2013 DIGIFAM SPEAKER: Robin Zachary

This is a series of interviews with the speakers of Digital Family Summit 2013, October 11-13.
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Robin Zachary is a New York City based stylist, art director and editor who blogs about her styling adventures at Propcloset.com. During her years as Creative Director of Bridal Guide Magazine she grew to love working with flowers, fine tableware and bridal gowns and to this day is still in love with weddings and the beauty surrounding this happy occasion.

 Robin teaches styling at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and is a regular at Wedding industry events. She’s also the Contributing Home Editor for Bridal Guide and blogs for Bridalguide.com. Her styling clients include Weddings by the Ritz Carlton, Wine Spectator, Cosmo for Latinas, Parents, Essence and People. She lives in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York with her husband, son Jacob and dog Casey.

twitter: @robinzachary
website: http://www.robinzachary.com
website: http://www.propcloset.com 

How did you get involved with blogging?

I started my blog PropCloset.com in 2006 to show behind-the-scenes photos and talk about my adventures in shopping and styling photo shoots. No one was doing this back then and now the stylist career has exploded. I receive emails every week from people who want to assist me to learn how to do what I do or just to tell me that they like my blog. That makes me feel good!

I don’t blog regularly because I work constantly but I am active on Twitter. I feel like it’s hard to explain how hard I work and how much goes into being a stylist beyond being on a photo set with models and makeup artists and photographers all day. I’ve have always been creative. I sewed my first doll outfit at 3 years old and I made a fashion design scrapbook when I was 5 years old. I designed and sold a line of hand painted T-shirts while I was in High School that supported me through college. My career path in a nutshell has been Artist –Graphic Designer–Art Director –Creative Director — Editor  –Stylist.

I can only imagine how different my life would have been if the internet was around when I was young. I think I would have started a fashion blog at 5.

What blogs do you read regularly?

Pinterest, various wedding blogs, fashion blogs, and blogs by all kinds of artisans. I like to read about what inspires them. Pinterest is non-stop eye candy and I can never get enough of it.

If you could travel back in time and send yourself a message, what would it be?

I would tell myself to have more confidence and to take more risks. I always liked to learn from people that had more experience than me and I still think of myself as a learner even though I have so much experience now!

Any advice for young bloggers?

Create your own photos rather than using photos you find on other blogs. Regurgitating content from around the web shows unoriginality and I see way too much of it. At least give credit if you use someone’s photo. I see the wrong person getting credit all the time. Also, please edit your writing for punctuation, typos and grammar. You will look smarter and be taken more seriously if your writing is error-free!

What do you think is the greatest opportunity for digital teens today?

Making money through blogging is the most interesting opportunity today. Teens can have a business plan and a very different life than their parents had.

What’s the biggest danger facing digital teens & their families today?

Spending too much time online and not experiencing people face-to-face. Having technology down time would be ideal but is difficult to enforce. Since everyone is broadcasting their lives online now, it’s hard to separate the good people from the bad.

What are you going to talk about at the conference?

As an Adjunct of the Fashion Institute of Technology I teach photography and fashion students the complex process of image making. There’s more to it than meets the eye. I guide them in creating the perfect photo through making esthetic choices about the content, color palette and composition among other things. You can create a good image easily but with a little more thought and experimentation you can create a great image, so why not? I like to engage the group with fun hands on experiments that involve playing with materials in various patterns and colors in order to open your mind to more photographic possibilities.

What’s next for you after the Digital Family Summit?

As soon as I get home I am going to Bridal Market which is the fashion week for the bridal world where I see all the new wedding fashion lines and Tabletop Market where I see all new product launches in tableware. I’ve got work coming out in several print magazines, Weddings by the Ritz Carlton, For The Bride Magazine, Bridal Guide and Cosmo for Latinas. In addition to my class at FIT I plan to start teaching workshops independently because I get so many requests for them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Adam Gertsacov is the co-founder and co-organizer of Digital Family Summit.  He wears many hats, including those of a professional clown, an author and publisher, an artist/educator, a non-profit administrator, a P.T. Barnum impersonator, a flea circus impresario, and the esteemed hat of the Clown Laureate of Greenbelt, Maryland.