Derby determines and lifestyle blogger Ainsley Gray, aka @life_with_oaksandolive, has more than 27,000 followers on social media community Instagram.
But how did the Alvaston mum have so many followers, why did she become a blogger, and what’s a subsequent for the small commercial enterprise ambassador?
“I essentially simply started out sharing images of my life while Oakley was born,” said 28-year-old Vintage Ainsley while asked how her massive reputation as an Instagrammer occurred.
Ainsley, who’s married to her childhood sweetheart Daniel, 30, a self-employed joiner, gave birth to son Oakley, now half old, in 2014.
“I have usually been creative. I even have a diploma in high-quality artwork and work as a visual merchandiser in the fashion industry,” she says. “When Oakley was born, I simply desired to proportion photographs of him, photos of my journey through motherhood. It’s satisfactory to the percentage of pictures but greater than that.
“The artist in me likes to have a feed of quiet snapshots; however, being a mother, it’s critical to me to be realistic and relatable. Sometimes my photographs appear stunning, but below is a caption giving the complete honest reality – toddler tantrums, a screaming baby, or something that day has introduced.”
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Through her Instagram account @life_with_oaksandolive, Ainsley, from Alvaston in Derby, started shopping independently, discovering small businesses, particularly those specializing in youngsters’ garments and products.
As a result, she worked with those brands and reviewed their merchandise.
“I love buying and using small, impartial corporations, lots of which don’t have an internet site or a store, or some using Etsy, and I enjoy reviewing products and assisting in raising their profile,” says Ainsley.
“I commenced to acquire plenty of packages inside the post, and it got to the point where it became like a complete-time job, so I’m a good deal more selective about what I will evaluate now. I ought to be as I still have a task and children to look after. I respect groups who see me as a logo ambassador. However, I am keen to pick products that might be important to me and my family.”
As a result of her success on Instagram, Ainsley determined to install a weblog.
“I turned into approached by using a lovely woman who’s a web layout and advertising consultant who presented to design a weblog for me so she should expand her portfolio,” she says. “I changed into thrilled with what she created, and he or she showed me how to see distinctively running a blog and how I should make a process out of it if I desired to.”
Ainsley gave birth to her daughter Olive on New Year’s Eve 2016 because she had been thinking about her career.
Your priorities do alternate when you have the family,” admits Ainsley. “I love my job as a visual merchandiser and might go again to paintings while my maternity leave involves an end. It ticks the creative box, however, when you consider that having my children, my existence has changed, and perhaps now I’m not as accepting of the early mornings and the journeying as I was. I experience the task, but I experience now that there’s something else I need to strive for.”
And that’s how Ainsley’s Mama Meet & Market event concept came to fruition.
“The possibility came along, and I just notion ‘Right, permit’s have a go at this’,” Ainsley tells me excitedly.
The mum-of-two held her first Mama Meet & Market in September at Makeney Hall Hotel, Derbyshire.
The idea at the back of the event changed into creating an opportunity to carry mums (and dads) collectively from all over the UK to meet with like-minded parents along with their children with several unbiased stallholders, an area for toddlers and infants to play and a corner for parents to have a far-wished cuppa and slice of cake.
The event covered a variety of stalls, from homemade desserts and treats to kids’ garments and toys to quirky items. They turned into a toddler analyzing and sensory corner, and the mother and father may want to treat them to afternoon tea.
“It simply totally handed all my expectancies,” stated Ainsley. “We had around 400 to 500 humans via the doors, and I hoped for 250 in first class.
“It was excellent. I had such high-quality comments that immediately, all of the difficult work and attempts that went into it became worth it.
“For a while now, I have solid friendships with many ladies and mums that have sold nothing but mild into my parenting lifestyles. Some I have shared pregnancies with, a few we have been there for each other through tough times and first-rate milestones, and I desired an excuse to make it all feel more like a fact instead of a digital one.
A little idea that began in my head exquisitely came to fruition, and I may not have anticipated its fulfillment to this extent.
“The stallholders have been brands that I had worked with or bought from because I knew if they had inspired me, they could make an effect,” introduced Ainsley.
“The intention was to create an event that would be appropriate for both dad and mom and youngsters but using small, independent organizations who may want to sell what they do. Many people who stay locally came here; however, I also had humans from London come alongside. It became simply amazing.
