Behind the Blog: Tea Swamp Park

For the inaugural installment of Behind the Blog, I decided to talk to the lovely Chloe, of Tea Swamp Park. She writes about what she's up to & posts interesting, often nostalgic photos. Her posts are usually short & sweet, leaving me thinking. She's also recently started up an Etsy shop to sell hand-dyed lingerie & pillowcases, called Blue Moon Revisited. Check it out!

We talked via email & I decided to post the interview in its entirety here:

Why did you start blogging? Did you have any specific plan for what you wanted to do with your blog?

Technically I suppose I started almost ten years ago, before I'd ever heard the word "blog". I kept up a Livejournal for a good while, but that was mostly personal, day to day stuff - full of teenage/early 20s angst ;)

I began Tea Swamp Park in January of this year as a lifestyle blog. I've had an on and off history of journaling, and I guess I just wanted to start keeping a record again of things going on in my life and my interests at a specific point in time. I'm living in Vancouver, but won't be for good, so my blog is a way for me to also preserve my memories from here. Plus, I read quite a few blogs, and can't help but feel a bit guilty - not contributing anything back ;)

Where do you get inspiration for posts?

Quite often it's from other bloggers, or from my own huge collection of bookmarks and photos I've been collecting for no good reason. Mostly though, just from my life - things I do, see, cook, make etc.

How do you promote your blog?

I'm pretty new to this whole thing, so I don't really have a firm grasp on that sort of thing. I generally post links on my facebook page when I do a new post, sometimes I do the same on twitter as well. I also comment pretty often on other people's blogs as well, which can lead to new visitors.

Which of your posts has received the most comments?

I did one about the joys of being a redhead back when I first started which still gets views and comments (though I think that has something to do with the saucy picture of Christina Hendricks I included!). I do a weekly post, Film Friday, where I post from my own collection of 35mm photos. A lot of these tend to be older, from when I was a child or teen, and get comments - I think the nostalgia factor plays a big part in that.

When did you get into dyeing clothing? When did you decide to open your Etsy shop & sell dyed slips, etc? Do you sell things elsewhere?

When I was a gothy teen I had a few unsuccessful tries at dyeing various things black, and for the last few years have done some tea dyeing. Then a few months back a friend of mine was wearing a cardigan that she had dyed various colours, which looked amazing. THEN, an old friend, who runs an amazing blog (http://stayfancyfree.blogspot.com/) also started dyeing some of her items, and the inspiration was just too much. I gave it a go on a cardigan of my own that I never wore. It turned out great and I went from there.
I've always loved the look of slips and camisoles, and work them into my wardrobe as much as possible. And while a standard cream or black slip is lovely, I absolutely love the look of more unconventional coloured underthings - they seem much more daring, and sexy.

As for my shop - I work as a teacher on call, which means I have no work for the summer and a hard time finding a job for only two months. I'd been wanting to open a shop for ages, but actual financial need is what finally got me moving. So far I only sell things on Etsy, but Vancouver has so many great craft fairs all year long, so that's definitely a tempting possibility.

What's the story behind the name of your blog? How about your Etsy shop?

Tea Swamp Park is the name of a small park in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood in Vancouver. This is a neighbourhood I've lived in for almost 2 years, and I love it. I've always loved the name of the park, and I'm a big fan of tea so it just seemed perfect :)

Blue Moon Revisited is a song by the Cowboy Junkies off their Trinity Sessions album. I wanted a name for the shop that had a celestial, night time feel (I'm also going to be listing some one of a kind pillow cases soon - so there is definitely a night time theme to my items). It's also a beautiful song - the whole album reminds me a lot of my childhood, so it's just a nice association for me.