10
On this day ten years ago I published my first post under the moniker Loobylu.
Yep – I’ve been doing this for 10 YEARS. I did take a whole year off in 2006 so I have been debating with myself as to whether this is a anniversary of note or not, but I think I have decided that regardless of anything else, I have spent a whole decade, (more than a quarter of my life) online and that’s worth mentioning!
Lots has happened over these last 10 years – online and off. I can’t even begin to tell you how many good things Loobylu and the world of blogging has brought my way – including friends, laughs, confidence, opportunities, and lots and lots of amazing inspiration – some of it life-changing.
So thank you to YOU for reading here and sharing in all the good stuff and putting up with occasional whinge. Thank you for commenting, or emailing, for mentioning me on your blog or in your article, for buying my stuff on the odd occasion and to the kind souls for sending me stuff in the mail. Thank you if you just drop by and check out my stuff from time to time. I hope you stick around. I know it gets a bit shaggy about the edges, but that’s the way life is and that’s how I like it.
So in no particular order, here are my favourites and my bests who have meant something to me and my online life, people who have inspired me, supported me and made my life a whole lot better over the years (over the DECADE!) – I may have forgotten very important people, probably glaringly obvious people… that seems inevitable (sorry!)…
Amanda Soule, Kylie Gusset, Van Sowerwine, Daniel Bogan, Peta Calvert, Bronwyn Quilliam, Derek Powazek, Heather Champ, Paula Abilheira, Ben and Mena Trott, Megan Reardon, Amber Carvan, Kirsty Macafee, Shannon Lamden, Christie Fowler, Pip Lincolne, Alicia Paulson, Amy Karol, Hillary Lang, Jenny Harris, Elissa Baxter, Erin Lewis, the other Kirsty, All the lovely Aussie craft & writing & food & mum bloggers, Ben and Suzette Hosken, Christina Gordon and Paul Stephens, Fran Atkinson, Rachel Power, Suzanne Janes Schmalzer, Tania Howells, Meg Ulman, Anne, Lliam, Paul and Lara, Nic and Jud, Cassandra Allen, Gayla Trail, Anne Wilson, Maggie Mason, Jeffrey Yamaguchi, Someguy, Heather Armstrong, Anna Dorfman, Kathreen Ricketson, Shauna Reid, Samone Bos, Ben Ryan, Eliza Floyd, Theresa Smythe, Mimi Kirchner, John Martz, Buster Benson, Ward and Andrea Jenkins, Camilla Engman, Carly Schwerdt, Witold Riedel, Fiona Dalton, Jhoanna Monte Aranez, Nikki Hall, Rosa Pomar, Emira Mears, Alex Beauchamp, Melissa Hicks, Keri Smith, Christine Castro, Ada Saab, Kim, Claire, Marnie, Richard, Emma, Lizzie + Mick and my big, crazy, blog loving family and my 2 little girl humans and PHIL of course.
THANK YOU! Here’s to ten more years – when we’ll be able to check our favourite blogs directly plugged into our brains.
xx
One so should celebrate 10 years – that is such an amazing time. Lets hope in the next 10 years we can make a virtual toast of champers while being directly plugged into our brians
10 years is such an achievement! Thank you for being the inspiration for me to keep blogging on more than one occasion.
10 years is something to be commended and celebrated. Well done! I’d give you a gold watch for long service, but that’s a little cheesy ;)I’m sure you’d prefer some Japanese fabrics or something instead 🙂
Wow 10 years! That’s truly inspirational. Congratulations and here’s to the next 10!
Wow, I cannot even imagine blogging for 10 years. But then again I’ve only been at it for 2 months! Congratulations xxB.
