Pinterest should be your Bible
Plus: other ways to mass out your inspiration like the hunter-gatherer you are
The renaissance of Pinterest is my Roman Empire. I am someone who has never stopped using the platform; I have distinct memories from 2013 of burning through hours of pinning during my History of Photography course (apologies to my professor but he didn’t care about us as much as we didn’t care about...really anything.) A quote about Raymond from RateMyProfessors.com: “Love love love this man. He might have no interest in his students but no one teaches art history better than him. No presentations or papers, lets us use name sheets on exams - easy A.” (I got a B-)
Long-winded, but some of my best pinning happened in that class. I started the illustrious wedding board—a source I referenced ten years later for my actual nuptials and quickly made private. Among the many saved recipes for one-pot meals (I didn’t own a Crockpot nor were we allowed to have them on campus), women with washboard abs, and too many outfits that looked like this; the most important board on my roster was home. A concept that was wildly farfetched for a 20 year old photography student living in a Cambridge dorm (which was quite reminiscent of Saltburn, actually.) I daydreamed about what my future could look like, all the while oblivious to the fact that future me would be spending her hours wrapped up in all facets of interiors for her career. Is that manifesting?
I’ll cut to the chase: I use Pinterest every single day. Mostly for my day job, but it is all too simple to get lost in the sauce of the algorithm. And thus is the crux of this post—if you’re not using Pinterest, you should be.
My common sense, but perhaps not practiced, tips and tricks:
Make a board for EVERYTHING
I did not stutter. My boards range from “Al Fresco” to “Content Inspiration” to niche and project-specific. Do you get manicures every two to three weeks like your life depends on it? Nail inspo board. Doing a mini reno in your home? Project board. I don’t think I need to beat this horse further—you get the gist.
Follow creators that inspire you
Much like Instagram, TikTok, and yes, Substack, Pinterest is full of your favorite people that do shit you might like. Seems commonplace, but it’s not necessarily the first place you may think to look. It’s gaining traction (again) at a fast rate, maybe I’m just trying to make Pinterest happen, who cares. It’s replacing the Tumblr-sized void in my heart—and if I may, you can follow me, too. Can’t promise it isn’t one thread away from unorganized chaos and please for the love of god do not look at anything older than three years.
Use affiliate marketing to make money off of your doom scrolls
Dollars in your wallet with minimal effort. If you’re a creator of any kind, and have access to affiliate links (ShopMy, Amazon, etc.) you can create pins, and upload your personal content with an affiliate link attached. This is passive enough and so low lift that you might as well try. Yes, this is a more niche way of using Pinterest, but a way of using it nonetheless. Like most social media, curated and aesthetically pleasing imagery garners more clicks than just a stock photo, but you do you. Also why am I spewing business advice? I’ve got to move on.
MANIFEST, BABY! Create that vision board
A newer practice for me—fun and exhilarating. That’s an inflated statement but I digress. Much like putting pen to paper, I find that flipping through the archives of the internet ether makes for a meditative practice. My board for 2024 is private, and I plan to keep it that way as a superstitious woman. Showing it would be like spewing out my wish the instant the last candle flame is snuffed on a birthday cake. What I will share is the tidbit that I want to learn how to crochet (???) and this insane Miu Miu jacket is a reminder of that.
A few last mentionables: Locker is like Pinterest’s shoppable sister and I have both Chrome extensions installed for ease of switching between. Pinterest can be shopped, but I love the idea of having a separate platform specifically for buys. When I’m trusting the algorithm to show me SS ‘25 interiors swipe but it’s serving me charm necklaces I cannot look away from, I happily oblige and give into the algo-gods by saving them to Locker. This is a new-to-me platform, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t riding the high of another space to curate stuff. Much like I mentioned in the In Residence bio, my tabs are endless!!!
Another place to pop off on your Pinterest-like saving spree is on Instagram. My saved section looks like the fucking Wild Wild West. No rhyme or reason, just a bunch of posts saved all willy-nilly. I can’t be alone in this phenomenon. Yeehaw!
I’ll dive head-first off my soapbox, now.
Until next time.