The Darien Times

Stacey Bewkes: Blogging in Style

Written by Susan Shultz
Thursday, February 09, 2012 09:00 AM

When you think of a blog, what does that word bring to mind?

It might be aggregating other news stories, entertainment recaps, or just a diary-like account of the average Joe’s daily life and thoughts.

But all blogs are not the same.

Darienite Stacey Bewkes runs a blog too — and hers is a full-time job.

Bewkes’s blog, Quintessence, is about style, in all its forms. Bewkes writes researched, original, full-length articles at least three times a week on fashion, home decorating, entertainment and many other topics.

Recently, she did a full spread on the new Tim Burton version of “Dark Shadows,” and a several-part series that toured a designer home called “Living with Color in Connecticut.”

Bewkes and her husband Bob, a Darien native, moved back to town to raise their four children in 1991 from New York City.

Though she worked at Simon & Schuster for 17 years, Bewkes was on the art directing side rather than the writing side.

However, after reading through other blogs, Bewkes told The Darien Times she thought to herself, “I can do this.”

“I have so much information and this is a way of sharing it,” she said.

Bewkes described Quintessence as “a lifestyle blog, anything that has a sense of style.”

“I write about art, architecture, interiors, movies, books, travel, food, fashion and wine,” she said.

Bewkes started Quintessence in August 2010, and up until the end of last year was posting a full story every day.

“What I really love are topics that have a substance. I love the back story, style and substance,” she said.

In 2012, Bewkes has started posting stories on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and is still finding she puts in more than 12-hour workdays for her 15,000 monthly readers.

In addition to her blog posts, Bewkes also does video interviews and on the scene reporting for her stories, including a series on fashion designers.

Bewkes, who describes her blog as little magazine articles, said her fans approach her in town to tell her how much they enjoy it.

She also covers local businesses, such as the Darien Cheese Shop — one of her favorite places.

Bewkes is active in all forms of social media, and her blog has a presence on Facebook and Twitter. She was chosen as one of 18 U.S.-based bloggers chosen to attend the London design festival, which she covered on her blog in film.

Quintessence is also a finalist in the Design Blogger’s Hall of Fame for best style blog writing.

Bewkes is active in other areas of the town’s style world.

She has written the holiday design book reviews for Barrett Bookstore for their newsletter.

The bookstore is another business Bewkes has spotlighted, as well as Nielsen’s Florist and EspressoNeat, in addition to other locations in neighboring towns.

“I was the Connecticut blogger chosen by Connecticut Cottages and Gardens to cover the redo of the Governor’s mansion (The People’s Project) and the blogger picked to cover the prestigious Rooms with a View show this year in Southport,” she said.

Despite putting in the long hours, Bewkes has yet to be financially compensated for her efforts.

While many online sites offer spots for sponsors, and though she’s had many offers, Bewkes doesn’t accept them.

“I want my site to maintain its editorial credibility so I will not put ads on the blog,” she said.

Until she can figure out how to “monetize” the site without compromising the editorial side, Quintessence will remain a labor of love for Bewkes’ 3,000 subscribers.

More info: quintessenceblog.com

sshultz@darientimes.com

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