BlogHer Day 2 – Friday August 5, 2016
Last night was ROUGH and we had to be up extra early to make it to my first event at 7:30 am. Brands hold events all throughout the conference where they invite a select few bloggers to attend. If they don't fill, they open up seats to everyone to register on a first-come, first-served basis. There's no way everyone can go to all of them so it is luck of the draw. I was invited to events for Staples, Jelmar (the makers of CLR), and LampsPlus. Katie went to totally different events from me!
The Staples event was awesome!! They had Megan Telles, Gabby Reece, Lori Loughlin, Davida Arnold, and Elle Walker on a panel discussing back to school shopping and how Staples can help. Who knew Gabby Reece was a planner addict?!
What?! @GabbyReece = #planneraddict, daughter does #calligraphy 4 brain dev #StaplesLive @staples #BlogHer16 pic.twitter.com/51LUjAf0VJ
— Jennifer Priest (@JenniferpPriest) August 5, 2016
Staples also had popular school supplies on display around the room.
A photo posted by DIY Blogger ✂ Jennifer Priest (@hydrangeahippo) on
My favorite thing was the Jansport burrito shaped cord organizer that has pockets for school supplies. I got one in my swag bag! It's one of the cleverist things I've seen yet:
A video posted by DIY Blog ✂ Jennifer Priest (@jenniferppriest) on
Next I went to the Jelmar breakfast. They make CLR which is a brand of cleaners my family has used for generations. Did you know that Jelmar is a third generation family owned business with a female President? With only 14 employees, they are what small business truly means! It was so inspiring to hear Jelmar President Alison J. Gutterman share her story and inspire other women entreprenuers. CLR also shared their products, including a new Stainless Steel formula which is a godsend for all of us with fingerprinted and streaked stainless steel appliances. I can't wait to try it! You can get it online only right now: CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner
We played a little bit of hooky and went across the street away from BlogHer for an event with HP and the MyPrintly Ambassadors. It was super fun to see my fellow MyPrintlys as well as Natalie and Maria from BSM Media.
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PLUS we got sneak peeks at brand new products launching soon… I can't tell you anything more than that but I just KNOW you are gonna flip for this!! We brought home brand new printers too… I think we should be having a giveaway soon so stay tuned!
Since HP loaded up us with printers, we needed to make a pit stop at the car. JW Marriott has valet parking only and you have to go to a lobby on the 2nd parking level in the basement to pick up your car. It's hot as a sauna down there! While I was waiting for my car, I sat on a bench and this woman in her seventies started talking to me. She wanted to know what the event was about, what bloggers do, how we make money. She kept asking me a bazillion questions and I was sure she was never gonna blog so why was I wasting my breath?! Across from us I saw a woman packing a microphone in her bag that said “KFI”. That's the radio station I listen to all the time! She started hurriedly trying to get her gear out of her bag and she rushed over and asked if she could interview me. She said her name was “Jo” and I was like, “OMG are you JO KWON?! I listen to you on the radio!”.
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Yeah, I totally fangirled LOL! Jo Kwon was there to interview the CEO of BlogHer and I happened to be a blogger that she interviewed for her segment. Matthew listened to the segment and said, “Hey, that sounds kind of like Mom.” Ha Ha!
Listen to the segment here: The head of a media company called “SheKnows Media” – is a HE!
Back over at the JW, I went to a lunch with Lamps Plus, the nation’s largest lighting retailer. This lunch was at the same time as the Kim Kardashian interview, which Katie attended. I'm okay with missing that *wink wink*. LampsPlus is cooler! LOL
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LampsPlus is celebrating their 40th anniversary! We got to meet the Lamps Plus team and learn easy home lighting and décor tips. Plus we heard from an elite panel of leading bloggers Pretty Prudent, The City Sage, and HGTV celebrity designer, Kelli Ellis. Check out the blogging tips and wisdom they shared over on my post at Rainmakermediaworks TODAY!
After the LampsPlus lunch we wandered around some more sponsor booths and then decided to hit up the afternoon class session. The challenge with sessions is you never know if they are going to go broad and theoretical with all of the information or if the presentation will be filled with real, actionable tidbits you can use right now. It's a crap shoot!
We chose to go with “Managing your YouTube: Best Practices for Promotion & Distribution” with Kandee Johnson (KandeeJohnson) and Whitney White (Naptural85), moderated by Sarah Penna of Awestruck. I laughed so hard in this class and learned so much – Whitney and Kandee's energy played off one another for an entertaining and super informative session.
So, @KandeeJohnson is my favorite now. She is soooo funny!!! #BlogHer16
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We also went down to the Awestruck booth and got our photo with Kandee Johnson! She is so funny and full of life. She could not believe that Katie was my daughter. She said I was a “baby momma” like I must have had Katie when I was 7 years old! LOL It was so much fun!!
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After the Expo floor closed, we hit the road with LizBeth from BBWGeneration and grabbed dinner at Urth Caffe in DTLA. It's required eating in LA. My friend Tammy turned me on to Urth a few years ago and we just love it. You can see why…
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There are parties every night at these conferences but after standing on my feet all day, the last thing I want to do is stand on my feet all night. I am sure the parties were fun but we had a great time talking, trading blogging tips, and just spending time together. That's what is great about conferences – you can meet bloggers who aren't even in your niche but you can connect and support each other. Liz and I met last year at the very first We All Grow conference. She's a fashion and social good blogger but we just hit it off. I DO actually talk to people who don't make crafts. Sometimes. LOL Check out BBWGeneration HERE and on INSTAGRAM.
Adele was playing at The Staples Center that night so traffic was INSANE! We went back to our hotel, which is by Urth Caffe in Pasadena, and got some chai tea lattes for our night work session. I finished writing a post for a sponsor, edited my photos, and then passed out.
CLICK the NEXT button to see what happened on Days 2 and 3 of BlogHer 2016!
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