Wow – you are really a pioneer and an inspiration to newby bloggers like me. Thanks for such a lovely blog – your holiday to the farm a few months ago was one of my favourite reads of the year. Cheers to another 10 years in blogland. Nic xx
Oh gosh Claire, I have got all teary now! A lot of your posts are memorable to me over the 6 years I have been reading your blog, but I remember one in particular right now when you were expecting Lily and you went and bought some tops from KMart. The story was compelling and funny and a little bit emotional. The illustrations were perfect too of course, and I relished that you had a day like that, and then turned it into something creative. I think that is my favourite thing about your blog, how you combine your amazing creative talent and your day to day experiences to make something which is close to home and inspirational at the same time. Thank you for sharing it all with us. Love, Melissa
WOW 10 years?! Congratulations!!
Wow 10 years! I hope the next 10 (any beyond) are great for you.
Nice one, Claire! Congratulations : ) Thank you for giving so much joy through Loobylu – it’s been a pleasure to read it. xx
Congrats on your 10 years! It takes major dedication to keep that up. I’ve probably been checking your blogs for roughly around that long 🙂 Thanks for sharing your life with us.
COngratulations on 10 years of your blog! You were one of the first blogs that I came across and inspired me to create my own!! to the next 10 years!
PS I didn’t even know blogs existed 10 years ago…learn something new every day!
Wow claire, 10 years!Almost 5 years ago, I was home with my first babe & googled something about sewing or craft & I found my way to your blog, i think i’ve been reading blogs ever since! Thank you so much for Loobylu (& kiddley too) I’ve enjoyed the ride & I feel pretty lucky to call you a friend too. x
WOW ten years! Congratulations.
CONGRATULATIONS, CLAIRE!!!Wow, 10 years?? I must say, that makes me feel a bit creaky, because I’m pretty sure I’ve been reading this blog for at least 9 of the 10.
I’m feeling a bit emotional reading this, to be honest. I remember you getting married, having each of your little girls, moving house and taking breaks, but most importantly, I’ve watched in awe as your talent as an artist has grown and developed by leaps and bounds over the years.
You are such an inspiration to me in so many ways.
Much love. xox
Congratulations! Yours was one of the two first blogs I’ve ever read (the other one was mariana newlands’ interludio. I still take my morning coffee in my Loobylu mug everyday 🙂
That year off totally counts. Happy anniversary! I guess this means we’re getting old.
And here is to another 10! Well done x
TEN YEARS! That’s such an achievement. Congratulations Claire. Thanks so much for sharing your creative world WITH the world. xxx
Thank YOU for being a stayer & an inspirer & thank you for being a really truly friend too. Love you & Looblylu too. xxx
Happy 10th Birthday Loobylu!! You were one of the first blogs I read, and I remember writing you a begging email in around 2002 asking if I could use one of you girl and cat illustrations as a background on my first efforts at customising my first blogging attempts. You are inspiring – not just in a blogging capacity, but in your ability to produce gorgeous art amongst the muddling along of family life. Thank you. xxx
Congrats! Yours was the first blog I ever read, years and years and years ago 🙂
Wow, congrats!I’ve been reading you for 10 years (that shocks me!!) and this is only the 3rd or 4th comment I’ve left 😉
Oh Claire, what a milestone! Thank you for 10 years of entertaining us, and making us all smile and feel part of your joyfully creative life. I’ve been here for almost 8 years – and will never forget you were the first blog that opened up a whole strange bloggy universe to me!!!! All from a little business card you left me at The Five Mile Press.Classic sign off!!! > “Heres to ten more years when well be able to check our favourite blogs directly plugged into our brains.”
Happy anniversary hoochie mama! and may our crafty shenanigans continue for many years to come.
Congratulations on 10 years. An amazing achievement! Cheers to another 10!!
Congratulations, ten years, that’s quite an accomplishment. Well done, and here’s to many more years.
Congratulations on 10 years!! That’s amazing! I only found you recently, but I plan to stick around, I love your blog!
Wow, 10 years is an amazing achievemnt. Your blog is fantastic – thanks for sticking it out.
