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Early August I traveled to Chicago to attend the Create & Cultivate conference.  For those of you who are not familiar with Create & Cultivate, it is a creative conference and platform for female entrepreneurs in the digital space. The second I heard about the conference (which is usually held in Los Angeles and this was the first time in Chicago), I jumped at the opportunity to learn from inspiring women whom I have admired for a long time.

The weekend started with a happy hour on Friday night hosted by Generally Assembly . I was a little nervous, as I knew no one going into the conference, and it was a great way to meet the other girls attending. After the happy hour I went to RPM Italian for dinner. The food is so delicious and the interior is chic with only white and black decor.

The next day I was up bright and early for registration at 8am. The conference was held at the Chicago Illuminating Company. At check-in you received which track you were in along with the schedule of the day, a notebook, an I.D badge, and which 2 mentors you had.

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There were two tracks and each track had its own schedule of panel discussions and panelist. You could have paid for a VIP ticket and the ability to pick your own track, or you paid the general ticket and were not able to pick your track. Track #1 was more fashion based with emphasis on how to monetize your brand and collaborate with companies. This was the track that would have made more sense for me, unfortunately I took my chances, paid for the general ticket and got track #2. This is the ONLY complaint I have about the conference–they should have the two tracks the same to keep it fair. I was pretty bummed out, but had to look at the silver lining because I got the two mentors I requested–Liz Adams of Sequins and Stripes, and Anna Liesemeyer of In Honor Of Design. So even though I did not get the track I wanted, I still felt very grateful to be there and to have been given my two mentors.

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I wore this white dress from Trina Turk with my new favorite pair of Kate Spade slingback heels. I was unsure what to wear to a blogging conference, whether or not I should go all fashionista, business like, or casual. After many outfit try-ons and changing of my mind, I decided white was the best choice. It is classic and stylish.

After check-in we had breakfast in the courtyard. Oh! and I should mention there was a wall of donuts!

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Ok, so I am actually not a donut person at all, but I can appreciate a wall of donuts when I see one. Anyway, breakfast was a great way to mingle with the other girls and see who all was in your track. After everyone was checked-in and full from eating, we headed into the building to our designated stage area where the first panel took place.

My first lecture was about food photography and staging/styling layouts. The panelists were Mandy Kellogg from Waiting on Martha, Claire Thomas from The Kitchy Kitchen, and Gaby Dalkin from What’s Gaby Cooking. Gaby is one of my favorite food bloggers, so I was thrilled to hear her speak. I learned a lot about how to master staged photography and gathered some helpful tricks for a better photograph. For instance, I did not know you should wear white while taking a layout photo because color will bounce off the object. They also talked about using Instagram and different apps for their pictures, what works best for them, what filters they liked, what kind of content people like to see, etc.  Claire Thomas then took us outside to the courtyard to demonstrate her strategies in natural light (the best lighting for all photos!) and allowed us to play around with staging and styling layouts.

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The next lecture was “Using the Digital Space for Good Through Blogging, Commerce & Content”. The panelists were Tracey Le from Darling Magazine, Katie Sturino from Toast Meets World, Julianne Goldmark from EmiJay (who, by the way, started her company when she was only 14….), Kathleen Wright from Piece & Co, and Jordan Younger from The Balanced Blonde. Katie Sturino was a hoot to listen to as she talked about Toast (who was there with Muppet!!), and being not as well-known as her own dog.

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Besides the cuteness of Toast and the hilarity of Katie, the lecture was about finding and maintaining balance in work, starting companies to inspire and help others, and how family and friends play an important role in the growth of a company through their support. That vulnerability is a key element to success by being able to relate and really connect with your readers. Another key element for starting a successful company is authenticity.  Find your own niche, start branding yourself from it and remain authentic to your content. As Jordan said “be unapologetically yourself!”

At one point I quickly snuck into the other track’s lecture because I wanted to see Whitney Port,  Jenny Bernheim from Margo and Me, and Rachel Parcell from Pink Peonies–I was completely geeking out over all of them!

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Between each lecture there was some time to shop around the pop-up shops which included Topshop, Mira, and Whitney Eve–which is Whitney Port’s brand. I even got to meet Whitney while shopping her collection and she is so sweet! Also has flawless skin…. but I figured asking what her beauty regime was, was probably not appropriate. Lulu and Georgia was there with a chance to win a full dining set–which I won!!! Then there was  a “Blogger Bar” that had macarons and tasty drinks. You had me at macarons.

