An Interview with Grace Atwood of The Stripe

In the ever changing (and growing!) industry of blogging, it can be difficult to stand out and take it from a hobby to a full time job. However, if you’re dedicated, hard working, and authentic, it can happen. And Grace Atwood of The Stripe has made it happen. Seven years ago, she started a website (originally called ‘Stripes and Sequins’) in her little corner of the web, and now she’s partnered with some of the biggest brands out there, been featured in some of the most well known publications/websites, and, personally, I check her blog daily (it’s one of my very favorites). Based in NYC, but constantly traveling the globe, Grace’s blog covers everything from fashion and style to wellness and fitness to DIY projects and beyond. Keep on reading for what a day in her life looks like, advice for new bloggers, staying authentic to your brand, her favorite place in NYC, and more. 

When did you start your blog and what inspired you to do so?

I started my blog in January 2010 – I was unfulfilled in my corporate job and wanted a creative outlet.

What is your favorite part about your job? Most rewarding? Most challenging?

My favorite part of the job is the flexibility. I hate crowds love that I can do things in the middle of the day – grocery shop and go to the gym when it is empty. Living in New York (which is always crowded), that is invaluable! Also,  am a night owl and do my best writing at night, so I like that I can set my hours to work for when I am most productive. I also love all of the amazing people I have met… designers, brands, fellow bloggers… I’ve met some amazing people.

Walk us thru a day in your life! I can imagine no two are the same. 

No day is typical, which is really fun! I get up around 8 or 9 (depending how late I stayed up), and make breakfast. I’m not a morning person so I don’t stress if I sleep in a little. I’ll spend the first hour of my day answering emails and then I’ll x out of gmail to be more productive. I usually try to work out around 10:30/11 – I will meet my trainer or go for a run.  I’ll come home and make lunch and then spend a few hours creating content – either shooting outfits for my photographer, or shooting flat lays/DIYs/Recipes in my own apartment at home. And then it’s more emails. I might have an afternoon meeting or two, and I’ll usually wrap up around 7 to go to either a blogger event, a date, or out with friends. When I get home I am usually on the computer for at least an hour or two (doing emails, editing photos, or writing). I’ll listen to music or the news and put on a podcast. Then, I’ll watch a TV show and/or spend an hour or so reading… I’m usually in bed by 12 or 1.

What is your all time favorite post you’ve ever written and/or favorite shoot/collaboration you’ve ever done and why? 

That is really really hard – a recent one that comes to mind is my collaboration with Ben-Amun. It was a lot of fun to work with the team, but I also more or less got to design the exact jewelry I wanted…. I had been looking all over the place for coin jewelry and couldn’t find anything I liked. So, we made it! Luckily the collection did very well, but even if I hadn’t, I said to myself, “Well… even if no one buys it, I get to have my perfect jewelry collection!” My year long partnership with L’Oreal has been really amazing too. I’ve learned so much about the science and technology they put into their products. It’s also been a lot of fun… fancy events, meeting talented make-up artists (who always share their tips + tricks), and so on and so forth. I’m going to the SAG Awards with them at the end of the month and I can not wait!

How do you balance staying authentic to your brand/who you are and partnerships/sponsorships? Since this is your full time job, of course, bringing in revenue is very important, but I know you don’t say yes to every collab opportunity that comes your way, so I’d love for you to talk about how you find that balance and that process for you.

At the end of the day it just comes down to a feeling in my gut. Of course you have to make a living, but at the end of the day if you accept a partnership that is inauthentic you will lose your readers (or their trust, which is even worse). So my rule is that I only write about something I love. That sounds very simple but it’s a good rule and prevents you from saying yes to the wrong things. As my site covers so many verticals, there are a lot more opportunities than if I were just a fashion blogger or just a beauty blogger, so I feel lucky to be able to pick and choose. I am rambling a bit so I’ll just say that I put my readers first and only write about things I love (and would want to read about). That strategy has worked pretty well so far!

The blogging landscape has really changed over the years, and there’s always talk about how it’s too saturated of an industry – I, personally, believe there’s room for everyone, but I know it can be a challenging industry to break into because there are SO many bloggers – what would your advice be to someone wanting to start a blog at this point in time?

