About Emily

Welcome! I’m Emily Westbrooks, the face behind From China Village.

From China Village is a lifestyle and Irish design blog, updated daily with craft and DIY ideas, recipe inspiration, travel tips and features on Irish artists and designers. From China Village also chronicles my life in Dublin and my travels throughout Ireland and around the world.

A little background

I was born and raised in a small town in Maine, and graduated from Colby College with a degree in American Government. I went on to work for political campaigns from organizing motorcades for Senator Kerry’s presidential race to working as political director for a U.S. Congressional race.

I walked away from the world of politics in 2008, when I got married and moved to Dublin. My husband, Michael, coaches and plays a lot of basketball, and works as a guidance counselor in an Irish speaking high school.

I work as a freelance writer and blogger, stylist, creative director and tour guide. I write, create, make, bake and explore whenever and wherever I can.

My words have been featured in Conde Nast TravelerDesign*Sponge, Poppytalk, Apartment TherapyOne Fab Day, the Irish Times, HOME Magazine in Germany, the Simple Things Magazine in the UK, Image Interiors here in Ireland, and the Central Maine Morning Sentinel. I write regularly over at Wedding Party about wedding planning and etiquette, and share beautiful stories of marriage and relationships on American wedding website Snippet & Ink.

Wondering about the funny little name of this blog? My teeny tiny hometown in Maine is called China Village.  And I’m a product of my home, no matter how far away I might be. I wrote more about it here.

In 2011, I wrote about our third anniversary of living in Dublin, shared our house tour and a big lesson I learned, and talked about homesickness and why we’re still here. It’s been quite a journey! Last year, we gave our little apartment a makeover, room by room. You can see our bedroom, tiny bathroom, hallway and landing strip so far!

I’m a great tour guide for this beautiful, quirky city, so if you are planning a visit, check out my walking tours or the Dublin Tips section. And for the in-depth inside scoop, you can try my e-guidebook, Delightful Dublin. It’s a neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to the best the city has to offer, designed to help you get the most out of this beautiful city. You can download it here!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me! I love to help people enjoy my adopted home!