“I think there’s a real opportunity online to create something totally new. Not a personal blog, not a magazine – but a new way of presenting all sorts of inspiration, ideas, and high-quality original content.”
Last week, Kelly Framel, the blogger behind The Glamourai, posted an expansive, gorgeous editorial on her blog, called Marrakepic. The shoot was created in conjunction with Jamie Beck (From Me To You) and Kevin Burg, and came about after a trip to Marrakech, Morocco.
This post is just the most recent example of a new direction in the content of The Glamourai, one that takes the focus off of Framel’s personal style, and presents her site as a new hybrid space for the different aspects of her creativity. The process that produced this editorial is much more like that of a magazine than a personal style blog.
“Going into 2012, I made a commitment to myself to really begin changing the way I approached my content. I didn’t want to become complacent about my site; I always want to push myself and create challenges for myself so I can grow as a creative producer and person,” said Framel.
We spoke further with Framel last week to get the dish on her African adventure – from how it was funded, how she developed the content around it, and where her blog is headed from here.
Traveling to Morocco:
Because a thank you was mentioned in both Framel and Beck’s posts about the trip, it’s not surprising to learn that The Moroccan Nation Tourist Office invited the bloggers out to Marrakech, and paid for their travel expenses. “[They] invited 3 groups over,” said Framel. “A group of travel editors, a group of interior design editors, and a group of fashion editors. I had the great fortune of being invited on the fashion portion of the tour.”
Aside from that however, Framel said she received no additional direct monetary compensation, and no stipulations were made in terms of reciprocal coverage.
“I saw this as an exciting opportunity to see a new part of the world, and I shared it on my site because I wanted to, not because anyone demanded that or how I should,” said Framel. “It’s frustrating that people assume that everything on a blog is a business deal. More often than not, we’re really just posting about what we think is great.”
Creating Authentic Content:
In May, Framel created several posts that incorporated her looks and shopping links with gorgeous, high-quality travel images taken by Beck. Both her and Beck’s posts from Morocco are full of breathtaking images and details about their adventures. They rode camels through the desert and shopped the souks for unique finds.
Back in New York City, Framel, Beck and Beck’s partner Kevin Burg worked together to produce a photo shoot using pieces collected during their trip to Marrakech.
“Jamie and I produce these shoots because we love to make beautiful pictures. We love dreaming up other worlds and telling stories through fashion. Each editorial takes me nearly a month of prep work: fine-tuning the concepts, sourcing the clothes, the props, casting models, coordinating the crew, location, sets, etc., then Jamie and Kevin take over on post-production, editing the photos and building ever-more magical cinemagraphs. We do and fund every bit of it ourselves because we love it.”
Is Framel leading the charge for a new direction in fashion blogging? With so much opportunity available to our community now, it will be up to the forward-thinkers and risk-takers to take this space into it’s next stage, of which Framel may be one.
Do you think more blogs should or will start creating content that looks more like a magazine than a personal style diary?
[Image credits: The Glamourai.]
As beautiful as those photos are, I think the pull of personal style blogs is seeing real women put together interesting outfits.
Styling on a model, again while beautiful, doesn’t allow me to connect with the piece as much.
That said I am sure Kelly has a firm grip on who her visitor is and what they will appreciate.
I think there will be plenty of room for online magazines or editorial/styling type blogs as well as personal style blogs because all of them are inspiring from a fasion and style perspective.