Tell us a little about you.

The Great Tech Migration brought me to Seattle a couple years back, after growing up in Australia.

I’m a software engineer at Microsoft, working on various things HoloLens - I did a stint on the platform making sure developers can have an awesome experience building holographic apps, and now I’m trying that part out myself, working on Windows Experiences.

In my own time I’m a photographer (more and more on my insta), amateur painter (I don’t always stick to canvases), proud plant mama, and unsolicited snapchat advisor.

Ask me about Effective Altruism, polyamory, or why Nobody Wants To See Birds.

Tell us a little about what you’re wearing.

Blanket scarves, crop tops, something shiny, a cute beanie/sunglasses, short shorts (or long jeans depending on the weather), my Withings(/Nokia) Activite watch and a couple of piercings ✌

How did your style evolve to what it is now?

It took me a while to figure out the kind of pieces I liked and felt comfortable wearing. I discovered modcloth after my first year of college (and realized A-line dresses and high-waisted skirts were everything I wanted in my life),  which resulted in a complete wardrobe overhaul. After that I got into the habit of paying attention to the outfits of those around me to figure out what styles I like, and what impact clothing has on my impressions of someone.

For college I was mostly into quirky clothes – colored stockings,  fun hats, cute dresses and nerdy t-shirts (thankyou threadless). That swung back around when I first moved out here to clean/simple/elegant looks - lots of blacks and whites (accented with navy, or brown leather) and light on the accessories.

Lately I’ve been blending the two - simple cute outfits of block colors, mixed up with some bright tights, a colorful jacket, crop tops, and cute socks. Add on some cute temporary tattoos, some standout sunglasses, and the occasional comfort-zone-expanding piece, and you’ll find me (✿◠‿◠).

Do you have any style icons or favorite brands?

Modcloth and Dr Denim both hold special places in my heart; modcloth was the site that sparked my style revolution, and Dr Denim showed me that jeans and I could be friends.

Most of my favorite new-bought pieces are from one of Francesca’s, Zara, Urban Outfitters, Nasty Gal, Black Milk or H&M.

Recently, inspired by this very blog, I’ve been trying to move away from fast-fashion, and towards thrifting and more sustainable practices. Some of my recent wardrobe additions have been from the Seattle flagship Goodwill (turns out it’s just around the corner from my bouldering gym), and from friends clearing out their closets.

Any advice for a young person thinking about getting into a STEM field?

If you’re already passionate about it then go for it and don’t let anything stop you; people love to get behind someone with passion, and STEM offers the ability to channel that into wide-reaching and visible impact.

If you’re not sure what you want to do, but think STEM sounds interesting or sensible? You have every right to be here! Not everyone is fueled by burning passion, and that just means you have to bring other things to the table (your varied interests, your ability to make decisions when there’s no obvious answer, your enthusiasm for learning, etc).

Either way, the skills you learn from pursuing a STEM career are going to be hugely helpful for other future endeavors; pick an industry - it’s probably undergoing a tech transformation or ready for you to start one.

What would you say is the project you’ve done that you’re proudest of?

Probably this blog - Fibonacci Sequins! I’ve been looking for ways to practice and improve my photography, so getting to do that while collaborating with Dona (her tagline should be ‘I literally make dreams come true’) and meeting such a range of people has been wonderful.

Aside from that, honestly keeping my 40+ plants mostly alive and happy makes me really proud! I’ve been growing snapdragons this year, and I’m so stoked to see them flowering.

What is the best way (if any) for people to follow you on social media?

@abethcrane: instagram / twitter / github + flickr + bethcrane.com