Craftcation in Retrospect

Photo: Matthew William Photography

 

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Craftcation in Ventura, California. I’d met one of the organizers – Nicole Stevenson – over the course of several other conferences and was flattered when she asked me to sit on panels about advanced social media and keeping track of your time.

 

 

Kelly of Studio DIY was kind enough to play driver to Brittni of Paper & Stitch and myself after picking us up at LAX. It was a fast trip up to Ventura – fueled by Cadbury Mini Eggs – where we were welcomed by a hotel full of washi taped walls and tons of fun little details.

 

 

There were three definite highlights of the trip for me, the first was seeing Brittni work her magic for a floral accessories workshop she was teaching. Riding in the car with buckets of flowers, then seeing them in her room for a few days confirmed my belief that they do a mind good.

 

 

Second was a crazy craft libation tour I went on Thursday afternoon. (That’s the cool thing about Craftcation, it’s not all about crafting but rather making in all of its forms.) About thirty of us piled into a shuttle and were driven around Ventura, stopping at four different spots – Ventura Limoncello Company, Surf Brewery, Plan B Wine Cellars, and Ventiki. I’d say it was a success based on the fact that the shuttle got louder after each location.

 

 

Lastly, Friday night ten of us headed out for a dinner which didn’t go quite as planned but was a blast nonetheless. I got to spend some much needed time with friend and keynote speaker Lisa Congdon and met two other amazing ladies in the process. After exploring a little of the downtown area we hung out at the Busy Bee Cafe, eating the requisite fare and drinking.

 

Photo: Matthew William Photography

Photo: Matthew William Photography

My two panels were held back-to-back that Friday on the top floor – that view! I’m always nervous speaking to a crowd full of non-bloggers when it comes to social media, but I think the crowd in attendance got something out of it. And I think i was able to inject a dose of reality to the time management panel with my off-kilter methods. At least I made them laugh!

Saturday morning Kelly, Brittni, and Brittany of The House That Lars Built (As an aside, Kelly and I and Brittni and Brittany were assigned rooms together. Hilarity ensued.) headed back to L.A. and said goodbye to the sleepy town of Ventura. My soul was happy.

 

Photo: Matthew William Photography

Posted In create, travel