A day in the life of Emma, The Artful Foodie

In this post we’re going to be introducing you to one of our all-time favourite instagrammers Emma, commonly known as @the_artful_foodie

We started following Emma when her account was only small and have watched her quite literally flourish over the last 6 months. If you’re looking for foodie inspiration, photography tips or even just an account to drool over, she’s your gal. Let’s get started!

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A photo posted by Emma, UK… healthy foodie (@the_artful_foodie) on Apr 22, 2016 at 12:01pm PDT

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We have been great fans of your work for some time and consider you a huge inspiration when looking for good food styling tips. We know from your instagram that you are a mum of one, but what is it that you do full time?

Thank you so much ladies, what a compliment.

Actually, my ‘day job’ couldn’t be further removed from my ig life. I work as a civil servant’s for the Department Of Working Pensions as a deputy Partnership Manager and a Community Work Coach. My job consists of working with services such as Probation, drug and alcohol services and mental health providers, on the implementation and roll out of new projects. As a community work coach I work intensively in the community with the users of these services, to help them turn their lives around through education, training and eventually, employment. It’s extremely challenging but equally fulfilling.

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Before picking up the blogging bug, what was your passion?

Design! Digital design was something I’d done for a long time, I created wall art, logos, invitations, personalised prints, cards and more. I had an online shop on Etsy, but once my food work started getting more intense I closed down my shop. I still dabble from time to time, I’ve even created logos for fellow food bloggers!

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Where do you REALLY take your photos?

The reality behind my food shots it’s far from glamorous haha. A huge tile on the floor of my conservatory and that’s it! the light is great in there as it’s filtered so it works great. I’d love to utilise my kitchen as a natural backdrop, but it’s not very pretty right now, we’re planning a renovation in a few months so hopefully I’ll start then.

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A photo posted by Emma, UK… healthy foodie (@the_artful_foodie) on Apr 21, 2016 at 12:11am PDT

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What was the last thing you spent money on?

It’s usually food related things, Im a sucker for surfing the antique and charity shops for props. I have the cutest one nearby called The Old Curiousity Shop (a nod to the great Dickens of course) – I buy lots of cute spoons and linens from there.

In actual fact I’m pretty frugal when it comes to buying for myself, but it was my birthday recently and my husband talked me into buying a Mulberry bag with my birthday money… Eeek, my handbags are usually £20 from high street shops so having this one feels pretty special. It will be the most extravagant purchase I make in a long time.

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If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?

Gosh this will sound super cheesy, but right here… if you’d have asked me 10 years ago, I’d have said Thailand or New York or at an elephant sanctuary in Africa. But now I’m heading towards 40 and have a 4 year old I’d honestly prefer to be here, at home with her and my husband. The three of us have such a fun, loving relationship and have the best time, even just playing board games or walking in the woods.

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Scary movie or happy ending?

Happy ending for sure… always. If a film has a sad or uncertain ending, my husband knows to extend the ending by make up a little happy story, so that I don’t end up sad for the rest of the night haha. I’m a walking contradiction, being a fiery Arian Yorkshire girl, but I’m also a bit of a sensitive soul sometimes too.

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A photo posted by Emma, UK… healthy foodie (@the_artful_foodie) on Apr 5, 2016 at 11:45am PDT

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One thing that you couldn’t live without…
My blender, barely a day goes by when I don’t use it! Be it for smoothies, banana ice cream, pesto or soup. High powered blenders are a foodies dream.

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Run the marathon or movie marathon?

Movie marathon… without a doubt. I have a long term disability and a chronic illness which means I struggle to exert myself much beyond a walk in the woods. Not that I’d be running marathons anyway haha. Not my bag. Movies however, YES – I’m a huge movie buff and there’s nothing I love more to help me relax (apart from reading) than watching a good, meaningful movie with a great storyline and amazing characters. I love everything from slap stick comedy to political dramas, I’m open to anything really.

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A photo posted by Emma, UK… healthy foodie (@the_artful_foodie) on Apr 7, 2016 at 12:00pm PDT

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Sweet or savoury?

Savory!! Although if you look at my food creations you’d probably be surprised. I have sweet cravings as much as the next person, and I adore making sweet treats, especially raw slices, but one little piece a day is enough to satisfy me… savory is where my heart lies and the spicier the better. Ethnic food is my all time love!

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Describe to us a standard ‘day in your life’:

I guess I’ll go with what I do on my day off (I work part time)… I lead a very unglamorous life so well done if you get to the end…

*I start the day at 7:30, making Isobel (my 4 year old) her breakfast – then do the school run.
* then back home to make my breakfast – days off are when I make a blog worthy breakfast as I have much more time then. I shoot and then eat whatever it may be whilst reading on my kindle!

*I then do chores around the house (yawn) for an hour and the rest of the day is usually spent in the kitchen working on new recipes. Last week we foraged wild garlic so I spent my days off coming up with and shooting new recipes for it.

*By 3.15pm I’m usually running out of the door, covered in remnants of my food creations (yes, I’m the mum that’s always late and messy wearing ripped jeans and chucks with food in my hair from when I forgot to put the top of blender on properly)

*after collecting Isobel the rest of the day is a whirlwind of playing dress up, homework, housework, until dad gets home to take over…

*this is when I make dinner, I love making dinner, it relaxes me so much. If I’m making something like veggie burgers I’ll ask Isobel to help me, I love it when we’re all in kitchen pitching in!

*once Isobel is in bed I generally sit and edit my food pics, work on my blog, post on instagram and then if I have time watch TV or read… fave shows right now are Walking Dead, GoT, Deadwood, 11.22.63, Luther!

*Then 11:30 bed… Zzzz

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A photo posted by Maya (@delicious_and_healthy_by_maya) on Apr 23, 2016 at 1:57pm PDT

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Who’s the person that inspires you the most?

Person… hmmm! Tough one. I don’t actually think I can pin it down to a person. My main influence is instagram and the many amazing people (including you guys) on there who constantly blow my mind with their creativity. Also the people who follow me and give me such great feedback, they inspire me to continue doing what I do! I have to mention here Maya Brekalo from @delicious_and_healthy_by_maya who has given me so much support and motivation from the beginning of this journey

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Gosh, Emma, you’ve blown us away. We had no idea that behind the scenes you were such a superwoman. It’s so humbling to hear how happy you are right now and we wish you the greatest success with the expansion of @the_artful_foodie. We’ve absolutely no doubt that we’ll be seeing lots more of you this year!

Don’t forget to follow Emma over on instagram.

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