Miranti Andi Kasim: Miranti Andi Kasim (from left to right), her daughter and Nike Prima Dewi. (JP/Karlina Octaviany)

Pastel colors, geometric patterns and homemade cookies are among Nike Prima Dewi and Miranti Andi Kasim'€™s favorite things to be found on LivingLoving.net.

After both of them decided to resign from their full-time jobs, Nike asked Miranti to channel their creative passions into a collaborative project. Living Loving discusses creativity and living and they hope it will become a reference for home décor, do-it-yourself (DIY) projects and other content related to lifestyle and travel.

'€œThe reason we chose a blog format instead of an e-magazine was we wanted the readers to feel intimate with us. Just like reading a story from a friend, which has two-way interaction,'€ Miranti explained.

Together they use social media to accommodate the diverse characteristics of readers. While the blog provides the full details, social media is the place to get a sneak peek at the next blog post, discount info and travel photos. Every platform is dedicated to a different purpose, so there is no content repetition.

'€œThe reason we created Living Loving was because it was hard to find a creative and living local blog that had the same tastes as ours,'€ said Nike.

For reference, Nike loves Creaturecomfortsblog.com and Designlovefest.com. Miranti who formerly worked for Martha Steward Living magazine gets inspiration from Marthastewart.com. Although it is hard to find local blog inspiration, one source is Thebabybirds.net.

Managing the blog together does not necessarily mean they agree on everything. Nike and Miranti have different tastes in music and film. They settle their differences by organizing workflow; Miranti selects DIY materials and Nike edits the videos and selects the background music.

Nike and Miranti have many aspects in common. They went to the same university and worked as a team for two-and-a-half years in a lifestyle program on a local television channel. Now they both enjoy motherhood and work freelance in the creative industry, media and social media.

Choosing local products for Living Loving is based on Nike and Miranti'€™s personal taste. The factors are simplicity, modernity, functionality and details. They also consider price '€” not too fancy or unreachable. Regarding location, they prefer if the products can be purchased online. The process begins with hunting products online and offline.

'€œWe source from gallery shops like Dia.lo.gue in Kemang and home-furnishing centers like Ace Hardware, Informa and IKEA. Also handmade crafts from across Indonesia, such as the Mayestik or Beringharjo markets in Yogyakarta,'€ Nike said.

'€œA supermarket is a fun factory once you get a closer look at their stuff. Personally, I love scrapbook stores like Made With Love in Grand Indonesia; scrapbook paper and cute knick-knacks,'€ said Miranti.

Living Loving accepts product recommendations from their readers and local producers. Besides design criteria, they explore the concept or mission behind a product.

'€œProducts made with a clear concept are more interesting compared to cute products,'€ said Miranti.

To add a personal touch, Living Loving provides DIY tutorials. The materials should be easy to get, even for people outside big cities. The methodology must be simple, not time consuming, and with no special skills required so that everyone can follow it.

'€œ'€˜If you can'€™t find the perfect product, create it.'€™ That is one of our maxims on our profile page. Sometimes we can'€™t always find the right thing. '€˜Perfect'€™ here does not mean without defects, but a product that suits our heart and fulfills what we need,'€ Miranti explained.

Living Loving started off with Nike and Miranti paying for hosting and other technical specifications out of their own pockets. Now it generates income from advertisements and creative projects like party decoration.

'€œWe did not expect to progress so quickly. In 11 months, we'€™ve collaborated with various parties. It has been fun!'€ Nike stated.

'€œWe made new friends and experiences. Not only locally, we'€™ve also got to know people from other countries,'€ Miranti added.

As Living Loving received a positive response, Nike and Miranti unlocked a new opportunity. They became party organizers for small-scale events. They even hosted a backyard movie party, Minutes to Midnight, using recycled materials for decoration. Pecha Kucha also invited them as speakers to talk about collaboration and support for Indonesian products.

'€œNowadays a lot of local home and living products have good design and quality. Indonesia has such rich resources. The community, especially young people, is proud to buy local products. From a market perspective, there is still a lot of potential. But the shortcomings are in terms of quality,'€ Nike explained.

'€œThe home and living products market is a niche. The current prospective buyers are not too concerned whether they are local or imported products. As long as the quality is consistent and meets their budget. You can now easily find high-quality local products with their own uniqueness.

'€œSome home accessories or crafts just follow the design of other products that have already been successful. So some products are less original. They lack consistency in maintaining quality control,'€ said Miranti.

Their next project will be an intimate offline gathering of friends who share the same interests and supporting fields. It will begin with a small chat to develop events together. They also plan to invite experts for blogging workshop collaboration.

'€œWe truly believe that there is so much potential, especially for women, to empower themselves and others through blogging and communities,'€ said Nike.

As the website grows, they'€™ve learned how to update content regularly, deal with public relations and marketing. Nike and Miranti opened Living Loving as a collaborative process. Although it is a personal blog, they give space to contributors as long as the writing style and visual characteristics match Living Loving criteria.

'€œIt'€™s about all things lovely,'€ Nike stated.