Why did you start blogging?
It started the same way blogging start – SASSYBELLA was a web-log of all my random thoughts and teen ramblings. Slowly but surely I started writing more and more about fashion and I eventually it became the focus.

Describe your blog in 20 words or less
The go-to for all things newsworthy in the world of fashion and beauty.

What are your 5 must have tools for blogging?
Wordpress, Google (fact checking), TweetDeck (the ultimate in Twitter monitoring), Firefox and Email!

What is your favourite part of being a blogger?
I have the freedom to write about what I want, that other like minded people are also interested in I have never been one to be inundated with freebies or invites to launches, so sometimes I feel a little under the radar, but I’m definitely not complaining about it. It gives me a great opportunity to sneak it and beat everyone to the keyboard with hot stories and not be pressured by PR people or advertisers.

What has been the biggest thing you have learnt since starting your blog?
Be honest but not too bitchy, it can open up a negative can of worms in your comments section – after all what goes around comes around. And fashion blogging are some of the friendliest people in it – it’s like having a little community all over the world to share experiences with.

If you could start again, what would you do differently?
I probably would have vetoed some of my earlier blog posts and given myself a few more hours of the day to sit in front of a computer and focus on blogging. Who needs sleep anyway when you have stories to break first?

What has been your blog’s biggest achievement?
Gosh… I would love to pick one, but I have been surprised and extremely flattered at almost every turn. It was great to be interviewed by Glamour.com at the end of last year, asked to write for ChicReport.com.au for Rosemount Australian Fashion Week this April and then the nomination for Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female Awards 2009 has really put the icing on the cake for me this year.

What advice would do you have for new chick bloggers?
While blogging is about the written word, if you want to grow, do pay attention to the “brand” of your blog because people do pay attention to the aesthetics of the overall site. And while you may not want to learn too much about coding and design, it doesn’t hurt to understand the basics to make sure you are making your blog just that tiny bit better – ignorance isn’t always bliss.

Do you (or do you plan to) make any income from your blog?
I make a little which is nice, but I do want to turn blogging into a career so I do plan on trying to generate more money through my blog in the near future.

What future goals do you have for your blog?
I would love to get some more traffic, so to get there I’ve mapped out a content and PR plan to help me achieve that goal.

Who are your 5 favourite chick bloggers and why?
I adore Patty Huntington and her FrockWriter blog, she knows so much about what has been going on in the fashion industry for the last 10 – 20 years, it’s amazing to pick her brain about it.

I love the girls behind CatwalkQueen; Gemma Cartwright (who has since left) and Kimberley Foster because I’ve known them “online” for forever. I think I’ve known Gemma since we were 16 with our personal blogs and boy band crushes (cringe).

Other than that, I am a huge fan of Imelda (even though technically it’s run by Matt writing as Imelda Marcos), Fashionista and The Cut (fashion blog by NY Mag).