Event Recap & Photo Diary of my First Co-Hosted Blogger Workshop
Happy Friday Y'all! A few weekends back, I had the pleasure of co-hosting a blogger brunch with artist collective,
Great Over Good in Santa Ana. Naadine is the owner of Great Over Good, and I was beyond delighted when she wanted to collaborate together, thus our blogger brunch was born. I had the vision of not only hosting a brunch where bloggers would eat and mingle; but where they could learn more about the business side of blogging and therefore walk away with information that they could use in their lives as well as having made new friends. We provided a counter full of food mainly from
Corner Bakery and
Diabolo drinks, as well as two pop up shops by
Alixandra Collections and
The Oxford Trunk. VIP guests arrived an hour prior to mingle and shop, and once we had all of our attendees, everyone grabbed food, drinks, and took a seat in the uber cute black, white, & gold decorated room. Beautiful floral arrangements were provided by
Studio C Florals, and pom pom and lantern decor was picked up by Naadine when we took a trip to my fave craft place, Fabric/Yarn/Party Barn in Long Beach. I had attempted to give pine cones and leaves some pizazz with gold spray paint, and these were sprinkled throughout the tables set up in the room.
I was thrilled to get to highlight and interview Jess, co-owner of boutique
The Oxford Trunk (she also had her co-owner Jenna give insight) as well as blogger Alyssa of
Living in Style OC. I selected both these ladies to provide the business and blogging side to partnerships and collaborations; what works and what doesn't, things to look out for when working with a brand/blogger, what to expect, advice, answer questions, and of course share some of their top fall trends.
Here are my top points that we talked about:
-Be true to yourself and your blog/your brand. You don't have to take every job or opportunity that comes your way, be apart of the opportunities that resonate with you, your style, and your brand
-Be upfront and clear with what you as a blogger or brand bring to the table (what you can offer as a blogger/brand: blogposts, social media coverage, etc), exactly what will be exchanged (product, monetary compensation) or done gratis for your time or the time you give to brand
-Communication is key, we all know that and things can slip through the cracks, let's try to avoid that! If you know you're receiving product and will be out of town or have a commitment that will take you away from being able to blog about the brand/product, let the brand know ahead of time and establish when you plan to post.
-At the end of the day, any partnership between the two parties needs to be mutually beneficial (that is also why as a blogger, your numbers/blog traffic are important in showing your credibility and also good for you to be aware of; have them readily available on a 'Stats' card or in a Media Kit)
-A good tool to track your blog traffic aside from your own platform providing those numbers is Google Analytics, which goes more in depth on visitors, bounce rates, etc and sends you monthly recaps
-Always make Agreements/Contracts! Once both parties have established terms, put it in writing and sign the dotted line, both parties are held accountable and everyone is on the same page
-If you are just starting out in any creative, entrepreneurial field; you may not have your brand image locked down or how your site or logo to look, don't fret, this all will develop and grow with you and it's okay to figure this out down the road.
Fall Fashion Report (items could be found at the pop up shops):
Initial Wire Jewelry and other layering necklaces and cozy scarves from Alixandra Collections, pumpkin & warm orange tones, faux fur outerwear, & hats from The Oxford Trunk
The brunch concluded with blogger Deni of Khollage sharing her business background and how that led to her fashion blogging as well as helping Naadine raffle off of items to the attendees. The event sold out and I was astounded by the variety of entrepreneurial individuals that attended; designers (graphic, interior, apparel), artists, business owners, photographers, and bloggers; and I received such a positive response to continue hosting workshops like this, and possibly live stream! I can't wait to put together more events! Please check out the sponsors below that helped make this event a success:
The beautiful Fashion Island Shopping Center in Newport Beach was transformed into a holiday wonderland for the Tree Lighting Ceremony featuring Mickey & Friends and a glorious 90 ft Christmas tree. This was the first year in at least a decade that I have been able to attend since in previous years I've worked or had a prior engagement during the tree lighting. I was very thrilled to get to view the spectacular show from the media viewing area in front of Bloomingdales and was just enraptured by the magical Disney performance from beginning to end (if you didn't know, I'm a TOTAL Disney fan) while enjoying pomegranate mimosas, sweet treats from Sweet & Saucy Shop, and appetizers from Bloomingdale's 59th & Lex Cafe. I enjoyed singing Christmas classics and bobbing along to new tunes; the icing on the cake was not only the illumination of the tree but snow fall that made everything seem just oh so magical. If you didn't get to attend the tree lighting ceremony this year or want to re-watch it, it was recorded by KTLA5 and will be televised on Thanksgiving Day at 7:30pm on Channel 5! See more holiday happenings hosted by the Irvine Company's retail spaces here, and visit the beautiful tree and Santa's House at Fashion Island before it's gone!
