What’s in a name?

Well, nothing and everything I suppose. This week I decided to change my Instagram handle from Mrs Trufflepig to my real name, Genevieve Harris. I’ve been thinking about doing it for months. There were various reasons, but most importantly, it just didn’t feel like me anymore. I’m a terrible people pleaser, if there is one thing (there are many) I would change about myself it would be to not care so much about what people think about me. I’ve gotten slightly better as I’ve grown older, and having social media as my main job has taught me to develop a thick skin, but criticism from a stranger still stings more than I know it logically should.

When I started my account four years ago, I had no plans or goals as to what it would turn into. I picked Mrs Trufflepig out of the air, I thought it was silly and I didn’t want anyone to think I was taking myself too seriously. I used the account as an outlet to show photos of things I’d made or loved, whether that be a recipe, wreath, outfit or room I was redesigning. As I had so few followers, I genuinely did everything for myself, to please myself. Somewhere along the line, as my followers grew, I fell into that trap that the algorithm can encourage. Creating content that performs well, rather than content that is authentically you. Of course there has to be a balance, I can’t fully turn my back on the industry trends and patterns, after all, I have bills to pay like everyone else. But the danger is, putting content that performs well but doesn’t really resonate with you isn’t sustainable, at least it isn’t for me. It takes me anywhere between 2 to 6 hours to film and edit a reel. If I didn’t find the content interesting, I would start to resent it. Career satisfaction is something I have found for the first time in my life, and I want to hang on to that dearly.

When your account grows quickly, a strange thing sometimes happens. Your profile is put into a box, and your audience decides what box that is. This wouldn’t happen in any other walk of life, but I suppose it’s a result of transmitting everything over a screen rather than meeting someone in person. In the early days, I started filming my ‘Knick Knack Chit Chats’, a very nervous, awkward chat at my kitchen table, showing all my car boot sale finds on a Sunday. Slowly, it gained popularity and I gained confidence. I now love talking to camera, and out of all the different hats you have to wear as a content creator, I think ‘presenter’ is one of my favourites. Vintage and antique finds have always resonated well with my audience, and it’s something that I love. However, I also love makeup, skincare and fashion, which I know does not perform as well as a post talking about antiques.  Thing is, if I don’t show a bit of everything I love on my account, it’s not a true representation of me. I know not everyone will like everything (although the people pleaser in me wishes that weren’t the case) but my best hope is that there will be something there for everyone, and enough of what they like to stick around and be inspired.

And that is the reason I decided to start using my real name, I want my account to be a truer representation of myself and all the things I love.  Of course there will always be an element of theatre and fantasy behind Instagram, escapism is something we all need from time to time. As much as I’d love to show you a photo of the mountain of clothes piled onto the sofa staring at me in my room right, I’d rather show you a mouth watering recipe or a really bloody gorgeous coat.

For those of you that follow me on Instagram and on here, I thank you so very much. I’m always mindful that without my audience, I could not do this job that I love so very much.

 

X Genevieve

 

…and now on to a recipe!

Squash Gratin with Spinach and Comté

Ingredients