Name: Monique Bartley
School and year: Barnard College ’16
What inspired you to make The Better Martha? I started following fashion blogs in high school and was really attracted to the idea of having one of my own. My first blog was called A Gem In the Corner, and it was a monumental failure. I’m no major fashionista; my pictures were subpar and I wasn’t dedicated to it because it was disingenuine to me. One day in my sophomore year of high school, I baked for one of my teachers and she exclaimed “Oh my goodness! You’re the better Martha!” Something from that clicked. I went home that day, deleted my old blog, and created The Better Martha.
You’ve had this blog since you were 16, which is impressive – anything I started at 16 was probably abandoned by 16 and a half. How has the content and style changed from high school to college? Aside from adding a few more dorm and college related posts, I think the content is still very similar: ideas and projects that don’t break the bank and add a bit of sparkle to your life. The major changes that I have made to The Better Martha have been aesthetic. The layout has gotten better as my web design skills have improved, and my photography skills have come a long way since my first few posts. When I look back on the first couple years, I actually cringe because everything looks so terrible.
Monique’s photography three years ago versus Monique’s photography now.
What’s your favorite project you’ve done? I love my post about the angel food cake dessert. I had made a few accidents while baking, but I was still able to make it into something better than what I had originally envisioned. I had gotten a request from a reader asking me to make a dessert that was (relatively) healthy so I was really pleased that I was able to do so without sacrificing taste. Also, I’m in love with the black back drop. Usually my blog is light and bright, but I love the drama that the change of style made.
What about the most difficult? The ombre sneakers were a bit of a challenge, not really because they were hard to make, but because they were hard to make while simultaneously trying to get the necessary photos. But that’s just the general challenge that comes along with most of my blog’s posts. It’s all a big balancing act that challenges my time management abilities.
If you were any item of kitchen cookware, what would you be? And, of course, would it be Martha Stewart brand? Ha! I think I would be a bright pink stand mixer! It’s equal parts multi-tasking-workhorse, equal parts fun and stylish. To my knowledge Martha has not made a line of stand mixers, so I’ll stick with the classic Kitchen-Aid.
Where do you hope to take The Better Martha – or where do you hope it takes you? I would love to be doing partnerships with companies like Target, Paper Source, or Macy’s. If that were to happen it would be very far down the line, so for now I’m really enjoying The Better Martha as a creative outlet. It’s a project that has come such a long way, and I’m so proud of it. I love interacting with my readers (some of them all the way in Israel), and I love when I’m introduced to someone on campus and they go, “Oh I know you! You’re The Better Martha!” It’s fantastic! On top of all of that, I’m always trying new projects and food to blog about. It doesn’t always go so well, and as a result it has made me more open to failure and risk taking. I imagine I’d be a much less interesting person without this blog.
You can follow Monique and The Better Martha on her website, Pinterest, Facebook, Bloglovin, and Instagram!