Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/384868
"I will only work on collaborations that truly fit with my style and that I feel honest about." —Andy Torres STYLE SCRAPBOOK The Netherlands Andy Torres, born in Mexico and based in Amsterdam, has turned her seven-year-old blog, Style Scrapbook, into a profitable brand, having partnered with companies such as Mango, Kipling and Canon on collaborative items and ad campaigns. "I'm fortunate that I can make Style Scrapbook work financially, although we still only agree to maybe 30 percent of collaborations we discuss," she explains. "My readers are all smart enough to know if I were to work on a project that did not fit my style, and it would have an impact on how they view me as a person. I will only work on collaborations that truly fit with my style and that I feel honest about." Torres' personal style and openness has won many loyal fans (the site has more than a million Facebook followers). Her posts mostly consist of images of herself traveling the world fabulously dressed— a bit like a cross between a street-style shot in a magazine and a selfie. "We have always kept the focus on building a relationship with our readers," she says. "I honestly believe that if you put forward content that people will want to follow and engage with, they will." Andy Torres, founder of Style Scrapbook Camila Coutinho, founder of fashion blog Garotas Estúpidas GAROTAS ESTÚPIDAS Brazil Camila Coutinho launched Garotas Estúpidas eight years ago as a hobby, or, as she humbly puts it, "a way to talk to my friends about celebs and stuff." While celebrity style is, indeed, one of the site's main focuses, it's also become a popular source for coverage of the latest trends in beauty and fashion, style-skewed events and red carpets, as well as for Coutinho's own high-low style. "I can go easily from Prada to Zara," she quips. It's also extremely influential in Brazil's ever-growing fashion scene. Since the site is very visually driven—with images of clothing and accessories, chic celebrities at events and Coutinho herself—Instagram has logically become a medium for additional content. "It's another means of communication," Coutinho says. "You have to be more creative and elaborate different content for every social-media platform beside the blog. The audience has changed a bit because of Instagram's accessibility. It's not that we have lost readers, it's just that the same reader who used to access the blog five times a week, now does it three times and gets her daily dose via Instagram. It means even more communication and contact!" 58 BAL HARBOUR