Domestic Bliss Phoenixville’s Colleen Padilla knows that there would be no Classy Mommy without the help of her husband, Mike, and two kids, Mackenzie and Kyle. Our Best Nationally Hyped Local Blogger has been at it since 2006. She’s coauthored The Digital Mom Handbook and has made the rounds on national media, appearing on all the major television networks and in the New York Times and Parenting magazine. Not bad for an anthropology major from Cornell University.
MLT: What was the digital landscape like when you first started the Classy Mommy blog?
CP: I didn’t know what I was doing. Facebook did exist, but only college kids were on it—moms were not.
MLT: And now?
CP: I didn’t know that this was going to turn into a full business, where every family member is integral to its success, from my husband being the cameraman to my kids posing for pictures and videos. Now, my 8-year-old daughter has started her own blog, One Kid’s Life.
MLT: How do you decide what to review?
CP: Well, I don’t want to read a magazine about all the terrible products I don’t want to buy. What fun is that? I want to share insightful tips and trends on what’s hot, what’s new, and what I think other families and moms are going to enjoy.
MLT: How has your business evolved?
CP: I’ve started to work with travel and entertainment, so we’ve done some really exciting trips as a family, experiencing things just as other families would. As far as entertainment goes, I’ll often attend press events in Los Angeles or New York City, where we’ll get to interview the actors and actresses. Recently, I had the opportunity to cover the Rio 2 movie premiere in Miami with my daughter.
MLT: What did Mackenzie think?
CP: Everything is great from a child’s perspective. She got her own bag of popcorn. For her, that was amazing.
MLT: Where is mommy blogging headed?
CP: At the end of the day, we’re social creatures, so I do think you’re going to see moms organizing more events so they can meet with people. I’ve started to do that with the Mom Mixer that I cohost with Whitney Wingerd from Mommies With Style. Twice a year, we bring together moms from Washington, D.C., to New York, with a heavy emphasis on Philly and New Jersey moms and brands like QVC and Hersheypark.
MLT: Name the top spots you’ve been on assignment.
CP: We’ve traveled with Adventures by Disney to visit Grand Teton National Park and gone on the inaugural cruises for Disney’s two ships. One of the coolest spots was Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. I’d competed for a trip to Space Camp when I was a contestant on [Nickelodeon’s] Super Sloppy Double Dare, diving through the green-slime canal—and I just missed it. Some 20 years later, they flew all four of us down there.
Visit www.classymommy.com.
