Sometimes a plain thing such as feeling the need to get a hobby, can lead to undreamt-of possibilities and conjure into existence part of ones hidden talents and creative treasures.
So it happened in the case of Melanie Kieback alias vanellimelli, the Berlin blogger that convinces with a gorgeous and distinctive picture language, full of youthul authenticity and a bubbly personality spreading contagious enthusiasm. To discover her world is like diving into a good piece of music, you sink into emotions, memories and dreams of the future, adventures and inspiration. We had a chat with lovely Mel about looking for new ways of creativity, realizing that the internet is not everything and reminding people to smile.
You started your blog at the age of 13. What was your initial trigger to do so?
Honestly.. I needed a hobby. I was a gymnast before and I was training four times a week and when I stopped I didn´t know what to do with all my time. So I started taking pictures of myself, random stuff and my friends. I was reading some magazines regularly back then and found out about “online diarys” aka Blogs and found it to be the perfect output for my creativity. smiles.
Since you are, amongst other things, blogging professionally now, what has changed for you – in terms of how passionate you feel about it f.e. I mean it´s great to have more success and grow, but have you kept this passion and easiness that you had back then when you started? Or is difficult at times for you to be creative under a certain pressure to perform?
The passion is there, 100%. But of course you feel a certain pressure at some point. For me that is not really because of success or because of more followers. I sometimes just feel like I have done everything that is possible in 9 years and I don’t like to repeat myself. I get that feeling from time to time, but I know now it´s just a phase and that it´s not true at all. Creativity is inexhaustible, you just have to look for it in new ways.
“I just like smiling to people´s faces, because most of them look grumpy, especially in Berlin and sometimes they just start smiling back.”
You said that you used to get weird comments from teachers and pupils about your looks and that back them you couldnt react too well on that. How would you react today?
I am still a person that doesn´t have all the self-confidence in the world. But as I became older, I started to realize that it doesn´t really matter what other people think about you. And I just like smiling to people´s faces, because most of them look grumpy, especially in Berlin and sometimes they just start smiling back. Maybe because they’re confused or because they noticed they haven´t had a smile on their face for the entire day.
Do you think it can be problematic for young people to expose themselves too much on social media these days? And is that something that you are concerned about for yourself?
Yes, I think it can be problematic. But there were always problematic things throughout history which young people could get caught up in. I learned that you have to keep a certain distance to the whole thing otherwise it eats you.
“My personality? I would say I am a peaceful, really emotional little soul, that will always try to become her best self.”
Could you live without the internet?
I wouldn´t want to :) It is such a great medium to use, why spare it? You just have to realize it’s not EVERYTHING. But for example streaming music, having all the access to different news sites or being able to see your best friend who’s at the other end of the world… I don´t want to miss that.
„For me Style has always been a tool to express myself as a human being. My style was never over to the top crazy, but let´s say compared to my friends I mostly looked a little different..“ is a quote by you. How would you describe your style and in that sense also your personality nowadays?
I don´t want to categorize myself but someone once said my style is a mixture of “hippie-at-heart”, “laid-back” paired with some California Skater girl. I think that fits pretty well. Personality wise I would say I am a peaceful, really emotional little soul, that will always try to become her best self.
What is your favourite season fashion wise?
Spring and Autumn.
“Creativity is inexhaustible, you just have to look for it in new ways.”
Do you make the „monthly diary videos“ yourself – all the filming, cutting and editing?
Yes, all handmade by myself. I have to say they are my baby’s. They really come from the bottom of my heart.
Your life seems so cool and exciting in those diaries. If someone would ask you for advice on how „the real life of a blogger“ looks like, what would you answer?
Well, the “real life of a blogger” is answering mails. laughs. And apart from that it´s not always as exciting as it looks. February was a crazy month because of all the fashion weeks. I can imagine that it looks oh-so-cool and I have to say it was an amazing experience, but also very exhausting. But if you look at the other diaries, I think you can see that I am just a normal girl from Berlin who meets friends, watches Netflix, who gets emotional and is a little clumsy.
“I learned that you have to keep a certain distance to the whole thing of social media, otherwise it eats you.”
Is that you playing the piano in the January Diaries? If so, sounds awesome and do you have any musical ambitions?
Yep, that is me, I had piano lessons for more than 10 years. laughs. One of my biggest whishes is to be a musician. I already created tiny little pieces with someone for my Youtube videos and it made me very happy. But when it comes to music, that´s where the pressure really hits and I can´t be as creative and open minded as I want to. I am such a big music lover and enthusiast, that I feel like everything I try sounds crappy. I know that everyone starts with small steps, but I am a little perfectionist and getting rid of that regarding music is really hard for me.
You stated once: „2017 could be a bit nicer, as 2016 was a bit crap..“ What are your wishes for 2017?
Falling in love with myself completely.
What´s your favourite quote to live by?
If the hurt comes, so will the happiness.
vanellimelli.com
www.instagram.com/vanellimelli
images provided by Vanellimelli
