don’t hesitate, just snap. You have nothing to lose except the moments you’re missing. Unless you’re running on film of course. In that case, definitely do not take this piece of advice.

b) Cherish this period. Everyone’s waiting to make it big, but cherish this small moment. Be fearless. When you first start, there’s no one on the other end, or at least there are less people now than there’ll be later. Don’t take this the wrong way, but… whatever you do, it’s not a big deal. So experiment. Make mistakes. Do it now, figure it out later. When you’re a big badass blogger you’ll wish you had that freedom. Or that’s what I presume anyway. Still working on that… ;P

Also realize that you’re not alone. Want your voice heard? Write a guest post over at someone who has already established an audience. Curious readers wanting more may come over to check you out. Content for them, audience for you. Win-win. And most importantly, you’re building a community.


Thanks again, Audrey! I can’t wait to see the lovely posts you’ll be sharing over these next few months.

xoxo,

Abby

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8 comments on “lovely little inspiration: audrey lin of brunch at audrey’s on blogging, writing, & photography”

  1. Ohhh now I have to go check out her blog!!! It sounds absolutely lovely 😀

  2. I’m so glad that we found each other in the blogosphere! I’ve enjoyed your blog (and podcast and magazine and all your projects!!) so much, but more significantly I’m so glad to have found a friend in you! Thank you so much for having me over here, and I can’t wait to dish out some more posts either ;P -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

  3. So lovely to read this post about Audrey! I can’t believe how much she has travelled, and I agree her photography is great!

    Love Audrey’s blog and Audrey is so lovely too!

    Xx

  4. Wonderful interview, I particularly loved this gem: “Cherish this small moment. Be fearless.” So wise!

    • Thanks for the comment, Laura; I’m so glad you enjoyed the interview! ‘Wise’ definitely describes Audrey. 🙂

      Hope you’re having a lovely day!

      xx