Giveaway winners + survey results!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in my first-ever reader survey!

When Marlon, who works in market research and helped create the survey, said we should aim for 50 responses for a valid survey, I was doubtful—it’s a long survey with many open-ended (a.k.a. essay) questions. But we got 52 awesome responses. Hurray! 

As promised, I drew two winners at random to receive this bag of goodies from a few of my favorite shops.

Congratulations to… JL and Jeni Villaraza! I’ll be in touch soon to arrange shipping.

Aside from announcing the winners, I also wanted to share a bit about the results of the survey.

The survey responses began trickling in on my birthday, and reading them was such a great gift. I might have even gotten sniffly a few times! The amount of time and effort I’ve given to my blog has grown over the years, and it feels great to know that it’s appreciated.

My favorite part was reading all the responses to the first question: “Please tell me a little bit about yourself.” Such detailed and thoughtful answers! I loved hearing about what you guys are up to, and most of all, I loved discovering that you and I are so much alike. I think of myself as a consummate juggler who’s creative, passionate and curious about the world; this survey told me, that so are you.

I always struggle a bit when asked to describe my blog. Asking you to do it was the easy way out! Seriously, seeing Currystrumpet through your eyes finally helped me formulate that all-important “elevator speech.” Here are some of the words you used to describe my blog.

The topics I write about and my writing style are the key reasons that you read my blog. The variety of topics is important to many of you. While conventional blogging wisdom maintains that it’s all about focusing on a niche, I’m surprised that to this particular set of readers, it’s all about the mix. This is great news for me, because… honestly, I have commitment issues, haha. I could never stick to just one topic! The challenge for me now is to keep the mix balanced and interesting.

You said the design and layout of the blog needs the most improvement. I agree! Here’s where I reveal that the reason for this survey is because I’m planning a blog redesign in 2014. My goal is to have a blog design that’s cleaner, easier to navigate, is mobile responsive (welcome to the 21st century!) and better reflects my style and personality. I’m really excited about that.

You also asked for more frequent updates, but understand that it’s difficult for me to do so now that I have Tala. Thanks, guys. I’m working to update at least three times weekly, but some weeks are harder than others. Be patient with me.

Finally, when I asked “What do you want to see more of?” there were quite a few answers.

Overall, three topics tied for first place: Tala (she has a lot of fans!), Amsterdam and creative projects.

This made me stop and think. Most of this year has been spent at home, adjusting to motherhood and focusing on Tala. Having a baby makes your world very, very small, especially in the first few months. Since Tala started spending two days a week out of the house, I’ve felt my world slowly opening up once more. I’m working on reclaiming some time for myself, and starting up my creative pursuits again.

And yes, I do need to get out more! Maybe I can no longer wander around for hours taking pictures and observing all the little details of life in Amsterdam as I used to—not with a wriggly active baby to watch over. But there is more I can do to be more immersed in my own city, and renew my appreciation for what I do love about living here.

So, thank you, dear readers. I enjoyed getting to know you. I hope you keep enjoying getting to know me, too.