This week, we’d like to introduce you to Robin Farr, the woman behind the popular postpartum depression and motherhood blog, Farewell Stranger

What’s your official job title, and where did you go to school?

I have a day job, but for the purposes of this interview my title is Blogger. I have a bachelor’s degree in family studies from the University of British Columbia and a master’s in professional communications from Royal Roads University.

Elevator pitch. Describe yourself in a nutshell (or sea shell, or any shell for that matter).

Mine is totally a sea shell. I was born near the mountains but grew up by the ocean. As a kid I spent hours playing on beaches and poking in tide pools and those things became a central part of my identity. And yet when I grew up and got brave enough, I moved back to the mountains because that’s where I thought I should be. So many of the good things in my life are because I was brave enough to take a leap and find my wings on the way down.

Why did you pursue what you’re doing now? What was the inspiration?

I started blogging about postpartum depression on New Year’s Day 2011 (because part of me is neat and tidy like that; no random Tuesdays for me).  I had been struggling for 2 ½ years by that point and I was trying to take back control. I had a story to tell and I thought that if I told it, it might help me get better and might just help someone else along the way. It did both, and also released my long-hidden inner writer. I missed her and didn’t realize how much until she came out to play.

What is the best part of your day-to-day?

In terms of blogging, I have two very different best parts. One is that I love sitting down to write knowing that I can write whatever I want. I can publish it if I want to, or not. I can break all the rules of writing. I can play with images. Each post is how I’m feeling in that moment and no one gets to dictate my content but me.

The other best thing is when I hear from other moms who are struggling and have come to me for help. That’s such a huge indication of faith and trust and it humbles me every time. And to know that something I have written or said helps another mom through an incredibly difficult thing makes all the times I’ve been vulnerable so worth it.

What’s the most challenging?

There are times when I have nothing to say and, given how much I have processed my world through words since I started blogging, it makes it feel very much like something is missing. Just as bad—worse, maybe—are the times I have something I want to say that won’t come out. That usually means it’s not time for it to come out, but I haven’t yet learned to be patient while waiting.

If you took a look in the cliché crystal ball, what do you see for yourself?

It depends on the day. Some days I look ahead and see more of the same, and I pray that I don’t get to the end of my life and wish I had done more with it. One of my best friends and I have what we call the goat-pant analogy. You know those people you see on the bus to work day in and day out, who sit there looking bored and unhappy and whose office-appropriate pants smell a little bit musty when it rains? No one wants to be stuck in goat pants forever. So most of the time I look into that ball and see someone who has taken risks and pursued joy and figured out how to make time for the things in life that matter. (And yes, sometimes that’s ice cream.) Three years ago I was climbing the corporate ladder. Now I’m climbing out the bus window, shedding the goat pants and wondering what else I can do that will leave some virtual “I was here!” graffiti on the walls of my world.

How do you embrace disruption in your work and personal life?

I’ve always enjoyed change, whether that’s a new job or an opportunity to rearrange my living room. Stagnant=boring. I am, and always have been, a fatalist. I believe things happen for a reason and we have to learn something from every experience. It’s taken me longer to accept it, but I also think sometimes we don’t get to know why things happen.

My experience with postpartum depression and the massive disruption that caused to both my work (because of a four-month leave from my job) and personal life has reinforced those beliefs. I never asked for that experience. I never wanted it or saw it coming. But it had a purpose, all right. So I’m just embracing the opportunities that something incredibly hard has brought to me.

What is the most memorable moment in your career?

The TEDx talk I did in 2011.I shared my experience with postpartum depression and how for so long I wore a mask to hide it, and how when I finally took that mask off and asked for help I realized how common it is and how much we can help others by sharing our struggles. I was supposed to have six minutes and one of the producers was going to give me time signals, but he didn’t because people were engaged. So, lost as I was in my very emotional story, I just kept going. It ended up being 18 minutes and at the end I got a standing ovation. It was something I’ll never forget.

Do you support any initiatives or charities?

I informally support all kinds of things. If a friend is fundraising for something I try to contribute to that, but my own work focuses mostly on charities and programs that support postpartum mood disorders or cancer (which both my parents had – at the same time!). Those include:

Postpartum Progress: http://postpartumprogress.org/

Ovarian Cancer Canada: http://www.ovariancanada.org/

Movember: http://ca.movember.com/

Tell us what you see yourself doing at 65 years old.

Writing, travelling, playing with (or eagerly anticipating) grandchildren, enjoying ice cream (and my husband’s pie), continuing to speak up on behalf of those who can’t do it for themselves.

Just for fun: if you had to pick one app in the whole APPVERSE, what would it be?

That’s a really mean question. The boring answer: a white noise app. (The one thing I don’t like having disrupted is my sleep.) The slightly more interesting answer: Camera+ because I love playing with iPhonography. (I realize that’s not a whole lot more interesting. But hey, at least I’m not a Candy Crush addict, right?)

With the tag line, “No More Tears” on your products, consumers tend to foster a certain level of customer trust that your products are safe to use on the whole family.  Unfortunately for Johnson & Johnson, one of the leading family care brands in the world, this hasn’t always been the case.

In 2009, the coalition group, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, conducted a study on a wide array of personal care products and the results were quite shocking; a number of Johnson & Johnson products contained now identified carcinogens such as formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane. The ‘trick’ of sorts is that these (and other) harmful chemicals weren’t listed on the ingredient labels! Why? Because ‘technically’ they weren’t ingredients, just by-products of the preservatives breaking down as the products aged.

