We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Becca Blumer of Beauty In Blume a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Becca, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think a part of me always wanted to pursue a path like this. I grew up looking at Seventeen Magazine, and Vogue, always wishing I looked like the women I saw on those pages. I would look in the mirror and see only my flaws and how I didn’t measure up to those glossy pictures. As I got older, I knew I would never be rail thin with a thigh gap. That wasn’t me, it wasn’t how I was built. But what took more work was realizing that this was okay!

I spent so long fighting how I looked and trying to blend in, and it was exhausting. So instead, in my mid 20s, I decided to walk a different path. I started dressing how I wanted to dress, without worrying about every little piece of my body so much. I took pictures that embraced and highlighted my curves, instead of using angles that hid them. I also started speaking up about my mental health and how I was truly feeling, and I started addressing struggles I faced with my relationship with food. With all of this, I started to get a little bit more confidence.

When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, my world cracked a little. I lost a job that I loved, I had a huge falling out with a very close friend, and my beloved grandmother passed away all in the scope of one year. The cracks spread to my mental health, and I really struggled to piece things together as I grieved multiple losses. The world was grieving then, for loved ones lost, for inability to be with one another, for businesses being shut down. There was so much sadness and frustration everywhere, and as I sat in my home staring at the computer screen, desperately searching for a job, I realized I needed to do something that would bring me some joy. So I thought back to when I first started embracing myself, and I smiled. I considered how much work I still needed to do on myself, and also how maybe I could help someone else by sharing some of that journey. And thus, out of a lot of crazy, Beauty In Blume was born!

Becca, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Beauty In Blume is all about being REAL!

In my blog I share real moments, unfiltered, and (mostly) unrestricted. I talk about fashion, body positivity, mental health, beauty, food, and overall wellbeing. I also throw in plenty of pictures of adorable dogs! Beauty In Blume is meant to uplift, engage, and empower and bring a dose of fun to ALL!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After a long job search after losing my job to COVID layoffs, I ended up finding a job in Virginia. I was absolutely terrified to leave everyone and everything I knew and move to a new place. But with the support and love of my friends and family, as well as colleagues and mentors, I packed up all my things (and my very grumpy cat) and took the leap!

Unfortunately, Virginia turned out to not be the right move for me. The workplace I entered was toxic and I felt all of the work I had done on myself slipping away. I fell into a very deep depression and hit my lowest point. I really didn’t see any light around me anymore. I had to climb out of a giant hole, and while it sucked and hurt and was exhausting, I did just that. I left the toxic workplace, started working on me again, and eventually came back to Cincinnati, the city I love and where many of the people I love reside.

I was, and still am, VERY fortunate, that I had an incredible support system through this climb out of darkness. While Virginia wasn’t the right move in the long run, I never would have met the amazing friends I made there had I not taken that chance. The Virginia gang will be my lifelong friends! I was also supported immensely by my amazing friends in Cincinnati, who called me and texted me to be there for me even when they couldn’t be next to me physically. These friends are still my support network, and I thank my stars for them every day. I am also very lucky to have a family who cared and came to my aid in more ways than one, my parents and brothers helping to complete my support foundation. I am thankful for all of these people every day, and while I continue to work on myself and fight the good fight, it is these people who help me get back up when life knocks me on my ass again!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The things that drive me the most are representation, equality, and inclusion. My goal is to create a blog that might help someone else feel seen. I want people to look at my posts and read the captions and see themselves in the posts. This is something I always wish I had more of in my younger years, being able to see someone I identified with in magazines, movies, social media, and pop culture in general. I felt that if I had one person to identify with, I would have felt less alone and been more confident. So it is now my hope and goal to be that person for someone else.

After that, the secondary goal is to just have fun! I want people to laugh and smile! I firmly believe with a little more laughter, the world would be a better place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beautyinblume.wixsite.com/blog
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beauty__in__blume/?r=nametag
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becca-blumer-2a19b8102/

Image Credits
Picture of me in the orange tank top and black pants by Allison Darling Photography