I am beyond thrilled to announce that I have been invited to join Modenus on BlogTour New Orleans this April . A tour which is anchored by the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show where we will be immersed in design and the rich culture and excitement of NOLA !
How cool is that?
As a designer who designs and builds a lot of Kitchens and Bathrooms throughout year, I enjoy nothing more than seeing new products and spotting trends at trade shows. But this experience is going to be so much more amazing because I get to experience KBIS2013 with an incredible group of influential design bloggers. I am in fabulous company and I can't wait to share the food,music,design and culture of NOLA with you.
What's not to love about hanging out with Designers and like minded creatives?
The event left me with a euphoric high . It was a nice break from my usual work routine and it was certainly worth missing two days of work.
I am very thankful to Lamps Plus for awarding me the scholarship . Thank you , Thank you . I had a great time .
They are an amazing company. Did you know they are a family owned business? I didn't . Young company too. They were established in 1976 in Southern California selling lamp shades and custom-made cast table lamps. From this humble beginning, Lamps Plus has grown into the nation's largest specialty lighting company.
I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I went with an open mind and I was pleasantly surprised. The Speakers at the event were very inspiring, something we all need here and there to get pumped up and assure us about what we already know.
Barbara Barry and I
It always sounds better when someone else reminds you, or pushes you to be better.
Valuable tip : use your zip codes when tagging images. This great tip came from Leslie Carothers, smart social media maven. One of my favorite moments was sitting down to chat with Barbara Barryafter her presentation. She is lovely, and inspiring. We had met a couple years back and she gracious enough to say I "looked familiar". Her presentation was powerful, with a clear message about "slowing it down", stopping to see the beauty around us, and drawing inspiration from that. Her passion for design is so moving, she had many of us in tears, she even got a standing ovation. I call her the Designer "Dalai Lama".
Dee Murphy- also Lamps Plus scholarship recipient & me.
The Networking experience alone was invaluable. I made some great connections. I met up with a lot of industry people I already knew in person or thru social media , and I met a whole lot of new ones for the very first time. SHARE.....It is all about sharing & collaborations. If you are not doing this already, YOU must.
Times sure
have changed! I would have never
imagined when I first got into the design industry 18 years ago that part of my
job as an interior designer would involve social media. As much as I would love to design all day, I
realize that in order to stay current, I must be involved with many aspects of
social media, and that includes keeping my blog active.
When I started
my design blog 3 years ago in 2010, I started it because I wanted to share more
than just pretty pictures of finished projects on my website. My website was only a portfolio and it was
not documenting things I wanted to talk about and share with others. So I started blogging. Do I
take full advantage of what my blog can do for my business? I don’t know.
I am nota full-time blogger, so I am not familiar with a lot of the
“tricks”. I’m sure there is more to blogging
than I am aware of. And I would love to
learn.
I have never
attended a Blogger’s Conference.
Partially because I run a very busy design build firm and I am also a
mother of two little ones. So my time is
really stretched thin. Believe me, I
want to attend, and I will, but when I factor in the cost of attending, the
loss of three days of (productive) work time, it makes me wonder if it’s worth it
for me? Is the conference for designer’s
like me who blog occasionally , or is it for the design enthusiasts who want to learn to
start blogging? I’m sure I would learn a
thing or two and make some great connections as every networking event proves
to be. But will it be an experience that
really elevates my business? I would love to stand corrected and come out of
that experience wanting to go every year and encourage others ( skeptic like
me) to do the same.
Well I am about to find out ! I have been awarded a scholarship
thru Lamps Plus and Designers Bloggers Conference committee to attend the conference next month in March. Yay ! BIG thank you to Lisa Ferguson of Décor Mentor, Anne Sage of The City Sage, and designer/HGTV Host Emily Henderson for selecting me. Congrats to Jill Hinson of Forever Cottage, Kelly Sutton of Sutton House, Dee Murphy of Murphy Deesign, and Joanna Hawley of Jojotastic who are also recipients of the scholarship.
.jpg)
