My 2nd Year At Haven Conference
I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Haven blog conference for design and DIY held July 16-18,2015 at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead, Atlanta. My 1st year was in 2014 and it was quite the new experience for me – immersing myself body and soul with all things DIY, design, blogging, marketing yourself, SEO, sharpening photography skills, and writing, just to name a few. I had no idea what to expect for my first year but the second year, knowing the treat I was in for was all the more transcendental in nature! If you’ve ever been to a blog conference, you know exactly what I mean!
The first evening (Thursday) was registration and a meet-and-greet. I spent the better part of Thursday preparing (i.e. styling my hair, applying makeup, figuring out what to wear and changing my mind ten times! – Because after all, first impressions are almost everything…. right?!! ) And in between times trying to take care of my little munchkins. I was making pretty good time considering I’m chronically late for everything and was on my way for the hour drive into town, thanks to the notorious Atlanta traffic. I was almost to my target location when I saw there was a TJ Maxx going in the opposite direction and thought, I’m doing pretty good with time so why not stop in there and buy an evening clutch (which, for the love of all things, DID NOT have — What??!). Well, as fate would have it, [traffic be damned] that proved my undoing and I ended up at my destination rather late after all. Somehow my GPS wasn’t pulling the signal quick enough for me to make the right turns and I was forced to go around in circles so as to not agitate the flow of the other drivers. I really do not like driving downtown anywhere because of one-way-only streets combined with heavy traffic. It irritates the life out of me!
The good thing is, I arrived surprisingly non-frazzled and the whole incident hardly dampened my high spirits.
Haven Meet And Greet Outfit
I loved how beautifully set up all the decorations were for Haven. All the design elements were just stunning!
Yes, I certainly did add a little extra “sparkle” in this photo! That’s how I roll.
Beautiful color-washed wooden chairs courtesy of Home Decorators Collection
Blog Conferences, as a general rule are JAM-PACKED with so many people (bloggers, sponsors, and brands) to have the pleasure to meet and network with. I love all the great opportunities to make real-life connections and the shared love for all things blogging, diy, home decor, and creative outlets. The conference lasts usually 2-3 days and it is definite information overload; it (more or less) takes me the better part of an entire week to recover! Thanks to the perks of being an extroverted introvert. Haha!
My 2nd year, I had the honored privilege to take a few classes from bloggers I admire and am highly inspired by:
There were so many others that I interacted with that I wish I had had a chance to capture a shot with but again all the hustle bustle makes it near impossible to get a photo moment with all whom you encounter! It was surreal to actually be meeting these awesome brand creators in the flesh and who just “get you”!
I love all the hands-on workshops, and informational classes that fuel my desire to take my blogging to the next level. There is so much to process and catapult you forward in this wonderful world of creating your brand!
Here are a few clips of some that I chose to take – (I wish I could take almost all of them but time doesn’t allow for that 😳)
From Liz Marie’s Instagram class ~
Ana White demo of a mosaic tile tray which we each got to make – This was such a fun hands-on class!
All the LOOT! – Swag Bag and extras
Since this time, the blogosphere has changed significantly so these conferences are even more beneficial in navigating the ever-changing cyber world in respect to influencers. Even though real life has taken over front and center and put my blog life on the backburner, my longing desire to blog and take this on a real ride is not ever far from my mind.
This year, Haven was held for the first time since its inception (2012) in Charleston,South Carolina. I really wish I could have gone as I love that city and have not been there for many years. But time and budget did not allow for it to happen this year unfortunately. I am aiming (and keeping fingers crossed) to attend again next year! It will be back in Atlanta.
Hope you enjoyed this several-years-late (haha!) recap of my time at the Haven Design & Blogging conference ~
