Meet Pop Shop America’s Newest Blogger Tess Ciarloni

1. Where do you live?

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2. Tell us about your blog.

Angean is a lifestyle blog that was inspired by my grandmothers. The name Angean is actually an amalgamation of their names – Angeline and Jean. They were both a huge influence on me and instilled in me a love of cooking as well as creating. I used this inspiration to turn it into a blog where I could share all of my projects with the world. At Angean, you can expect to find mainly recipes and various typed of DIY projects including sewing. I do also have a  travel series where I shared my trip to Europe. It is a lifestyle blog, so I try to make it fairly personal and relatable, so that people can really see themselves making the scrap fabric geometric pillows that I share, or using my granola bar recipe to try and eat healthier snacks. 

3. Do you have a day job?

Yes, I’m currently an administrative assistant, but my contract is done in July, so I’m looking to make the jump to freelancing. I also want to invest more time into my etsy shop and blog at that point with the goal of turning them both into my full time job. 

4. When did you start your Etsy shop?

I launched my etsy shop about 3 weeks ago on April 26th, 2016, so it’s still a baby! 

5. What do you love about handmade?

As a maker, I love the satisfaction of knowing that I put in a lot of hard work to make something that is actually of use to me. I also love that I probably saved myself money, and had fun doing it. As a buyer of handmade products, I love being able to support a fellow maker. If their dream is to be able to sell their products and make a living off of it – then I’m happy to be a part of helping them to achieve their goals. In my experience, buying a handmade product also means buying quality, so I’m happy that what I’m buying actually has value. 

6. What is your style like?

In general, it’s fairly cute-casual, but it consists of mostly classic pieces in more neutral shades with some pops of colour. Recently, I’ve been trying to be more minimal and have been all about recycling my clothes into other things, finding thrift store pieces I can alter, or sewing clothing from scratch. My style for our home in fairly similar as well. It’s pretty minimal without a lot of clutter, I try to reuse things that we already have, and it’s also very organized. Lately I’ve been putting together a gallery wall and have been decorating with pops of gold and a lot of greenery! 

7. Have you noticed anything different about your city when it comes to handmade?

I don’t really have much else to compare Toronto to when it comes to handmade, but I know that there is a big market for it in Toronto. I would guess that Toronto might be different from a lot of other cities because buying handmade items is fairly accessible here. I’ve been to the One of a Kind show here, which had a gorgeous selection of really talented artisans. I’ve also been to several events in various parks around the city, and even a lot of stores in the design district that showcase mostly handmade products. There is even a store essentially beside my house that I’ve been meaning to check out!

8. What kinds of things will you be blogging about?

It’ll be mainly DIY projects, as I tend to try and DIY nearly everything in my life. You can expect sewing projects that include refashions, sewing clothing from scratch, home decor projects, as well as a lot of succulents – I’m really into those right now! I’ll also be sharing a post or two about local artisans from around Canada, and the odd fun recipe might creep in there from time to time 🙂

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