For Me, For You: For All of Us

By Lexi Green
October 10, 2011

For Me For You If only all successful creative endeavors were born via pen-pal notes sent to a best friend. Well, if you’re Kate Miss (yes, her name is Ms. Miss; she knows; please don’t remind her) that’s exactly how her now-famous blog, For Me, For You got its start, back in February, 2007. The online space served as a means for Miss and her best friend, Andrea, both graphic designers, to creatively stay in touch after Miss moved from their hometown of Seattle to New York City. On their combined blog, Miss and Andrea shared everything from graphic design and typography they loved to mid-century furniture they coveted to fashion and shopping finds.

But, as most pen-pal correspondences go, things began to peter off, and Miss was posting the majority of the time. Eventually, she became the sole captain steering the For Me, For You ship. Don’t worry, she and Andrea are still the closest of friends. Andrea even guest posts while Kate is on vacation. But no doubt about it, For Me For You is today all Kate Miss.

Since Miss made For Me, For You her own, readers have discovered it and shown up in droves. Perhaps they're attracted to her clean, color-infused aesthetic; her knack for revealing things you're thrilled to know about but might not have discovered otherwise (from a recipe for rosemary lemonade gin slushies to regular Friday round-ups of the best of the web); or the way she combines the editorial with the personal, sharing her life and inspirations without delving into full-on diary mode.

Miss regularly posts on vintage fashion; music she can’t get enough of, and Wendy, her ham of a cat. Will, her artist boyfriend, makes frequent appearances, mostly via the delicious food they cook and seek out in restaurants in Los Angeles, where they now live. Recently, however, Miss has openly and poignantly shared Will's cancer diagnosis, along with the battle he faces to get treatment without health insurance.

For Me For You

For Me, For You blogger Kate Miss frequently features her boyfriend, Will, and cat, Wendy, in posts like this one called Bits of my Weekend.

She has continued to post regularly, though with a bit of extra melancholy, as she pursues her freelance graphic design business, dabbles in professional photography and designs a lovely jewelry collection, all of which she has documented on For Me, For You.

Shortly before Will's diagnosis, we caught up with this talented creative to ask her about the inspiration behind her blog, what she loves best about the many cities she has lived in, and what a typical day in the life of Kate Miss is like.

The Inside Source: You say your blog has a slightly indie feel to it. How else would you describe the look of your personal aesthetic?

Kate Miss: I think my aesthetic is always evolving. I go through a lot of phases on my blog (um, and my life!). I focus a lot on handmade, but I’m more and more picky about that look as there’s a fine line between beautiful and cheesy. Hopefully, that doesn’t sound snobby, but bloggers are curators, and you have to be picky about what you show in order to have a great blog. My boyfriend always jokes about this set of “Kate Miss colors” that are hard to pinpoint (they definitely include marigold and taupe), but constantly show up on my blog.

The Inside Source: What are some of your favorite things to blog about?

Kate Miss: Lately, my favorite blog posts are the ones where I share some of my own personal photography with a quick personal story. For example, talking about something simple like how much I love mornings and then showing photos of a morning sunrise. I strive to blog like this a few times a month.

For Me For You

Miss frequently features food and recipes, like this Thai Coconut Mango Salad.

For Me For You

Rosemary Lemonade Gin Slushies, as recently featured on For Me, For You

The Inside Source: What is one design or lifestyle item that you have featured on your blog that you can't live without?

Kate Miss: Besides my cameras, I currently cannot live without my Rennes duffle bag. Julia, the designer, and I did a trade for some design work and she custom-made it for me. It’s the most beautiful thing I own and is the dream bag I’ve been seeking for a long time! I was just telling a friend of mine that I think most women are always on an epic quest to find the perfect bag.

The Inside Source: You've recently become a full-time freelancer. Congrats! What is a typical day like for you?

Kate Miss: I think a lot of people have this idea of freelancers that involves us sleeping in, working in our pajamas from noon to midnight, and coming and going as we please. Sure, there are some days where I don’t get out of my pajamas, but I prefer to be up by 7 a.m. and like to hit the ground running. Right now, my boyfriend is working from home as well, so the mornings are a buzz of productivity and motivation. I spend my days working on design projects and blog posts. I try to spend a full day a week on jewelry. I’m still figuring out a good schedule. It’s a little overwhelming having so much freedom, honestly! But, it’s all worth it to me to be able to work from home and not be tied to my desk for nine hours every day.

The Inside Source: You have lived so many places—Seattle, New York, L.A... If you had to list some of your favorite things about the cities you have lived in, what would they be?

Kate Miss:

Seattle: It is an incredibly beautiful place with friendly people, delicious coffee (well, duh) and food. It’s a small city, but in a good way; it has a real sense of community and it’s easy to navigate. I love how close to nature you feel there.

NYC: It’s a beast. It’s alive and has this pulse of nowhere else I’ve lived. Everything is at your fingertips—the best food in the world, the best shopping, the best people watching. You can never be bored in New York City, which is good and bad.

And then there’s L.A., which I’m still getting to know after only being here for eight months. It has a bad rap for sure—if you think it’s just one big strip mall you haven’t actually been here. It’s massive, filled with so many amazing things to discover. The weather is unbeatable, the beach is a short drive away, and it’s so much less claustrophobic and chaotic than New York. L.A. has a growing interest in making itself a better, more creative place that doesn’t solely focus on the entertainment industry. It’s an exciting place to be a creative person right now.

For Me For You

Friday Bits is a weekly roundup of the best of the web according to blogger Kate Miss.

For Me For You

Miss is trying her hand at freelance photography. Here, a wedding she recently shot.

The Inside Source: Any exciting For Me, For You projects you can tell us about?

Kate Miss: Right now I am working on a fun collaboration making some art with my boyfriend, Will, which we hope to debut soon. I’m also taking on a lot more photography jobs, which is exciting for me. I like wearing a lot of different hats because I hate repetition and boredom!

The Inside Source: You talk a lot on your blog about great vintage and fashion finds. Do you ever use eBay for inspiration or shopping purposes?

Kate: I use eBay primarily for cameras. For buying vintage I bought my Ikon Ikoflex, my Mamiya 23 Press and my Lomo lc-a all on eBay. If I see a great photo taken with a vintage camera, I head straight to eBay to see what the going price is. I’m starting to run out of room for my cameras, but I have a list a mile long of more that I want!

Here's what For Me, For You blogger Kate Miss is coveting on eBay right now:

Roll over items for details

Heath Ceramics Dinner Plate

(buy it now price, $25)

Hasselblad Camera

(buy it now price, $34,160)

Rachel Comey for Anthropologie Intermission Heels

1. Heath Ceramics Dinner Plate: "I occasionally see if there are any clueless people selling vintage Heath tableware sets for cheap. (I should be patient and buy piece, by piece slowly, but patience is a foreign concept to me.) So far, everyone knows exactly what those jerks with more money than me will pay!"

2. Hasselblad Camera: "In my dream world I’d buy a Hasselblad or Leica camera. Emphasis on the word 'dream!'"

3. Rachel Comey for Anthropologie Intermission Heels: "I shop for shoes on eBay, vintage or designer, like Rachel Comey!"

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