Speaking to John Lewis on Behalf of Cosatto

Car selfie on my way there (I’m a passenger obviously)! Dress gifted by Great Plains.

My work as a professional blogger is so diverse that no day is ever the same and I love it all, firstly documenting our lives as family right here along with my other passions- food, beauty and style.

A lot of my paid work focuses on making sponsored posts and advertising interesting, dynamic and engaging and the most fun has to be my modelling and ambassador deals (I have another shoot coming up in a few weeks for Nova Harley).

New exciting developments to my career have seen me take on new clients for consultancy and mentoring work and I’m also speaking at blogging events solo or on panels to other bloggers and global brands.

I will be speaking at the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau in November) and was honoured to speak at Tots100‘s Blog Camp (I’m linking my Top 10 Blogging Tips post from my sessions to #brilliantblogposts too in case you missed it).

Above with Marketing Manager Emma

Yesterday, I was hired to speak to John Lewis (management and employees from many branches) on Cosatto‘s behalf who are stocked in John Lewis stores nationwide, about my blogging career and my work with Cosatto.

It’s wonderful to be flying the flag for how parenting bloggers are vital to advertising campaigns for brands worldwide!

Incidentally John Lewis also advertise with me too so it was a perfect way to discuss how I work with both brands, both whom I love (I only work with brands that fit my ethos and I deem are of interest to you, my readers).

I must add I haven’t been paid to write this post-solely to speak at Cosatto but I thought it might be interesting to see into a different side of my blogging work life!

…A Charlie and the Chocolate factory equivalent for gorgeous kids products-as Cosatto’s tagline states, they truly are ‘baby stuff with personality’.

HQ is a visual feast of vibrant, bold, patterned prams, pushchairs, car seats and more and the WHOLE place is nothing short of JOYOUS!

…My lovely Dad, Papa G drove me to Bolton that morning (apologies to his two secretaries and 4 restaurants that I stole him away from for the day) but he saved me from crazy-early train journeys (two) and really he is the best Dad in the world! So much fun to be around-a big kid really!

He had a lot of fun drinking coffee, feasting on a spectacular lunch (thanks Cosatto) and reading his paper in the plush offices-I just had to snap him behind this wall too!

…Back to HQ-bunting, scandi style lights, a metal slide that takes you from office to showroom (so much fun-went down when everyone left) stripy tables filled with jars of multicoloured sweets, even the toilets screamed colour with green and orange walls and toilet paper (really)! Cosatto live and breathe their art and really know what stylish parents want in their lives!

These are the toilets above (I know)!

The offices and showrooms are not open to the public, just the buyers so it’s awesome to give you a sneak peak into the ‘behind the scenes’ of the brand!

Original, innovative, modern and utterly distinctive, Cosatto are a company I admire hugely and feel privileged to work with.

Emma, their Marketing Manager is so similar to me it’s scary-she, an Italian background, I Greek, we like to chat as much as each other and are a lively twosome together! We just click and in work, as in life, it’s amazing to have great relationships with those you need to spark off creatively!

…New friend we picked up!

And I’ve tried and tested Cosatto! The Ooba pram in duck egg that Emma gifted us earlier this year really is our all time favourite pram ever.

I can’t push it anywhere longer than a minute before the admiring glances start and I’m often stopped to ask where it’s from on my travels!

…Starting 45 years ago, this is a brand with a strong British heritage that really does its research.

It was fabulous to meet CEO Andrew Kluge below and listen to the design team, the Creative and Marketing Director and Social Media Head of Department speak about their roles and sources of inspiration from parents to Pinterest and fashion magazines…Most of all their passion, everyone’s passion there, is so evident and infectious.

So much so, Emma said she loves her job so much, she wants to always work there unless she dies! Now that’s love for your job if ever I heard it!

Before long it was my time to speak.

Presenting to a large group of experts in their field from John Lewis, behind me a projector of slide shows Emma had created about my blogging work-a visual media pack mentioning my followers, readers and reach along with press cuttings and family pictures, it was all so exciting. It was my time to shine and inform the audience of how important we bloggers are and about my relationship with Cosatto.

I don’t want this post or any of my posts to be ‘Hey look at me, I rock’ not at all, more that it’s quite an incredible world us bloggers are working in right now!

I find it so rewarding to champion parenting bloggers and inform others about our HUGE potential and worth.

People will never stop having kids and they will always need and want honest voices firstly-blogs for advice, support, love and humour and they will also want trusted opinions on products they want for themselves and their families.

This put parenting bloggers in a power of authority, we are influencers.

However big or small you deem your blog, your readership is specific and targeted, you are a trust worthy voice to your readers and thus, vital to advertisers and brands.

With the inequality for parents in the workforce a very real stumbling block (particularly for women), blogging is enabling us all to have a voice and make a living doing something WE love that works around our families.

It’s such an incredible time to be a blogger and what I love most about my job aside from actually tapping away at my laptop to create these posts, is getting out there and hopefully inspiring other bloggers and brands on just how much parenting bloggers ROCK. Because you do and OK maybe I rock a little bit too!

Thanks for reading!