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After the second lecture we had lunch in the courtyard and had time to venture into the other building which was rightfully called “The Beauty Lounge”.

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At “The Beauty Lounge” they had different stations where you could get your nails or hair done, a bar stocked full of yummy drinks, a gorgeous lounge area from The Heavenly, and a chance to get a facial. I opted for the mini facial/facelift–I call it moveable Botox. It is a facial toning device from NuFace, which trains the muscles to stay lifted and firm. She did one side and had me look in the mirror to see the difference. I could really see one, but I looked like I had a mini stroke so I made her do the other side.

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After lunch we headed back into the main building for the 3rd panel discussion of the day which was about Youtube and creating video content. This was the lecture I was most interested in on my track. I am starting to play around with the idea of having video content here on the blog, but was not sure of where to start or what to do. I took a production class in high school, so I am somewhat familiar with editing videos, but that was some odd years ago, and time/equipment/technology has change. After listening to the panelist, which included famous Vlogger Carly Cristman, I left completely inspired to start video content myself! This is something that will happen far in the future as I want to work on building other areas of my blog before diving into this project. The panelist all gave excellent advice on devices and equipment to use, where to learn how to edit videos, how YouTube is really a big influence in our society and how it tells a story, and what looks best as a background for videos.

After the 3rd lecture we headed to our mentor session for an hour. You got exactly 30 minutes with each mentor, so I definitely had to take full advantage and ask every question I could possibly think of. This was also my FAVORITE part of the entire day, as it was the most inspiring. Like I said, I got the two mentors that I requested, and I wanted them for a reason. Liz, from Sequins and Stripes, is one of my favorite bloggers. She seems so relatable and has really built a successful brand for herself. She talked about monetizing your blog and collaborating with companies. She encouraged us to be original, know our audience, and to not be afraid to reach out to companies we potentially want to work with. A key element that Liz and everyone else talked about is consistency, staying present in social media and with your blog. Anna, from In Honor of Design, has a background in brand marketing, which is the number one reason why I chose her. I was somewhat familiar with her blog, but not as much as Liz’s. Anna was so sweet and I am so glad she was my mentor. She talked about giving our readers an experience when they read your blog or look at your social media accounts, and give them something that makes them look forward to coming back. I got to speak with Anna a little more after the mentor session was over about finding companies to work with and how to nail my website visual. I felt so motivated.

A little fun fact about my two mentors: each at one point lived in Columbus, Ohio! Small world!

Next lecture, I actually skipped mine and snuck into the other track’s panel which was about finding your niche. Shhh, don’t tell! The lecture was pretty much everything I already knew, but it did give me some helpful strategies on monetizing my blog, how to stand out, creating a media kit, tips for Instagram and to not be afraid to say no. As a blogger I have to be true to myself and who I am, and to keep my blog content authentic. During the Q&A portion of the panel, I snuck out to use the restroom. While heading to the restroom I ran into an old friend and co-worker of mine from New York, Anne Frances. I haven’t seen Anne in almost two years as she moved to Chicago with her (now) husband. Recently she launched her own consulting firm called Annie Frances Style Consulting, and I couldn’t be more excited for her! She is not only a smart, talented stylist, Anne is truly one of the sweetest people I know and everyone loves her! Seeing her really made my day and I loved catching up and hearing all about her new venture. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things she is going to do!

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Our last discussion of the day was hosted by Who What Wear with keynote speaker Garance Doré .  Garance is the author of Love Style Life, a book about her adventures in fashion between Paris and New York. Garance was one of the best speakers of the day and really inspirational. She talked about taking the risk in doing what you love, and with time you will find what makes you happy. She touched on the importance of not comparing yourself to others, how saying no defines yourself, connecting with others is very important, and sharpen your aesthetics with knowing who you are.

“You have to find what makes you happy, you have to find a place where you are healthy and happy. But if you love what you do, you don’t mind working”- Garance Doré

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Create and Cultivate was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. Although I was bummed about my track, I left with such an expansion of knowledge, and feeling more motivated than ever. It was incredible to be surrounded by other women who are smart, determine, creative, and beyond motivated. To be surrounded by such talent, I left feeling as if I could conquer the world. Maybe I will someday 🙂