Welcome to the new and improved katelavie.com! What a journey it has been…
For anyone that has kept up with me since the beginning (oh hey, KLV vets! Thanks for sticking around), you’ll know that this blog has seen many different looks. None of them good, none of them pretty.
Two years and one month ago (approximately) I decided to take the leap and relaunch with a new name. I said goodbye to ‘ghostparties’ (an old Myspace moniker, if you’re wondering) and introduced Kate La Vie. I loved how fresh and simple it sounded, and I still love it to this day – although I’m very confused about how that was TWO WHOLE YEARS AGO.
Since relaunching with a new name, I’ve dabbled with designs. You may remember the struggle I had last year when I spent months (and ££££) on a new design, only to hate the way it was developed. Although I had signed off the overall design, the guy who coded it didn’t leave any room for changes and I felt so restricted. Eventually I shunned this (very pricey!) professional design for a cheap theme, but it still wasn’t right.
I used the next year or so to think about what I wanted from a blog design; the overall look, the functionality… I considered it all.
So when I found my dudes Haley and Jarrad at Hello Hello Studio, I was ready to move forward with some ideas… after a little bit of coaxing, because trust issues.
I don’t think I could have worked on this with anyone but Jaley (as I will now call them), they’re the most patient and understanding pair ever! They stuck with me throughout the whole design process and made every single change I required (and more!), and they totally understood how much of a big deal this was to me. After that failed attempt at a design last year, I was at times (although they will probably deny this with a sly smile), a little stubborn to work with, but they were always a dream!
After a few wobbles (from me), we eventually started Skype session workshops – no easy feat considering they’re in sunny Sydney and I’m in… gloomy Glasgow. I’d get up at 6 or 7am and we’d design the last pieces of the site together over a video call!
I came off those long calls feeling so motivated and inspired, too – I think we might have to keep them up so I can get some work done…
I had such a good idea of what I wanted and I’m quite hands on so I find it hard to let go of projects like that. To be honest, I’m not very good at delegating in general but that’s another story.
Luckily, I found a dream team in Jaley and Harrad (heh)!
And so, after months of planning, designing, emails across the globe, video calls, coding, waiting for the other side of the world to wake up, it finally came together… and I am in love!
I had already teamed up with the ever amazing Jasmine Dowling to create my beautiful logo, as well as some other beaut graphics you can see here and on my YouTube channel which has also had a bit of a makeover, so it all fell in to place. Swoooon.
Here’s to a shiny new design!
I’m feeling so inspired at the moment, I really love the direction I’m headed in with my current posts and I feel like I have my own little corner of the internet to inspire you lovely lot too.
From here on out, you can expect to still see regular posts (I always aim to blog every second day), and it’ll continue to be a good mix of beauty and lifestyle – with lots of interiors, of course!
So that’s it, a new look for katelavie.com! I can honestly say the finished design is so much better than I ever could have hoped for, my dream team managed to capture my style and create something so awesome. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe at the bottom of the page! I’m going to be sending out a monthly newsletter packed full of extras – I’m so excited for this little addition. Now you really won’t be able to escape me…
What do you guys think of the new look? Anything you’d like to see more of on these pages?