And it all began with Erica

Published exclusively in this site on 29 February 2012.

CAP 32 Companies Ordinance s107(1): Subject to this section and section 109, every company shall once in every year make a return, in the specified form, which shall contain, with respect to the company, such particulars as specified therein.

Although this blog isn't exactly a company, I reckon an annual review couldn't do much harm. That's right, this blog is officially 1 year old. The story of this blog began with Erica. Yes funny enough, the story actually didn't start with me. So if there's annual report for blogs, then consider this post my director's report!

Gillian Chu - a Hong Kong Blog

Director's Report for the Year Ended 29 February 2012

Milestones and Achievements for 2011/12

Although I have given some tips and even shared a review I wrote for my friends with Sassy Hong Kong, I have never even dreamt of keeping a blog. On 21 December 2010, Erica invited me to go to Volar with her for the Hanalie fashion show. After the show, she casually asked if I could do a write up for her, which I did as soon as I got home, while still being mildly tipsy, which might have possibly helped with the writing.

Anyhow, that gave a kick start to my guest contribution with Lifestyle Asia, which was wonderful because I could bring my friends along to exclusive events like car launches, as well as getting to interview my friends about their businesses over a cuppa and lots of giggles. I even got to write advices that were fun to brainstorm and research upon with my friends.

After I started guest contributing with Lifestyle Asia, I began guest blogging for Sassy Hong Kong, Hong Kong Fashion Geek, and Queen Eco. It got a bit overwhelming and I couldn't keep track of all the guest posts, so in order to keep a tab on what I have written, I started to consolidate everything in a blog on 28 February 2011. Yup, I am talking about this blog.

Shortly after establishing my own blog, I was mildly surprised to begin receiving media invites for cool events, which obviously my friends accompanied me to, both for ogling at the latest art and fashion, as well as stuffing our faces with yummy canapés and bubblies. Soon it became obvious that I had more to write than an occasional guest post, so on 25 March 2011, I started writing the first post exclusively for my own blog.

Opportunities came along, and I guest contributed for Wearever the Weather, Butterboom, Expat Arrivals, NecesCity, TellusFashion, and Spree Luxe. October 2011 seems to have been somewhat of a huge turning point for this blog, since I was invited by That's Zhejiang, a Hangzhou based magazine, to go offline and write for their physical magazine. In the same month, Elysiants, now known as ELEQT, has made an arrangement with me to mirror my blog's contents.

And more recently on 22 December 2011, I was invited to join Aroxta to report the local fashion and arts scene. I was even asked to review fashion blogs for Hong Kong Blogs Review, which actually gave me rather interesting insights as to where my own blog should be heading.

Acknowledgements for 2011/12

It is pretty cool to be calling myself a blogger when I meet new people, and definitely super encouraging to see that there is a steady increase in visits to my blog as well as a gradual increase in email subscription to my newsletter. Best of all, because I need to find stuff to write about, I have been discovering shop worthy of purchases from all around town! Yes, I do actually buy some of the stuff I mention, which ones they are I will leave it to your imagination.

In summary, the entire journey was more a discovery of old friends and making new ones, because interviewing my friends has made me learn a lot more about their recent changes in life, and heading to parties with my friends is an awesome way to catch up, as well as meeting new friends through interviews, whom I usually find out at a later time they go to the same school as me! Is it just a small world, or is my school just filled with cool people heading off for unconventional careers?

The first person I would like to thank for opening this creative door is Erica, without who this blog would never exist. It has been an amazing experience, and I definitely owe you one. I would also like to thank Jasmine, Jessie, and Keely for coming along with me to different events, putting stuff on for me to photograph, and play photographer for me. I am especially in debt to Jasmine, who threw so many different interview opportunities my way, and in this way I found out so much more about different occupations. I am also thankful for Anna, Audrey, Jenny, Maisie, and Rebecca for keeping me company at some of the events, as well as Charmaine and (yet another) Jessie, who has been tipping me off with many hidden art events around the city.

I must say, although I am the kind of person who likes to try everything, I am only one girl, and there is no way I could have done everything under the sun. I would like to acknowledge the experts that I have consulted: Claudia for her darts tips, Uncle KW with his extensive knowledge of Cheung Chau, and my Dad, for his boundless advice on luxury watches and fountain pens. I am also in debt to my very interactive readers, Christian and Jon, who has given my blog enough thought to actually come and tell me what they liked and disliked about it. You guys have definitely helped shape the blog to where it is now.

I am very thankful to all the lovely PRs I have met along the way, as well as a heartfelt gratitude to all those who have bore with me while I interviewed them. I am also extremely grateful for all the websites who have kindly allowed me to contribute, who in return not only gave me lots of traffic and endorsements, but also the motivation to write about stuff I would have never thought of otherwise, and turned out quite enjoy writing about. Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank my Mom, my most loyal and encouraging reader, who diligently reads all the newsletters and gives me instant feedback, who will go to interviews with me as well as discuss ways to approach different topics, and who continuously comes up with better ways to perfect the blog and sharpen its direction.

Prospects and Vision for 2012/13

Why did I decide to sum up the past year? Well, mainly after a year, I feel like the blog is steering in its own will. I reckon I will need some time away from the blog to get in action and find something truly juicy for my readers. In 2012/13, I will still continue to write the regular blog posts and guest contributions, but it won't be as frequent as the past year. When I do blog, I hope to be writing about something I feel truly blog worthy, rather than bulking it up with information to tie me through the week. You can still find out when my blog is updated by subscribing to my email newsletter or follow me, and both options are available on the top right hand bar of the page. I hope you will like this approach, and do drop me a line every so often. It will really make my day!