I’ll apologise that firstly, this is not a Halloween post and secondly, that this post is rather wordy and a bit over personal.  So to balance it all out, I’m going to intersperse all the text with some pretty pictures of interiors because that’s just how I roll.   They’ll have nothing to do with what I’m saying, mind you.  But you can never have too many pretty pictures of interiors.

So a few things have happened of late that all sort of interlink a bit so I’m going to have to over-explain a couple of things just so it all makes some kind of sense.

I don’t talk about my secular work too much on this blog, not because it isn’t important to me but it didn’t really fit with the theme of my blog and I like to keep the focus on interiors around here.  Also, Swoon Worthy has always been what I did for fun.  And work – while interesting – was always something I did to pay the bills and keep my home in ‘pretties’.

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Until very recently (last week to be precise), I worked as a Product Manager for a large automotive classified website.  If you live in the UK, you will know it very well.  In fact, there’s a good chance you probably purchased your last car through it.  Part of the work I did was on the social media side of things – being the person behind the Facebook posts, Tweets and editorial on the B2B side of the website.  I was there for just over 3 years and the job changed quite a bit during that time.  I’ve always been quite happy for change and adaptable but it did feel as though the ‘creative element’ of my job was shrinking which is sometimes what happens the closer you get to the ‘core’ of business.  It becomes less emotive and more black and white.

When news last month came that they were restructuring my department and we were going to have to lose one of the Product Managers, both myself and my colleague were told we were under consultation. In the UK, this means essentially that your job is at risk and you may be laid off.  This is never great news in any circumstance but I understood the reasons behind it and it gave me a chance to reassess.  I asked myself if this job was something I saw myself doing for years.  If the progression from Product Manager to Senior Product Manager to Product Director was where I wanted my career to be headed.

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When I got home from work on the day I found out, I did what most normal people would do.  I poured myself a very large glass of wine and had a look at what the job market was like out there.  One of the very first jobs I stumbled across piqued my interest.  A lot.

After an incredible amount of thought and deliberation and discussion with W, I decided to take fate into my own hands.  Instead of the business having to choose between myself and my colleague, I stepped forward, explained my reasons and asked for voluntary redundancy.  This meant my colleague would automatically get the job and I would automatically get the redundancy.

Because I had been working with the company for over 3 years (and because all in, they are a good company to work for), I received a very good redundancy package, enough to keep me going for at least a good few months while I looked for work.  It was risky but looking at the job market for my sector (my background is in Marketing), I felt pretty confident I’d find something even if that job I stumbled across initially didn’t work out.

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That job I found on my very first day of looking I knew in my heart of hearts, was pretty much perfect for me.  Believe me, I know I got lucky.  I know the job market is tough out there.  I believe that because of the very varied work I’ve done over the last 10 or so years, I have a lot of transferable skills and that certainly helped.  In fact, I had a job offer my very first day of unemployment for another job in social media which in the end, I ended up passing on.

I had a phone interview and two face to face interviews with the company over the past month and I could tell that they responded to me as much as I did them.  This was a company that was embracing a digital future, that treated their employees fairly (in fact, it ranked #5 in the Best Companies to Work for in the UK by the Sunday Times), that treated their customers incredibly well.  This was a company that I knew that I would love to work for.  And I think they loved me too.

Because I found out this week that I got the job.

My official title is Lifestyle Blog Editor.

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Seriously, I am not even making this shit up.  They wanted someone that had editorial and social media experience on a secular level but who also had interior design blogging skills.  It couldn’t have been a better match.  They loved my blog.  They poured through my Pinterest boards.  They knew I had a passion for this stuff because it was all there in the public eye.

They made me a great offer that I couldn’t refuse.  My gamble of leaving a good, solid job that just didn’t speak to my heart anymore paid off.  Not only am I going to be back to work less than 3 weeks after finishing my last day in my old job but I’m going to be doing what I love.  Blogging.  Creating a sense of community.  Talking about interiors!

Also? I still have my redundancy money.  So that means I have a few quid knocking about that I can pay off some bills and treat myself and my home to a few treats.  And of course, we’ll have a very nice Christmas out of it too.

I’m still kind of dumb struck if I’m honest.

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The truth is, I wouldn’t have even been considered for this job if it weren’t for the success of Swoon Worthy and I have my amazing readers to thank for that.  Seriously, I can’t express how much the continued support of the blogging community and the very cool readers that visit frequently or occasionally means to me.  So, when I start the new job, I’m going to be asking (pretty please with sugar on top) for your support.  Again.  Because seriously, you guys rock my world and I don’t want to do this without you.

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I don’t intend to give up Swoon Worthy – it’ll still be about my home and my projects but the ‘work’ blog will take things beyond just myself to the world around us – new designers, inspiration and covering what’s happening in British design.  I’ll also be expanding to other topics, including food and recipes and I’ll have guest posters and interviews and video content.  Excited is not even the word.  And I think you guys are gonna love it too.

I’ll be sharing more about what’s happening and more importantly WHERE it’s happening ever so soon.

In the meantime, I have another announcement that’s pretty rocking cool as well.  Stay tuned.


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