We talk with Judy and Jane Aldridge about their successful blogs, inspiration and being a mother-daughter powerhouse.

Often times when I’m seeking inspiration I turn to the web to see what’s going on with other bloggers. Two of my favorite blogs happen to be run by a mother-daughter duo. Both Judy and Jane Aldridge have separate sites that are equally fabulous and they occasionally collaborate and share content. While each gal tackles a different subject matter, the wit, original content, beautiful posts (and that common sea reference) never fail to inspire. The personalities of the blog auteurs are also chronicled in the endless pages and photos devoted to objets d’art; and these insights into the talented Aldridges are just as fascinating as the awe-inspiring content they create.

Jane Aldridge

In case you've been living in a cave, here are the cliff notes: seventeen year-old Jane is the ethereal girl behind Sea of Shoes, a blog that she started at the age of fifteen as a summer project. Her mother Judy started blogging not long after, chronicling her eye-catching interior ideas on the blog Atlantis Home. I spoke to both ladies from their home in Texas. The casual conversation and buoyant banter between the two affirmed their genuine enjoyment of blogging and mutual respect and inspiration.

Judy Aldridge in her kitchen

Beginnings

I wanted to start at the beginning and asked each woman how their blogs were born and why they thought Sea of Shoes and Atlantis Home have become so popular.

“It’s completely home grown,” says Jane of her content. And with refreshing candor she says, “if you’re asking me why I think my blog is popular, honestly I think it’s only because I started at a good time. If I started my blog now, I would never have as many readers. I was very lucky to have started my blog when I did.” 

Jane in her croc jacket

Following in her daughter’s footsteps, Atlantis Home, Judy’s blog, has a similar aesthetic, albeit for the home. Atlantis Home is filled with French country charm, gorgeous homemade meals and other items that make a house a home. Her focus is broad, yet her signature taste is ever-present. Judy recently posted an amazing cherry pie recipe, a piece on vintage brooches, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at her interview and photo shoot for Nowness. She also freely expounded on my question of readership,

“I think people tune into our blogs because they like a certain lifestyle that we project,” she says. “It’s certainly not what we actually live, believe me.”

Judy's insanely yummy-looking pie from Atlantis Home. 

A post from Jane on Sea of Shoes

Mother-Daughter Dichotomies

Most teenage girls want nothing to do with their parents, and I found myself wondering how it is that these two get along so well. Jane addresses this thought with such ease, it’s clear she’s used to the disbelief that a mother and daughter could really be so close. “People say things like, 'Jane and Judy’s blogs are so gross! They love each other; it’s disgusting.'” She continues, “I feel sorry for those people, but nobody gets excited about stuff like me and my mom do."

"No one else matches our level of enthusiasm. I certainly couldn’t have any kind of relationship with any of my friends like I have with my mom.”

Jane models a vintage pin from Judy's impressive collection

Inspiration

I asked where they go for inspiration, and it turns out it’s largely to one another. Currently Jane and Judy are both channeling folk art and are talking about a trip to Museum of Folk Art in New York. They bounce ideas off one another and it seems likely that the shared experiences and interests create a cyclone of inspiration that whirls between them. Tokyo, thrift stores, Barnes and Noble magazine nights, and movie nights at home inspire both ladies.

Brooch heaven

What they’re offering is an original experience and an escape from reality, a peek into an artistically designed and curated world of fashion and home.

Knowing Their Readers

Both women reiterated the importance of original content. Jane says,

“I think our blogs are freshly personal. There are a lot of blogs out there that cover fashion, but for us it’s totally homegrown content. We’re not going to blog about Chloe Sevigny’s Opening Ceremony collection.”

Judy's dining room table. So gorgeous.

Judy echos,

“We definitely talk about original content and those are our favorite blogs.”

Judy on-set at the Nowness photoshoot

The concept of originality surfaced again when I asked about expectations from their readers.

Readers are looking for “an original experience and probably a bit of an escape,” says Judy. “That’s what blogs are for me. I like to go and see what people are doing.”

And Jane concurs,“I’ve never really created this [blog] thinking: this is for the reader on a budget, or this is the hot fall trend. People don’t want to read that, they want to have fun.”

This great DIY entry on Sea of Shoes detailed how to make the claw-footed muff seen here. So cool.

Individual Style

With a closet that must stretch for miles I couldn’t resist asking what were the gals favorite wardrobe pieces. Judy’s was a jacket, she’s had “since high-school with amazing fabrics and embellishments.”

Jane resisted the temptation to name a solitary piece, instead commenting that there’s no one look that she strives for. “I think I take after my mother in that I’m more of a collector than a style connoisseur."

"I think I really just like to have a lot of beautiful clothes and maybe they won’t all go together, but the clothes come first before style.”

Jane's boots—drool worthy!

A shared world all their own

Jane cautiously says,

“I think we do live in a fashion playhouse with all our little toys and clothes to dress up in. The outside world can be so negative. And we’ve definitely created our own little hole from our closets, our house, our music, what we watch on TV, our dogs,... we have created our own little idea of our fantasy world.”

A photo from Douglas Friedman. Both Judy and Jane are huge fans of the photographer and were floored when he recently shot their home for the Nowness interview.

Judy chimes in saying, “Yeah, Jane and I are into hoarding pretty things and then looking at them in the closet, more so than we’re about wearing them.”

And yet there’s a very grounding element as well,

“we’re totally into what we’re doing at the moment,” says Judy. “I’m making biscotti and Jane’s working on her art. And that’s what you’ll read about on our blogs because that’s what we’re doing.”

Jane's paint set-up

Judy's Chocolate Chip cookies

And clearly this is a world that others appreciate too and that’s why they visit each woman’s blog. Not only do viewers to recede into a momentary escape of ethereal fashion and perfect home fantasy, but also to be drawn into the continual narrative story that this mother daughter duo each weave through a consistent and continually update on-line blend of fantasy and reality.

* A special thanks to Jane and Judy not only for the interview and their time but also for granting permission to use images from their websites.