I recently had the chance to participate in a gift-wrapping workshop for Hallmark's Think.Make.Share. blog! Take a look at all the ideas here. (And take a peek at the video they made during the workshop below!)
Go Blog Social – St. Louis
Today I attended Go Blog Social's St. Louis conference! The event took place in the beautiful Lumen Private Event Space and featured a full day of speakers and hands on opportunity to connect with other bloggers and business owners. I attended with my sister Sophie and we especially enjoyed, Julie Blanner's, talk on relationships with brands, the two discussion panels with local and out of town bloggers, and making flower crowns with Snapdragon Studio! Here are a few photos and takeaways:
- Be persistent, but very polite (when working with brands).
- Research and personalization for pitches is important.
- Produce high-quality photos and content.
- If you are persistent, luck has a way of finding you.
- Analyze your life and present environment; reinterpret to share with the world in a distinct way.
- Editing is vital, find good mentors to help with this process.
- Focus on the social media platforms you are most passionate about.
We also enjoyed a delicious breakfast and lunch by 23 City Blocks Catering! I especially loved the Olive Gelato (served in a frozen tomato) which is pictured below. Thanks, Go Blog Social, for a day full of learning/connecting with wonderful people and brands!
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE SPONSORS:
Lumen Event Space
23 City Blocks Catering
Walls Need Love
Paris312
Snapdragon Studio
Hallmark’s Creative Leadership Symposium
On Tuesday Hallmark hosted their Creative Leadership Symposium and invited the entire creative community to attend! The day long event was filled with amazing speakers, and I have so many notes I knew I needed a blog post to process all the amazing tidbits I scribbled down. Best of all, it took place at the beautiful Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Here are some takeaways from my favorite speakers:
DAYTON MOORE
Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations
General Manager, Kansas City Royals
You have to have a vision to win.
The habits that you have off the field can lead to a broken focus.
We have to manage failure, and the will to win for one another must be first. You win with an undying passion for something bigger than yourself.
Share the glory together, settle disputes quickly, lead with hear
GILLIAN FLYNN
Author
If you want to write, write. Trust in your own weird voice.
It is easy to follow the market, but that is not always the best route.
Creativity is 99% work.
It is important to buckle down, have discipline, and if something isn't working get rid of it.
“I have no muse, if there is one she does not care for my company.”
MAURO PORCINI
Chief Design Officer, PepsiCo
The world has radically changed in the past FEW years.
Brands have competition beyond their direct competition and need to be part of a two direction dialogue.
In this new (elevated) competitive landscape technology will touch everything. And customers are savvy, smarter and connected.
People don't buy products anymore, they seek out holistic solutions, meaningful experiences, and authentic stories.
People consume content at the speed of light and brands now need to become the topic of conversation, and they must earn this right.
The brand experiences then becomes even more important. What will buying the product communicate about ourselves to others?
Products must be relevant to people's lives. Purchases are either visceral (impulse), interactive (satisfaction & loyalty), or expressive (communicate something).
Art by Amber Goodvin for Hallmark CLS
ROB RIGGLE
Actor/Comedian/Writer/Producer/Director
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Great writers aspire to make an impact as quickly as possible.
Electricity is being around others who want to make others laugh.
Choose joy, choose happiness, choose laughter.
Humor, honesty, and sincerity from those you love never goes out of style.
His goal in life is to make someone happier because they came in contact with his life's work.
Comedy is not about overwrought perfection, it's hunting for the joy.
“You turn folded card stock into joy grenades!”
CARLA MOORE
Vice President of Talent Acquisition, HBO
Live with purpose. You already posses the power to change your own life.
It takes a personal transformation to make a leadership transformation.
Life presently. Passion is for you, purpose is for others. Purpose provides motivation.
“Nothing will keep me from living the life I imagine.”
RAUL ALEJANDRO
Designer / Animator / Letterer / Art Director
You can't let your fear hold you back from the things you really want to do.
Life is never quite what you expect it to be.
“My work is not satisfaction from all the people I’ve proved wrong...
It’s a tribute to everyone I’ve proved right.”
Thanks, Hallmark, for the inspirational day!
Diptychs 5
April Around The Web
I hope you all had a lovely April! This month was much anticipated, and full of surprises and spontaneous decisions. Here are a few of my favorite finds around the web this month:
I love seeing some of my favorite bloggers creating cards for Hallmark Signature! Take a peek at Sugar & Cloth's line for Mother's Day
An interesting take on a Fourth of July wedding (I can't stop obsessing over the palm backdrop)
While I definitely don't need another necklace, this one from J.Crew is very tempting.
My husband Dale and I are planning a late anniversary trip to Nashville in the fall, so I don't want to loose track of this city guide from A Beautiful Mess!
Such a dreamy nursery. Nothing better than pale pink, swans, and a paper flower installation.
I have been a longtime fan of Emma Watson, and these quotes are pretty spot on. Especially this:
“Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing, and it’s a process. I was completely the eager beaver in school, I was the girl in the front of the class who was the first person to put her hand up, and it’s often not cool to be the person that puts themself out there, and I’ve often gotten teased mercilessly, but I found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in—even if it makes you vulnerable—amazing things can and will happen. ”
Personally this month I was able to spend a weekend in Lawrence with my mom and sister while Dale visited his friend in Boston. I love being back in my college town, and even got to stop in the new Wonder Fair location. I also purchased a painting this month from my mentor, Lisa Rogers, show. I can't wait to get it home! This weekend I will be reunited with my girl friends for a Bachelorette Party, which will be the perfect end to the month. I can't wait for more springtime adventures in May!
April Updates!
April has proven to be a really productive month so far! My husband, Dale, just finished his first board exam for medical school and it has given me some extra time (during his studying) to work on some things I just hadn't gotten around to. First on the list: New business cards! You can see my design below, I ordered through moo.com. I ordered business cards from them when I was graduating and loved the quality, so I am excited to see how these turn out. This time around I went with their Green option, so I am extra curious about the paper stock and printing.
I also officially opened my Etsy shop! I have been wanting to create a space to sell some of my favorite Letters Are Lovely prints, and finally settled on Etsy. There is still a lot do do, I only have two pieces listed right now, but I am hoping to get a few more added and then host a giveaway on Instagram!
I have been marking down all of my progress on my 101 in 1001 list I made in January. So far I have checked off around 30 items, though I am a little ahead of myself because sometimes I can't help but mark off exciting events when I get them on my calendar. (**Trip to Italy with my Sister Sophie!) One of my other most exciting upcoming events will be attending Go Blog Social: St. Louis in a few weeks! I'm really excited to meet some other bloggers. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!