If you’ve been following along with the Blogfest 2011 posts and Twitter stream you likely know what I and approximately 120 other bloggers were up to the past few days. I’ve decided to take a bit of a different approach and rather than rehash it day by day, I’ve decided to talk about what I found interesting.
To start, Blogfest 2011 was truly an amazing experience. I’ve never been to a blogging ‘conference’ (for lack of a better word) before so I was unsure of what to expect. The truth? Blogfest 2011 was strangely exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. The itinerary was jam-packed with presentations, information and social functions but for me it was the chance to meet some of my blogging friends that I only knew virtually and also be exposed to bloggers that weren’t in my Google reader. As one blogger put it, I had found my people.
If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought that this was a fashion bloggers conference. Everyone was uber stylish although I’m still not sure how some made it through in four inch heels! The super chic Beth Greene and Jennifer Powell (of Kravet) did an amazing job putting together the agenda. Here is a photo of Beth in the Lily Pulitzer section of the Kravet showroom flanked by two models. Hard to tell who is who right?
On Tuesday afternoon, we had the privilege of attending a presentation by Barbara Barry. It was a sneak peek into her design process and how she finds inspiration in the everyday. She is my latest design crush so watch for a more in depth post next week as there was too much fabulousity for her to share a post with anyone else. Here is a photo of Barbara and I after her presentation. I’ll be honest, I was a little star struck.
Two more lovelies… Janell of Isabella and Max Rooms and my roomy Vanessa of Decor Happy.
Me and the adorably cheeky David Easton at the Traditional Home party. He is such a cutie with a wicked, and I do mean wicked ;), sense of humour. It was great to meet some of the designers from the new Inspired Styles book and get a glimpse into their personalites. Someone should have told me to powder my nose before this photo! Just me keeping it real I guess…..
Eric Cohler is such a gracious person. He made sure he spent a few moments chatting with each person and then wrote a personalized message in each book he signed. Here he is with Vanessa of Decor Happy and Vitania of Verdigris Vie.
Although not part of the Blogfest 2011 agenda, I (and a few other bloggers) had the privilege to be invited to the House of Brinson (#Brinsonfest2011 on Twitter) otherwise known as the live/work loft of Susan and William Brinson. Their loft is even more amazing in person and really expresses the warm and welcoming personalities of William and Susan. They are the type of people that you feel as though you’ve known forever even if you only spend five minutes chatting with them. Here’s a shot of Vanessa of Decor Happy, Susan of House of Brinson, me, Vitania of Verdigris Vie, Nyla of Nyla Free Designs and Nero also of House of Brinson. You can check out their blog and see more awesome pictures of their loft here.
Last but not least is the talented and gorgeous Margaret Russell. Teeny tiny in person, she is incredibly stylish and was rocking an ankle injury even in sky high Louboutins. She chatted mostly about the history of Architectural Digest and the new direction the magazine will be going in. She shared with us an upcoming tribute on Elizabeth Taylor in the magazine and told us how they were actually shooting the story the day she passed away (the feature will run in the July issue of Architectural Digest). She also talked about how they were updating the Architectural Digest website and about their new AD Amazing Kitchens app (available in the iTunes store).
All in all, it was an amazing experience that surpassed all of my expectations. There have been a few rumblings here and there from various bloggers who thought there should have been more two way dialogue. I, for one, am grateful for the opportunity to listen and learn from these incredibly accomplished people and for the time and effort they spent to participate in this event.
So, now back to reality and the process of editing my 400+ pictures. I’ll be writing some more posts on my Blogfest 2011 experiences so y’all come back and please don’t step on any of the names I dropped in this post! 😉
All photos via Eye See Pretty. Please feel free to use as long source is credited.
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