Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Noia.
Christina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a Chicago girl, born & raised. I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago with my huge, crazy, Assyrian family. My bragging point is that I speak Assyrian which stems from Aramaic, which is the language the Bible was written in. NBD
I made my way to the city after college, naturally, and currently live in Noble Square with my boyfriend, Leo. We recently finished up rehabbing our place. Outside of blogging, I work full time in the digital advertising world, specializing in all things search. Guess some of those skills have come in handy with the blog and all!
I started my blog, Cuddlepill in early 2015 (3 years flies by FAST). I woke up one day and thought, “I want to start a blog”. I’d been experimenting with photography for a few years – my dad is a photographer, so growing up it was a huge part of my life – and always had a passion for fashion (I won best dressed in high school, need I say more?). I wanted to have a place to push my creative boundaries and also encourage me to focus on the things that I love. Well, I did it, and here we are.
Cuddlepill = your daily dose of whatever cuddles mean to you – comfort, happiness, connectedness, inspiration. I blog about fashion, beauty & lifestyle.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Where do I begin? Honestly, it was really hard to finally pull the trigger & get the blog started. I was also terrified of posting pictures of myself at first – you’re really opening yourself up for judgment and it can be very scary! After time, I became less concerned with what others thought because I was loving what I was doing. And truthfully, the feedback has been generally positive all around. No regrets!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m the editor behind Cuddlepill, a Chicago-based life & style blog. I blog about fashion, beauty, living… really any and everything that I’m passionate about! My own style sets the foundation of the blog – I share outfit posts once a week. I also think my style is what sets me apart from others, especially in Chicago, where the style tends to be more classic. I have more of a retro/vintage/funky vibe going and am always trying to push my comfort zone and experiment. My style evolves as I evolve as a person.
What were you like growing up?
I joke about having a loud mouth, but it’s the truth. I’ve always been loud, outspoken and very opinionated. Basically, I have no filter, which can be a great thing but also can backfire terribly (so far, I’m in the clear!). I’ve been into fashion since high school where I got my first job as a salesperson at Nordstrom. Literally, a DREAM job for a high school/college student.
It inspired me to express myself in ways I never had before, and I felt like I had lost touch with that side of me after college. That’s what fueled me to start a fashion blog – I missed being creative in that way.
My dad is a wedding photographer, so being surrounded by that growing up I was always fascinated by it. I started to become really curious about photography around the same time I was trying to rediscover my style. Those two things came together at the same time, which worked out really well for me as it inspired me to create this platform.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cuddlepill.com
- Email: cuddlepill@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/cuddlepill
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/cuddlepill
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/cuddlepill_
- Other: www.pinterest.com/cuddlepill_
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