After the discovery, the real work and PR balancing act began for Johnson & Johnson as they strived to reformulate their products while assuring their millions of users that while they’re doing this, their current products are still safe. Susan Nettesheim, VP of product stewardship & toxicology for Johnson & Johonson commented on the situation by saying, “Even though as a scientist I will sit here and tell you these things are perfectly safe,” consumers are worried about reports that call these conclusions into question, “I understand that and we can’t ignore that.”

So the company set to work reformulating their beloved products, some of which have been on the market for 50 years. The first wave of reformulation included all of their baby products and was promised for completion in 2013. The company delivered on their promise and earlier this month were presented with a collection of 30,000 names from consumers giving thanks to the corporation for their efforts in product safety. Johnson & Johnson also launched a new website outlining their commitment to safety.

The next step for Johnson & Johnson is their adult personal care brands including Neutrogena, Aveeno and Clean & Clear. They are striving to remove all triclosan and phthalates from these products by 2015 but will continue using 3 parabens and in exceptional cases, Formaldehyde where there is no other preservative option. From now on though the company has agreed to complete transparency when it comes to product ingredients. Company spokesperson Samantha Lucas stated, “We’re committed to absolute transparency about what’s in the product, and what’s on the label. We’re very involved in the complete supply chain, including holding our suppliers and our raw materials providers to our high standards.”

The efforts of Johnson & Johnson aren’t passing unnoticed by environmental/consumer groups either, Kenneth A. Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group praises the company, “We’ve never really seen a major personal care product company take the kind of move that they’re taking with this… Not really even anything in the ballpark.”

What do you think? Is this a PR win for Johnson & Johnson, or is it too little too late?

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/business/johnson-johnson-to-remove-formaldehyde-from-products.html?_r=3&smid=tw-nytimeshealth&seid=auto&

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=johnson-and-johnson-removes-some-chemicals-from-baby-shampoo-other-products

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=johnson-and-johnson-removes-some-chemicals-from-baby-shampoo-other-products

1. How did you get started as a ‘mommy blogger’? I actually started my blog over a couple years ago after my mom suggested I try it.  She already had a “dog blog” and since she knows I’m passionate about writing, thought it would be a great fit.  Writing has always been a creative outlet for me, and the chance to share my thoughts with other people from all over was intriguing and motivating!  I was home with my two young kids and had the itch to start writing again, so what better way than to base my blog on what’s most familiar to me; my family.

2. How did you build an audience, and how long did it take?  My blog was casual and slow in the beginning, as the first year was just odd postings here and there since my kids were so small and demanded so much of my attention and time.  I actually only had a few followers during that time! Once I started posting regularly and joining blog hops, I saw a steady increase in my audience and it was encouraging to see my blog growing and attracting different people from all around the world.  Being active in the blogging community is key in gaining traffic and building an audience.

3. You do a lot of reviews and recommendations on your site – was this always the objective?  Not at all actually.  When I first started my blog, my daughter had just been diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy and it was a way for me to express my thoughts and feelings about that, and connect with other parents going through similar experiences.  As my kids got a little more independent and I could focus on my blog more, I started posting my thoughts on favourite products I use in my own home.  I’ve always loved sharing with friends and family products that I love and have made a positive impact in my everyday living.  If you find something good, why not share it, right?  I noticed other bloggers were working with companies on reviews and once I started reading more into it and learning about it, felt it would be perfect for my blog.  I wanted to share family friendly products to my readers and present them with my honest opinion on them.  I want my blog to be a place people can trust and feel confident in knowing that the reviews presented are 100% my own honest opinion of my experiences with the products.

4. Do you work with companies/brands to expose their products? What happens if you don’t like something?  The one thing I love, is introducing readers to companies/brands that they haven’t heard of before, have heard of but haven’t tried or have wanted to try but needed to know an opinion first.  I’ve worked with so many companies who have AMAZING products that I would have never known about otherwise and am now in love with that deserve the exposure.  So many people will read a review and comment similar to, “Wow, I’d never heard of this (company and/or product) before but am now intrigued and want one or want to learn more!”.  It’s a great feeling working with companies who are doing something wonderful and deserve the recognition.  Fortunately, I have not come across a product for review that I’ve had a completely negative experience with (knock on wood), but if that were to happen, I would simply let the company know my thoughts first before posting a review and leave that up to them whether they’d still like it posted or not.  I would never post a negative review without alerting the company first.  I prefer to keep an uplifting atmosphere on my blog and introducing positive products that will compliment any lifestyle and family.

5. What do you enjoy most about being a mommy blogger?  I love the connections and friendships I’ve made with people, like other fabulous bloggers, as well as relationships I’ve built with some wonderful companies.  I am so fortunate that I’m able to be home with my kids, while pursuing my passion of writing and staying socially connected.  Social media is such a great platform for being involved with others and keeping up with our world as it evolves and my blog allows me the freedom to be with my family while doing something enjoyable for myself as well.  The possibilities with blogging are endless and there’s so much to explore!

6. What advice do you have for aspiring mommy bloggers? Be unique by being yourself.  Write about what comes easy to you and what’s most familiar in your life.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help either.  Bloggers are extremely generous in offering advice to others and I’ve learned a lot from my fellow blogger friends.  Also, be involved!  If you’re involved in social media and supporting other blogs, you’ll find your blog will benefit as well.  Establishing those relationships with others is important to keeping your blog active and gaining support.

Remember to check out Brandi’s blog: Yee Wittle Things, and follow her on Twitter!