You have delivered nothing but the best for 10 years and it’s been a huge pleasure to read and a bigger honour to ‘know’ you.Thank you so much for the shout out – right back at you! Here’s to another 10(0)!!
xo
10 years!! Wow, that is some achievement! Huge congratulations.
ten! you’re a star! and the reason I started blogging. and still a daily read. sooo glad you’re still at it! thank you 🙂 xoxo
Congratulations on making ten years. I don’t think I knew what a blog was ten years ago. Have they really been around that long? How lucky you are to have discovered it, the blogging world (especially the crafty circle) is such a wonderful place, full of fantastic people. Here’s to the next ten years – it will fly by I am sure!
Thank you and congratulations Claire! It’s been an amazing 10 years in webland and lots has happend in the real world too, for you and all of us. Yours was the first blog I ever read and you’ve been an inspiration to me (and many others, I’m sure). If we’ve seen so much happen on the interweb over 10 years, can you imagine what’s going to happen over the next 10? Too much excitement!
Happy, happy 10 years of blogging Claire! Wow, that is one incredible milestone. Thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful things through your blog. Like many others, yours was the first I stumbled upon when I initially started making stuff and your blog, creativity, work, honesty, motherhood adventures, kindness, and generosity have continued to inspire me. Wishing you many more years of happy blogging!
amazing achievement. congratulations and above all thank you for sharing your blog with the bloggy community
Oh dangit Claire, you made me all weepy. Thank you for ten amazing years of online wonderfulness… you are a sweet and creative soul and I’m so happy to call you my bloggie pal. Cheers and here’s to many many more!
Goodness me,congratulations, 10 years of blogging is well worth a mention, and then some. Thanks for being the inspiration that drew me into the world of blogging. xx
Claire, thankyou so much for the past 10 years. Your blog has always been a favourite to read and has been such an amazing inspiration over the years. I remember around 9 years ago, freshly out of high school, stumbling upon your website and loving your cute little illustrations and your laid-back, friendly writing style. I was so intrigued by it, your blog was like nothing I had seen before! I remember writing you an email, which probably read as nervous as I felt, about the font you used and your illustrations, which you promptly wrote back to, as charming and personable as you seemed in your blog posts, and I was elated. I promptly went out and bought a graphics tablet and a copy of Illustrator. Your blog was something aspire to, and I began studies in graphic and web design based on the idea that maybe one day, I could do something like what you did. I remember baking your recipe for chocolate brownies at least twenty times during my second year of Uni! And your illustration of learning to drive has always been a favourite of mine. When I realised that I wasn’t a natural illustrator (which was disappointing, but not a real surprise), I moved toward graphic design, and 8 years later, I have my own little design studio which I adore. Thankyou for being such a positive influence – and I look forward to reading about your adventures for many many years to come!
Incredible- 10 years! And talk about life changing- yours was the first craft blog I ever saw. I discovered you when you illustrated Dooce’s birth story. I thought- interesting, someone who is blogging about craft, I could do that, I’d like to do that, I will do that! You have been an inspiration to so many of us!
Wow!!Amazing, I can’t even imagine ten years of blogging. I was doing web design that long ago and people kept telling me the internet would never take off 🙂
thats bloody brilliant!you were one of the very first blogs I ever read, thank-you!
jus
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! What an inspiration to last this long on the blogging circuit. You are an inspiration to us all in so many ways. xox Meagan.
Congratulations Claire! The internet wouldn’t be the same without Loobylu.
Congratulations! That means I’ve been lurking around your blog for at least half a decade, probably more! Wow! Your blog is the first blog I’ve ever read, and from you I’ve woven my way around the internet to hundreds of other blogs, and even joined Brown Owls this year and became friends with Pip and Sue and Kirsty – one of the best things I’ve ever done! And really, it all started with you! So thank you. I figured it was about time I came out of lurking to say hi and thankyou!
