She Bangs, She Bangs

Muireann Carey-Campbell never fails to make me laugh with her satorial and snarky wit on her blog, Bangs amd a Bun. She covers nearly everything from relationships, fashion, music, travel and life itself - all with amazing aplomb. In February she reintroduced vlogs on her blogs where she muses about the perils of mother nature and she also has a fantastic section called 'Please Bitch' where she doles out some tough advice to those who really need it. Muireann started her blog in 2007 when she was living in Canada as an outlet for her creativity and since then she has made a mark as a very popular blogger as well as a colourful character on Twitter. She took ten minutes out to talk to me about life in the blogging lane.

What made you start blogging? 

I left England in 2004, not long after graduating and having worked for a couple of music magazines. I lived in a few countries and by 2007, found myself living in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. I'd wanted to get back into writing after experimenting in other career fields. I really wanted to write more lifestyle/fashion type stuff, but my portfolio was full of music journalism and it was limiting me when I applied for jobs. I was managing a small accessories store at the time and spent most of my days surfing the net. That's when I came across blogs and just immersed myself in them. I'd never really heard of them prior to that. The more I read, the more I thought 'I could do that!' and I started jotting down some ideas of the types of things I could put on a blog of my own. 

Describe the concept behind Bangs and a Bun. 

Well, if I do say so myself, I'm a good story teller. In a group of people, I love to hold court with a funny anecdote and make people laugh. My mother said to me years ago 'you should write the way you talk', and I've always tried to follow that. So I try to write like I'm just having a conversation with a friend. The early posts on Bangs and a Bun are just funny anecdotes from my travels. A lot of them are based on emails I used to send my friends and family. They'd always write back to me saying 'you're so funny, you should write a book!' Once I used up all my good anecdotes, I had to evolve the blog somehow, so just focused it in on topical issues, but I always keep it funny. Bangs and a Bun is essentially a humour blog about fashion, relationships, music and the quirky things in life. 

Over the last year bloggers have really made their mark at fashion shows and in the media, how do you think they will continue to push the boundaries over the next few years?

I think newspapers and magazines took a hell of a long time to understand how much of a force we bloggers are. The great thing about blogging is that we build up such a connection with our audience. They know us and can communicate with us. We're not huge companies with hundreds of staff. We abide by our own rules and aren't restricted by having to cover one thing or the other. I think in that sense, especially when it comes to fashion, there's more honesty in blogging. Blog readers trust their host to give them the real lowdown. Our coverage doesn't have to wait to be in the paper tomorrow morning. Since we're in the age when everyone is online and wants their information not now, but right now, bloggers definitely have the edge. I think in the future, this is just going to grow. We'll see more and more bloggers on the front rows and if the magazine and newspaper journalists feel like we're taking their spot, they're just gonna have to up their game! 

 

You come up with a lot of topical issues on your blog, how do you get your inspiration?

Could be something I see, a conversation with a friend, something I say on Twitter that gets a crazy amount of response - really just all over the place. As corny as it sounds, one of my favourite things in life is to make people laugh. Nothing makes me happier than giving someone that big guttural, eye watering chortle. So if I say something and it gets that kind of response, my first reaction is: 'I've gotta blog it!' 

Describe a typical day in the life of Muireann Carey-Campbell.

I work in my family business. We publish nine community magazines in Leeds. I'm the features editor for those, so that keeps me busy from 9-5. Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that I tweet my way through the day like a mad woman! My evenings are usually spent blogging or researching. I'm re-learning to play piano at the moment, so I'll get a little practice in for that. I also just got into boxing training recently, so I'll go work out once a week with a bunch of sweaty dudes with broken noses. I'm also very into film, theatre and dance, so if there are any events going on around the city involving those, I can usually be found there. 

What are your favourite glossy magazines?

I'm not nearly as much of a magazine junkie now as I used to be, as I spend so much time online. My favourite mag is New York Magazine which is actually a weekly and it's not even available in England, so I'm at a bit of a loss without it! They always have really great articles and an awesome style section (they also have a crossword at the back, which is the only one I can ever seem to come close to completing). I don't read any of the women's glossies anymore - I can't stand how one dimensional they all make us seem, like all we give a crap about is our clothes, boyfriends and diets. I like to think I'm a little more evolved than that. If I buy any magazine these days, it's usually The Fader or Complex (which is a men's mag, but is probably one of the coolest mags around).

Name five blogs that you read religiously

 

Gawker

Self Absorbed

Cajun Boy in the City

The Jaded NYer

The Rawness

How do you see Bangs and a Bun evolving over the next two years?

I've been getting more into video blogging recently and have been getting some great feedback, so I'd like to continue with that and hopefully keep improving - it's still a little cringeworthy to watch myself on video! I've been approached recently about getting involved in several different interesting projects, so I hope there'll more collaborations in the future. I'd like Bangs and a Bun to keep building a name on the interweb and eventually be the go-to girl when people need a funny commentary on bad fashion or bitch slaps.

 

You can read Muireann's blog here.

You can follow here on Twitter here.