Jay Leonard
Meet Elsie Bisnett, a California native now living in the Bay Area. She attended UC Berkeley and now works in talent acquisition and development for a digital marketing startup in downtown San Francisco. Outside of work, Elsie loves discovering new music, exploring the great outdoors, and pushing her culinary boundaries both at home and out at restaurants. Elsie’s passion for writing, running, food, and sharing beautiful and inspiring images has earned her over 99K Pinterest followers!
When did you start using Pinterest and what inspired you to make an account?
I started using Pinterest about three years ago. One of my favorite hobbies growing up was to create paper cut-out collages and inspiration boards full of colors, words, and images that inspired me. Pinterest is the perfect online translation of that! I started pinning because I wanted to be able to capture and organize all of the inspiration I found online, on blogs, in magazines, and in stores, and share it with myself, my friends and my family.
Why do you like Pinterest?
I love Pinterest because it’s a platform that lets you celebrate exactly who you are, but also dream about who you want to be. It’s like a roadmap for your soul that you can use to guide your life and share with other people! I love finding a perfect outfit, inspirational quote, or delicious recipe that is just so incredibly me, and then sharing it with my followers.
Elsie and her friends ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon last October!
You have gained over 99K followers! That’s amazing. What makes your Pinterest unique?
I think what makes my Pinterest unique is that it appeals to a lot of different styles & sensibilities. Aesthetically, my pins mix the freshness and simplicity of my small town country upbringing with the colorful city life I’ve come to love. And I feel like the content of my pins touches on every aspect of life – food & drink, love, goofiness, wisdom & motivation, wardrobe, home decor, travel & adventure. My Pinterest gives my followers the chance to dream about and enjoy so many elements of a well-rounded life.
Are you from The Bay Area originally?
Though I call the Bay Area home, I’m originally from a small town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains called Grass Valley. Growing up in the country gave me my love of nature and made it clear to me that I will always need room to roam. I live in the East Bay neighborhood of Rockridge in Oakland and I love that it’s the perfect mesh of my interests. There are miles and miles of hiking trails right out my back door and boutiques and family-owned restaurants just down the block. It’s my little slice of Bay Area heaven.
What are your favorite places you’ve traveled to?
Barcelona is by far my favorite city I’ve traveled to. My first trip there was when I was 15 and it was life changing. It’s a beautiful city in every way – the people, the language, the culture, the architecture, and especially the food! When I’m not traveling abroad, my staycation of choice is anywhere in Northern California. From San Francisco you can drive a few hours in any direction and be somewhere breathtakingly beautiful; Tahoe, Big Sur, the Central coast, and the list goes on! I’m spoiled to live in such an amazing place.
Elsie in Venice
What are your favorite Pinterest boards to pin onto and why?
I love pinning to my The Wonderful Words board, mostly because I’m a sucker for inspirational quotes. There’s something so powerful about reading a sentence or two and having it touch your soul and having it feel like those words describe your exact emotions or state-of-mind at that moment. I also love my Home Is Wherever I’m With You board. Interior design is a hobby of mine and I can’t wait to decorate my dream home one day!
Your ‘Food For Thought’ board is making us hungry! We also adore your ‘All Is Love’ wedding board. Tell us more about these boards and why you made them.
I’m such a foodie, so my Food For Thought board is a celebration of beautiful food and delicious recipes. I grew up minutes from my grandparents’ farm, so I’ve always been a fan of fresh and simple farm-to-table meals. I also have the biggest sweet tooth so I can’t pass up a good dessert recipe either! My All Is Love wedding board is full of inspiration for that special someday with beautiful venues, rings, dresses, and flowers. The theme that I’m going for is “rustic elegance,” tying together country roots and city glamour.
Art Elsie photographed in Oakland, CA.
What is your Pinterest style?
I would describe my Pinterest style as classic and refined yet eclectic. My boards are full of staple recipes that have a fresh new twist, wardrobe staples that add a pop of color or a statement piece, and home design style that combines modern style with boho flea market finds. I love things that are simply beautiful and beautifully simple, and I try to tie that into every area of my life, including my Pinterest boards.
Tell us more about your passion for writing, running, and your blog “Live.Love.Matter.”
I was an English major in college, so I’ve always loved to write. I started a blog a few years ago called Live.Love.Matter. which is a great outlet for me. My blog is a collection of things that grab hold of my soul and make me feel. Both writing and running are like therapy to me. I started making running a big part of my life in 2010 when I trained for my first major race – a marathon! For me, running is a great way to challenge myself and explore a new area, but most importantly, it’s my time to clear my head!
What are your plans and hopes for the future?
My favorite poet is Mary Oliver, and there is a line in her poem The Summer Day that says, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?” I love that. My hope for the future is simple: I want to make the most of this wild and precious life. I want to live a life of adventure, a life of growth, a life of love, and a life that I am wholeheartedly proud of. I’ve always told myself that if money were no object I would be a travel writer, so maybe my short-term goal is to travel and write more.
Connect with Elsie!
Elsie and her boyfriend Aaron
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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Zoe, this is a great topic, I love profile pieces! And Elsie, great job–I love your words.
Zoe, I’m putting together an online conference about influencer marketing and have been looking for someone to speak about Pinterest.
You should totally join us, there are a lot of big brands and thought leaders speaking!
Email me at [email protected] so we can chat!