Oh my goodness, congratulations, Miss!!That means it must be 9 years since I was sitting in my little office at the local uni, when I met a woman who was writing her Masters about blogs. I had no idea what she was talking about so she sent me a link, through which I found Loobylu. I am so grateful to her – but especially to you for all these years of wonderfulness, good humor and inspiration. Yay you! xo
Congratulations! You certainly are a legend in blogland, and the longest survived blogger I know of.Thanks for all the blogging, shagginess and all.
Wow, I think this makes you officially an Australian Blogging Institution! Congratulations, I still cant believe you have kept up this pace for ten years.
claire!so many people are blogging because of you. I can’t tell you how many people I know say Loobylu was the first craftblog they read. amazing how many lives you have touched.
here’s to 10 years and 10 more to come!
oh wow, claire! ten years! congratulations! you were one of the first blogs I read. I can still remember balancing a tiny ezra on one hip while checking your blog. you brought so much inspiration into my life, especially during a time when I seemed to have so little contact with the outside world. 🙂 and thanks so much for mentioning me above… so totally honored.xo
THANK YOU for consistently bringing a smile to my face, what a lovely addition to the blogging, crafting, writing, art and rare talent community you are!Congratulations on a fantastic milestone!
Felicitations! Bravo! Et MERCI for putting me on the list of people who have added to your life. I am honored. You know if I made a list you’d be on it also, for sure. You are huge inspiration to me, and one of those precious people who every time I catch up with I say to myself, ” wow that was great, let’s catch up more often”. so thankyou lovely lady, so glad to know you. xxx
Loobylu = The Original and The Best.I heart you. I do.
You act way more mature then most ten year olds, I reckon, btw.
xx
congrats to you .yours was one of my first to read , enjoying it heaps and more fab to come!
Congratulations Claire! Loobylu was the first blog I ever found on the net and I am SO happy for having stumbled onto it a few years ago, your good humor and honest style is always uplifting!! You have introduced me to a WORLD of lovely, inspirational people which has broadened my horizons. Chele xxx
Lovely blog, real life stories and inspiration and creativity. Congratulations and here’s to 10 more.
Congratulations! on 10 fab years, thats when i first bought a computer! I remember reading your blog and not leaving any comments thinking I wasn’t allowed unless I had a blog of my own! it was you that inspired me to find my online voice, thanks for a great blog and here’s to the next 10 years!
Happy blogging brithday! 10 years, what a feat!
10 years. What an absolutely fabulous achievement. I’ll be chuffed to reach such an amazing milestone one day. Congratulations.
Hearty congratulations xxx
Congratulations on such an important milestone, double figures!
Congrats Claire!!!I’ve been reading you all this time and it’s been a fabulous ride!Here’s to many many more.
Hip, Hip, Hooray for a fabulous decade. You were one of the first blogs I ever read beginning five years ago and only recently stopped lurking! Thank YOU for so very much for so very much! xo
Congratulations! Ten years is huge. Yours has always been my favourite blog. 2006 felt really long.You are such an inspiration. A funny, humble inspiration.
Congratulations and thanks for all the inspiration and lovely reading.
Wow, well done, and congratulations to you. I’m new in town and looking forward to the next 10 years xox
Thank you for the last whole decade; for each and every post, for each and every word and for each and every image and link. Thank you for opening your door to all of us and for inviting us in with your generosity, humility, humour, candour and creativity. xx
Wow, 10 years congratulations.I popped over from Meet Me At Mikes because I recognised the softie on the post – the one my daughter and her friends have been begging to make for months now. Great work.
hey. i’m glad you found me on diaryland. and that i got to be your first axe murdering blogger. here’s to another ten, eh? (yes! i’ll be back!)
Congratulations!
Wow, 10 years?! Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! What a milestone – definitely something to celebrate.
Massive effort and jolly big congratulations to you for racking up those ten years. I don’t think I had even heard of blogging ten years ago! Well done and thank you
Congratulations!
love reading your blog! thank you and congratulations!!!!!!~jikits
10 years!! Big congratulations, Claire! I have no recollection of how or exactly when I first came upon your site… but what I do know is that you’ve been doing consistently fantastic and inspiring work the entire time.
