Design Bloggers Conference - The Future of Blogs

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Continuing the Design Bloggers Conference coverage I wanted to share how gorgeous the stage looked, kindly provided by Currey & Company. Over the course of the conference I was lucky enough to get to know (and have a wonderful dinner) with Cecil Adams, the Creative Director of this brand.
Not only did they incorporate Tangerine Tango (Pantone's Color of the Year!) but also a little animal print and metallic. There was a little bit for everyone and a really nice layout that allowed for an engaging conversation between the moderators, and panelists.

BlogStars: Social Networking, Content, and The Future of Blogs -
Moderator: Kyle Hoepner as Editor in Chief of New England Home
Ronda Carman (All the Best Blog), Tobi Fairley (Tobi's Blog), Cassandra Lavalle (Coco+Kelley)

  

Kyle was a wonderful moderator and really was able to get each member of the panel to share their last year of accomplishments and ah-ha* moments.

Once again, some of these *Live* Tweets are what stood out for me.

First up was Ronda.
Ronda Carman, among other fantastic accomplishments is a reviewer for the prestigious Mr & Mrs Smith boutique hotel collections which is one of my favorite hotel websites and is one of the early Blog-mesiters coming on to 5 years with interviews of many notable design leaders, including Carlos Souza, Kelly Wearstler, India Hicks, Jamie Drake and Eva Jeanbart Lorenzotti,etc.

• Social media and blogging allows you to be creative. The online world = infinite potential
• It's about how you communicate with your audience
• It is Not all about blog comments but instead about an interactive conversation
• Good content great photos..twitter is where the feedback happens
• You are the only one that does what you do -> Original Content

Next.. Tobi.

Tobi Fairley is an interior designer based in Arkansas, and among many other accomplishments also runs a Design Camp where she gives back to her community and helps other designers/bloggers get their start.

• I built it, they came ..now what? {talking about the becoming overwhelmed with so many connections, online presences, etc} and building your brand.
• I am letting it lead me and the results come from that 
• Collaborations with brands like One Kings Lane have helped grow the brand
• The blog has helped her business grow and expand ~ the beginning of her fabric collection began via twitter!!
• Twitter provides a platform for conversation/response in place of comments on blog

Lastly, Cassandra.

• First feature in Lucky Magazine, with a Washington Post write up... The doors opened through blog connections!
• The Internet is the great equaliser
• Number 1 source of traffic to blog for is Pinterest
• Do what you do well and collaboration is KEY bring it all full circle 
• Bloggers are no longer just bloggers, they're trend-spotters, curators, tastemakers, sources for inspiration

It was clear to me that everything I had been feeling over the past 6 months, since becoming more involved online on the various platforms, was true.

I really appreciated hearing the very many connections, and avenues, that each one of these panelists encountered as a result of their blogs and Social Media presence...
and was so excited when the following day that I was included in a little round up of bloggers by New England Home.

You see, The Internet IS the great equaliser and provides this fantastic opportunity to connect on a level of common interest without all the other issues in the way.
On twitter, you have to make your voice heard and understood in 140 characters or less. For someone that likes to talk, that is very difficult.

The truth is though, nothing can compare to a meeting at a conference like this one - where over a glass of wine or champagne, you connect in Real Life which allows you to speak on a much deeper level to one another when you do connect on Twitter or Facebook.



Now, please excuse me as I go tweet about this!








 *all images via these individual's websites.

Design Bloggers Conference - Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Hello there.. I'm Back!

After a week in Los Angeles (more pictures from that later on this week) which ended in another amazing Design Bloggers Conference, I have a lot that I wanted to share with you from so many insightful and inspiring panels. So let's get straight to it.


For many of us as each panel was happening throughout the day we would Tweet *LIVE* our instant takeaways, for our friends online that were not able to attend.

I called mine - #Top Quotes. So this week not only will I try and share as many of my live tweets as possible, but also include links, visuals and additional information about the panelists and the sponsors that made this such a special event as they occurred.

Kind of like the next best thing to attending the event {You're Welcome!}

Adam Japko

First and foremost we were welcomed by our gracious host, Adam Japko of the blog ~ Wine Zag ~ who took the time to thank a few special individuals (that's you Leslie Carothers & Leslie Fine!), and then began to remind us of how strong the blogging community has become.



Only 2 days before the event began, our overall twitter reach was over 626,000 and the event had not even started! We represented over 36 States with 1/3 from California, and overall our connections allowed us to speak to over 2.5 million indiviauls. This is exactly why so many of the brands were present at this event. They get it! They understand the power that this platform allows us (and ultimately them) to connect directly with a very targeted consumer audience. It is truly incredible.


After wowing us and getting the audience very excited and energized, he introduced our first panelist straight from the Oscar Red Carpet and Elton's infamous "after party"..Mr. Martyn Lawrence Bullard.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Interior Design Trends in 2012 
Martyn Lawrence Bullard




From acting to popstar to weddingplanner to Design!! #DBC2012 talk about a fantastic path @MartynBullard love it!!

70's and 80's is the new black - @MartynBullard #DBC2012

@MartynBullard attributes blogging to helping spread the word about him and his work! #validation

An Hermes #green bag became Elton's lacquered wall ...Talk about a fabulous design directive @MartynBullard lucky guy! #DBC2012

"We spend so much time in the kitchen that it is important to create a functional but also very personable space"

In this image of Ellen Pompeo's kitchen in the Hollywood hills, the black and white photograph has a man and a woman which are the only two figures that are in focus while the rest of the crowd are slightly blurred..

According to the photographer, this was purely an accident, and yet the reason for such a successful final result.

Details..Details.. Details..
In this image, Martyn used several layers of coffee and tea to create these stencilled patterns on the wall, creating a unique (and according to him never to be repeated) final result!

Patterns, inspiration from travel to Istanbul and beyond (he was in India the day after this event!)
play an intergral role in his furniture and textile collections which also allow him to create individual experiences for each of his clients.

This is something as a designer I fully relate to.
There are most definitely designers that have a very distintive voice and style.
If you were to see a room in a magazine, or visit a space designed by them, you instantly could recognize that this was a space by them.

On the other hand, there are designers (and this is where I would place Martyn as well as Bunny Williams - another speaker from the conference) that although they have a clear voice and vision, they are creative cameloens that change, evolve and adapt not only to the clients, the space in question as well as to the moment of inspiration sometimes brought upon by a perfect find in a flea market in India or Belguim.

I do feel that I can relate to this approach to an interior design project.
Perhaps the strong connections to antiques and fine art early on in your career provides you with a need to find these one of a kind pieces and they become an focal point of the story..
I know this is part of my process in most cases.

and lastly he announced that he will be involved in the design of the Jimmy Choo retail design worldwide! Really looking forward to seeing how he tackels this brand.

Stay tuned for more on the speakers, what all that they shared with us, this week.

One final note:
A huge 'thank you' to all the sponsors of this conference.
We all appreciate your support guarenteeing the success of this conference and all that was shared with us.
Please take the time to get to know them if you haven't already.

*Images of rooms, via Martyn Lawrence Bullard