Ugh that’s so hard. Is it rude to say wouldn’t advise starting a fashion blog? While I definitely believe there is room for everyone, people are looking to Instagram for outfits/personal style these days, which makes it really hard to get people to your site if that’s all you are sharing. Whether you are just starting out or have been doing it a long time, you have to remember that you are providing a service, and that service is to create useful content that your readers will benefit from. Recipes, beauty posts, book reviews, more personal posts, wellness stuff, DIYs… that sort of thing will attract blog readers. If you are only posting your outfits (unless you have a really cool and interesting fashion perspective like an Atlantic-Pacific or a Man Repeller), you should probably just stick with Instagram at this point. That being said, I have seen a lot of great new beauty and wellness blogs start over the past year and huge success. Basically, you need to create something that is either a) better than what is already out there, or b) different from what is already out there. That’s really if you want to start a business though. If you are doing it just for fun, then do that! I’m just being realistic – it is going to be hard to be successful if you only post your outfits and/or shopping collages – there are already a million people doing that, and with Liketoknow.it, readers are visiting blogs less and less and spending more time on Instagram.

I loved your post the other week all about Instagram and this whole ‘bot’ situation – do you feel Instagram is going to continue to stay on top or not as much with the algorithm changes and these ‘bots’ and fake accounts taking over? 

I wish I had a better answer to this question but I really have no idea. It’s incredibly frustrating… Instagram says they will but I don’t really know. I am opting to focus on the things I can really impact – my blog and the content I post there, and all of my other social media outlets – I feel like I have a bit more control there. In the meantime, I’m playing by Instagrams rules. I only really post once a day, I spend a lot of time commenting and interacting with my readers (NOT using bots, ha ha), and I use Planoly to make sure my feed looks pretty.

What inspires you?

I get inspiration everywhere I look. At home it’s on Pinterest and in the magazines and blogs I read… in New York it is in the city itself, the art museums I visit, and the chic women on the streets… and when I travel, it’s more of that – museums, the people, the colors, and so on and so forth!

What motto/quote do you always try to live by?

Be so good they can’t ignore you. This is a Steve Martin quote and it has stuck with me for quite some time as a few years into blogging, I often felt like I was passed over for opportunities. So I just put my head down, worked as hard as I could, and created the best possible content I could. The best way to get someone’s attention is not to ask for it or complain… it’s to just be really good at what you do. I still live by this. You can’t get too comfortable in this little blogging world. You have to constantly strive to have the best content you can, the best site design, improve your photography, test out new platforms, and so on and so forth!

I know you’re a big traveler! What’s your favorite place you’ve ever been to and why?

Santorini in Greece! This was before I even had a blog. I was in between jobs. It was in 2008 during the recession. I was 27 years old. had been laid off at Procter & Gamble but quickly got a job at Coty. I negotiated a later start date with Coty, booked a plane ticket, and spent about half of my severance package traveling around the Greek Islands (by myself!) for two weeks. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. Other favorite spots are Charleston (my home away from home), Cartagena, and Tulum.

What’s your favorite place in NYC and why?

Oh man, that is really hard! There are so many. I would say the running path along the river, though. There is something so soothing about being by the water… (and I love to run).

What’s been your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment of your career, thus far?

Ooh I don’t know, that’s really hard to say as it’s been a pretty wild ride! There have been several. The first one was quitting my corporate job to go to BaubleBar (I was hired because of my blog). The next was quitting my job at BaubleBar to do this full-time. I’ve also gotten to meet some of my favorite celebrities. I’ve met Martha Stewart 3 times now (just adore her), and I one made smoothies with Gwyneth Paltrow at her beauty launch. Really though, I pinch myself every day, getting to do what I love, work for myself, and earn a living doing it.

What’s next for The Stripe? Anything you can share?!

I am in the middle of some big site updates and hopefully getting these changes launched in the next month or so. We made some fun updates this month (adding in the new book club page, comprehensive travel guides (still a work in progress), an updated NYC guide with a cool hover effect on my favorite spots, and the new Stripe Finds page… all of those mini discoveries on the home page finally have a “home!”) but there is a lot more to come. The site is feeling a little tired so we’re changing things up! I’m also planning a lot more beauty + wellness content as well as bringing back my DIYs — all of that based upon recent reader feedback. And more videos! Video is something that scares me but my goal as of February is to do one video a month on both my site and on Instagram. Baby steps!

Thanks so much, Grace!

Be sure to follow Grace on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

See previous interviews here.