Congrats! I have been following you for 5 of those years! Wow! It is wonderful how many of use you have brought together in a life changing fashion!
Hurrah! My tiny personal blog just passed 10 years last month and I have been reading yours since the beginning as well. In fact, I bought a Loobylu mug back in Oct 2000 and put pictures of it up on my site and it’s remained the top viewed thing ever since. And it’s still one of the top used mugs in my house!Thanks so much for 10 years of fun, thoughtful words and beauty.
YAY for Loobylu! 10 years that is definitely worthy of a mention. A big CONGRATS from me. I certainly hope there are 10 more!! Evie xx
Awesome achievement! Congratulations on the milestone. Your blog was among my first listed favorites.cheers
Wow! That’s amazing. I’m so happy to be on your list. If I did one you would definately be on mine!! xo
Happy Anniversary! The web is definitely more a more wonderful place with you in it.
i’m a bit late but i have to say congratulations. like so many others, i remember reading your blog back in the day and i remember how it opened up a new world for me: the world of crafty blogs!so thank you for your efforts in sharing things with us, your humility and sense of humour. at the risk of sounding cheesy, you are an inspiration!
We pop by your blog every now and again and love it. So thank you and a big congrats on 10 years. I mean, wow!
happy 10 Claire! thanks for 10 such wonderful years.
Ten years! That’s solid gold. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Here’s to many, many more. Your blog is always a delight to visit. ALways.
STILL THE ORIGINAL AND THE BEST!
wow — 10 years! congratulations, but mostly thank you!! i’ll join the chorus and say again that your lovely, sweet, charming blog was one of my first finds and still one of my favorites.so glad you decided to stick around :)here’s to 10 more happy bloggy years!
I found you in a Wired magazine blurb, when my oldest was a baby, time flies…On another note, after ten years on the web, I’d say you have a enough material for a novel right here. Congratulations!
Like so many have said…”Congratulations- on Ten years”…you certainly were the inspiration for me starting my own blog and I am definitely not alone here..I still love reading your blog after 5 years! and look forward to many more posts from you 😉
Warmest congratulations!I too, was inspired to blog by you and still love to see what you’re up to.
Yours was one of the first blogs that I remember reading – I’m so happy that you’ve kept up with it! Congrats on the decade! Next year it will be 10 for me too (blogging, not G+N). So weird that so much time has passed!
Congratulations! I’ve been reading your blog for the past 4 years and I did miss you in 2006. I’m so glad you started again. Good luck with the next decade.
Thanks to you as well! It’s been great to have such an “old friend” in the blog world in that we’ve gone through some of the same things together – being pregnant for the first time, breastfeeding (oy) and even taking a break on the same year.Here’s hoping that Sooke trip comes around some time. Either that, or we finally sell all our belongings and move down under like Dickson and I say we’re going to do about once every year.
congrats claire! you are still one of my favorite blogs and you are huge inspiration!here’s to the next 10 years! xoxo
claire!! 10 years!! i can’t believe it.where does the time go?!
eeeek! or should i say, here’s to another 10 more.
x peta
Thank YOU for being an incredible inspiration to all us bloggers. Thank you for getting me started on craft blogging – it was your blog I first found when searching for how to make – or where to get the materials to make – felt dolls. Thank you for sharing your life with us.Here’s to another 10 years – lots of loveKathreen
oh my goodness i am on your list??congrats on 10 years and i have to say , you were the first blog i found and it knocked my socks off- you completely inspired me!!thank-you!
Darling Claire with the heart of gold, if it hadn’t been for you I probably wouldn’t have known what a blog even was. You are still and always have been such an inspiration. Much love, alicia
You are welcome, for whatever it is I did! I only just now saw this post and couldn’t believe my name was in it, next to such luminaries. Blush. Now I’ll have to get blogging again…
Wow, that means I was 14 when I began reading Loobylu. Weird, yet nice all at the same time 🙂