She’s just 20 years old, she’s crafty, she’s talented, she’s gorgeous… can you tell that she’s my DIY idol? I am ABSOLUTELY thrilled to introduce you to LaurDIY. If you haven’t had a chance to watch her youtube videos you’re in luck. Check out LaurDIY’s Kimono Tutorial:

Amazing right!? Curious to know more about LaurDIY? Again, you’re in luck. Lauren answered a few questions for me so that we could all get to know her a little better.

Tell me a little bit about yourself:

My name is Lauren Riihimaki, the 20 year old Torontonian behind the YouTube channel ‘LaurDIY’. I’m passionate about creativity, glitter anything, shiba inus and of course, DIYs!

How did you get started on Youtube?

I actually started YouTube by accident you could say. I originally started a blog in my first year of university when I was feeling creatively stifled, showcasing DIY projects using photographs of each step of the project and little word blurbs to go along with them. At some point I decided it would be easier for me to explain the steps in the form of a video, so I was really only creating YouTube videos for the sake of plopping them in a blog post! The DIYs started to get some attention on YouTube and I realized where my main focus/platform should be!

How long have you been a Youtuber?

I posted my first video sometime March of 2011 but didn’t get serious about consistently posting until the summer of 2011, so I’ve just passed my 2 year mark!

What’s your biggest tip for someone who’s just starting out on Youtube?

My biggest tip for others is to always be yourself. I know that’s corny and our parents have drilled that into us for our entire lives, but it’s so true! There are thousands of people making similar videos on YouTube, but what makes them stand out is how they deliver the tutorial (makeup or DIY), or how they let their personality shine through (still sounding super cheesy – I know). Sometimes I’m not even interested in a video topic, but I’ll watch a video solely based on the fact that I love hearing the way a YouTuber talks about whatever it is they’re doing!

What do you want to do when you grow up?

My life pretty much revolves around ‘LaurDIY’ now to be honest! If I’m not DIYing, editing, watching YouTube or keeping up with social media, I’m most likely still thinking about what’s next for my channel. It’s kind of like when you have something really exciting coming up, and you can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a constant excitement around the next DIY or what’s next for my channel. In terms of ‘normal’ things though, I also enjoy graphic design, shopping (duh), friend/fam/boyfriend time and I guess schoolwork could fall under this category too.

How does it feel to be recognized on the street for your videos?

It is seriously the WEIRDEST thing. I haven’t gotten used to it and I don’t think I ever will! The fact that some girls consider me a ‘YT Celeb’ and want their picture taken with me… It’ll just never be a normal aspect of life for me! I’m just a super normal (actually pretty weird) girl who talks to her camera once or twice a week. It’s pretty much the best compliment you could ever receive though, I can say that for sure.

 

What do you want to do when you grow up? 

Exactly what I’m doing right now! I’ll be going full time with ‘LaurDIY’ in April 2015, and it really is my dream job.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I’ve been told that YouTube is the tv of the future, so who knows what opportunities could arise from everything happening now. Hopefully ‘LaurDIY’ is still relevant and people are still interested in my DIYs and not telling me I’m old and washed up! I honestly have no idea where this could take me, but I’m SO excited for the future. If I ever had the opportunity, I would love to start something of my own on the side as well. Potentially a clothing line? Who knows what the future may hold!

Do you have a role model? If yes, who and why?

Aside from my mother, who I of course look up to in many ways as a role model, I actually have a few that I categorize more as icons. Claire Marshall from the YouTube channel ‘heyclaire’ and Sammi from ‘beautycrush’ are both young women who I totally look up to as style icons. No one rocks a band tee and leather jacket better than these babes. Bethany Mota who I’m sure you’re familiar with, from the YouTube channel ‘macbarbie07’, is also extremely inspiring with everything she’s accomplished. At 18 she’s accomplished more things than I could ever imagine in a lifetime!

Tell me about your experience online. Was it tough starting out? Did your viewers gradually increase or was it sudden stardom?

Being an online personality who’s involved in the online world can be one of the greatest things but also one of the most terrifying. There’s so much anonymity on the viewer’s end so there’s nothing stopping them from unleashing a paragraph of hate (luckily I have the sweetest and most amazing viewers ever so I don’t experience more hate than the average YouTuber). I’d say that’s one of the most concerning elements that people have when they’re starting out. I read something once that completely changed the way I look at hate comments. If a hate comment can affect you personally and get into your head, why can’t a positive comment? For every hate comment, there are hundreds of positive ones, so it’s just changing your perspective on all the comments you may receive. In terms of starting out, it’s definitely intimidating to think of all the other similar channels that are out there but I think because I’m a DIY-focused channel there are always new potential subscribers actively searching for my content. I also started YouTube ‘by accident’ so I wasn’t obsessing over my growth statistics which probably saved a whole lot of anxiety around starting out. I did notice pretty gradual growth though throughout my 2 years. I would say it was gradual growth, a quick increase, a bit of a plateau and then sky rocketed! It’s incredibly unpredictable though so all you can do is produce content and see what happens!

 

Thank you Lauren!

Jackie xo