Picture this ... you walk into a decadent conference room and all around you are women {and some men} sitting at tables placed systematically around the room. All are impeccably dressed; hair done, wearing bright and colourful summer outfits, and as you enter, laughter and excited chatter fills the air. The setting is Toronto's
Arcadian Court and Lofts. The view of the space is of Old City Hall. Contemporary-looking chandeliers sparkle and shimmer above you. To the right of the room is an exposed brick wall and at the front of the room is a long conference table and a podium. This is quite fitting seeing as the event you're attending is
Blog Podium, a conference where bloggers, writers, vendors and businesses across Canada all come together for the purpose of collaboration, community, sharing knowledge, information - {hugs!} - and supporting each other in their unique-yet-similar paths.
For me, one thing that made Blog Podium stand out is its encouragement to engage in social media "tweeting" during the event. While most people shy away from typing on their phones out of fear of being rude, Blog Podium organizers encouraged and supported this cyber speak. So community was not only being built in the room, but also in Cyberspace as people connected, chatted and posted via Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. And yes, I was one of them!
I must admit that I did one of the worst things imaginable on the day: I forgot my camera! And I'm not fortunate to have a cell phone camera that produces high-quality images, so right off the bat, please forgive me for that. But I want to give a shout-out to the sponsors of Blog Podium:
EQ3,
blurb,
HomeSense &
The Home Depot as well as the vendors who were friendly, engaging and informative:
West Elm,
PARA Paints,
Benjamin Moore,
DECOR-Rest,
sheblogs,
Gluckstein Home,
Posterjack,
AYA Kitchens & Baths,
Mango Studios {and all of the other vendors that helped make this event possible. If any were forgotten, please let me know and I'll kindly add them in}.
What I was up to this week: