Welcome

Hello and welcome to the launch of my new blog and website revamp!

My name is Stella Swney but most of you know me as Stella Claire – Claire being my second name after my grandmother. I’m so excited to introduce my ideas for this blog and where I would love for this to go!

The main purpose of starting a blog is to connect with you, my friends and customers on a more personal level. I think creating a brand goes way beyond selling and buying a product. As a consumer myself, I love buying into brands that I can connect with. Stella Claire is all about kindness, supporting one another, supporting local industry and sustainability, all the while making the world a better place. It sounds corny I know, but I really do think that this is an amazing way for me to share these goals with you so you can trust in me and what I do.

Before I dive into the themes of the blog, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a full time student / full time business owner. I was born in Auckland and went to St Cuthbert’s College in Epsom. Since finishing school in 2018, I moved to Wellington to study at Massey University, majoring in Visual Communication Design. I love studying at University and I love Wellington. It does get hard balancing my Uni and business life, but I am learning everyday.

I’ve always had a flare for design. My mum is a fashion designer herself and my dad had an advertising / PR business - I guess you could say it was a natural progression for me to find passion in the design world. Along with my love for design, I also have a background in performing arts. I was fully involved in performing during my high school years. I love to sing and my guitar is my ‘go to’ place for some peace. Putting myself out there on stage has always scared the shit out of me but it has shown me how taking risks can be empowering - I guess that is what led me to beginning Stella Claire in the first place.

Just like anyone, I have had my fair share of ups and downs over the last 20 years of breathing but one thing I've learned through all of this is to give up on the search for perfection and take a step forward complete with all of its imperfections.

So enough about me - Here are some of my ideas for topics I will cover in my blog:

• Feature interviews, hearing your stories. Whether these be other small business owners, friends of mine, people who inspire me - the list goes on! If you have something to say, a voice to be heard - please do get in touch!
• Goals for Stella Claire
• Sustainable/ethical fashion
• Juggling business/university
• Wellness guides
• Inspiration

… And definitely more to come! This is just the basis of where this project will start. I’m just going to go with the flow and see where this takes me.

So that’s me! Thank you for supporting my journey and my business! Stay tuned and please reach out if you have any questions or stories you would like me to share.

Be kind, be yourself.

Until next week, Stella x