My Fash Avenue is a fashion and beauty blog by Deanne Wilder. I started reading her blog a few years ago, following her style tips and product recommendations. We got to chat recently and had a fun and lively discussion about blogging, style, and life in general and I'm happy to share more about Deanne here with you.

Deanne started My Fash Avenue as a creative outlet in her spare time to offset her not-so-sartorially-interesting day job working in an office for a home-building company. She had discovered a few other fashion blogs (at that time, fashion blogging wasn't quite the concentrated industry it is today) and wanted to give it a try herself to express her passion for style. So she set up her website, bought an inexpensive digital camera, and, in the early days at least, had her sister take photos of her outfits. She had no idea that in time, her style blog would open her up to incredible opportunities.

One of the opportunities that came Deanne's way was a 4-page feature in Elle Canada! Since the young age of about 11 years old Deanne had dreams of being a model, but she didn't have high hopes of realizing this dream since her stature was always on the shorter side. So when someone from the magazine reached out to her to participate in not one, but two features in the same year, she was over the moon because it allowed her to turn her dream into reality. She loves that her blog has allowed her to do more than modelling, it also allows her to use her voice to talk about the topics and products that are important to her and share them with her readers. Blogging has helped her find her voice – it's hard to believe this now, but Deanne used to be an introvert; she says that blogging has built up her confidence and helped mould her into the person she always wanted to be. Another opportunity that My Fash Avenue brought for Deanne was her involvement as an original member of the Spark Sessions committee, an annual fashion and beauty blogger conference, where Deanne led marketing and blogger outreach.

Deanne continues to manage My Fash Avenue on the side of her full-time job, and even though blogging isn't her main gig she shows no signs of slowing down. Many nights, she heads directly from the office to an event, and yet she still manages to find time to post fresh content to her blog. She wants to make content that's more interactive and is currently working on adding more video content to My Fash Avenue. One must wonder how she manages her busy schedule while simultaneously managing to always look stylish? Some of Deanne's style tips are to keep accessories to a minimum and only go with one big statement piece, and not over-thinking her outfits – in fact, she says that her best outfits are the ones thrown together in the moment and are based on her mood.

You can take inspiration from Deanne's minimalist, edgy look by following My Fash Avenue on Wantfolio. You can see Deanne's style reflected back in the items on her want.boards and you can follow her profile here to see more of what she wants. Download the Wantfolio app so you never miss a post from Deanne!

Want more? Here's what We Want To Know about Deanne:

I can't start my morning without...playing my music.

I have a weakness for...sour candies.

Most people don't know that I...am 5' 1/2"

Currently reading... Walks With Men by Ann Beattie

I want...to travel the world!

Thank you, Deanne, for participating in #WeWantToKnow!