Haven Conference 2014 Recap…Newbie, No More

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We just successfully attended our very first bloggers conference…Haven Conference 2014. Luckily for Jennifer and I, it is held right here in Atlanta, Georgia. We decided to stay at the conference hotel because:

  • We really wanted to connect with other bloggers
  • We wanted to maximize our conference time.
  • We didn’t want to miss out on one bit of fun

So…we were all packed up and headed down the highway. We were super excited and yet nervous at the same time. Kind of like the first day as a Freshman in high school! What if no one knows who we are? What if no one speaks to us? We knew we over-thinking it but we were still a bundle of nerves. Well, we soon discovered we had nothing to worry about. The people that we met and spoke with were so kind and friendly.We soon discovered they felt the same way we did!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!Now, before I go any further I must disclose to you that we both made the MOST rookie mistake – we hardly took any photos! We got so busy meeting vendors,bloggers,taking classes and having fun – we completely forgot that we should be documenting everything. All of these photos were taken with our iPhones. Can you believe it? Anyway…

We checked in at the front desk and picked up our conference swag bag and raced up to our room. We immediately decorated our door…

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!…and then delved into our beautiful bags. We could not believe all of the items that were stuffed in there. Isn’t it great?

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!We promptly went downstairs for the Haven Newbies Mixer where we hooked up with our social media friends CoCo of The Crowned Goat and Angie of Altered Past.

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!At the mixer we exchanged business cards with as many people as we could. It was so fun and rewarding to meet people that we have been stalking, admiring, and connecting with online. It was so wonderful to finally have a human face and voice to go with the blogger.

How could we not be friends with Angie Forte of Altered Past – we fell in love with her handmade business cards and the wonderful bee art put it over the top 🙂

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Jennifer and I brought ring clips to put the business cards onto each evening to be sure that we didn’t lose any:

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

The official opening of the Haven Conference was presented my none other than Chip Wade of HGTV’s “Elbow Room”. Now, I’d like to proudly say that Chip is adorable and from right here in Atlanta, Georgia…so how come I’ve never run into him in the grocery store 🙂 See how he kept looking over at me….HAHAHAHA

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

We met so many fabulous vendors. Here a just a few that we met with…

Online Fabrics

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Modern Masters

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Home Depot -Pointing the way to their DIY Hall of Fame:

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Moen

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!Carmen Johnston with Southern Living Plant Collection

I got to take home this wonderful large plant display in a galvanized container!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

 

Can you believe how beautiful this candy bar is? Scout & Nimble know how to make a color impact!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!We participated in a fabulous class for Photo Styling.  As you can tell by this showing of photos – We need all of the help that we can get 🙂 Please – don’t judge!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Jennifer also won a watercolor painted by one of her blogging idols, Craftberry Bush…can’t you tell how excited she is?  She and Kristin from The Hunted Interior taught this amazing class on photography and styling!  We also took other great sessions, such as Blogging Basics: What We Wish We Knew Then…this class was incredibly helpful, especially for a newbie 🙂

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Our final night, Ryobi had a super fun farewell party with a creative photo booth, tons of food (ice cream bar…need we say more) and dancing! So enjoyed spending lots of time with Jennifer of The Striped House, as well as a mother/daughter team we met (Chaotically Creative), but of course in our newbie mistake, forgot to get a photo with 🙂

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!Rachel of Useful Beautiful Home

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!This is just an example of more of the things that we got to bring home with us!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies…You know the tune 🙂 “So we brought down all of our stuff and crammed it in the SUV…swag that is –  power tools, Mason jars”

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!The very best part…spending time together! This great photo was NOT taken by us 🙂 Obviously, Bobbi of Blu Water Life was way more on the ball than we were and kindly sent us this photo. We are so embarrassed that we were with Bobbi all weekend and have not one photo of her…sorry Bobbi!

Haven Conference 2014. We just attended our very first bloggers conference right here in Atlanta, GA!
Source Blu Water Life

We had such a fabulous time. We have created so many memories with each other and with so many bloggers that we are proud to call you friends! We can’t wait to start implementing all that we have learned and hope to collaborate with bloggers that we met.

Did you attend Haven? Please add a comment below and tell us what you think. Feel free to share your photos…

15 Comments

  1. It really was a fun conference, wasn’t it?!! Haha, I forgot to use my real camera too! Oh well, there’s always next year for better photo ops. 🙂

    1. 2 Bees in a Pod says:

      Hey Rachel-
      Yes , it really was fun – and so informative. Have you thought about “what’s next” for you?

      Vicki and Jennifer

  2. Great recap! Looks like y’all made some wonderful connections…and I’m just bummed we didn’t get to meet! Although I feel like we did after hearing such warm words about y’all from CoCo, my road trip buddy. So glad y’all enjoyed your time…and I hope to meet you in the future!

    1. 2 Bees in a Pod says:

      Hey there Lauren!

      We too wish we had met. CoCo is a great communicator…she told us how wonderful you are and how helpful you have been to she and her blog!

      Haven was overwhelming, exhilarating and tons of fun. we hope to implement a lot that we learned over the next few weeks.

      Hope to see you in the near future!

      Vicki and Jennifer

  3. Like you I did not take enough pictures! Next time. I am trying to go through all those beautiful creative buisness cards today along with the blogs. I got a lot of swag too but no big power tools,etc. but lots of new and helpful information though.

    1. 2 Bees in a Pod says:

      Hey there-
      I still can’t believe that we took hardly any photos 🙂 Lesson learned for sure! It is a lot of work to be sure that you haven’t forgotten anyone from their business cards. We have loved discovering new people and their blogs!

      The swag was fabulous! We are still sifting through all of it – and so grateful to receive it.

      What was the number one thing that stood out for you?

      Hope to connect soon 🙂

      Vicki and Jennifer

  4. 2 Bees in a Pod says:

    Hey Amy-

    Y’all definitely need to try and make it to Haven next year. Very informative and eye opening…although by the looks of your blog you don’t need any improvement!

    Mother/daughter teams rock 🙂

    Vicki and Jennifer

  5. Fun recap! I love how you decorated your door! Wish I could have met you at Haven! I just recently posted my Haven 2014 recap, too!

    1. 2 Bees in a Pod says:

      Thanks Lauren! I wish we could have met too! it looks like from your recap we were in a lot of the same classes…hopefully next year 🙂

  6. It was so nice to meet another Mother/Daughter blogging duo! You ladies are awesome can’t wait to collaborate!
    Lesley

    1. 2 Bees in a Pod says:

      Hey Lesley! It was so great meeting you too and looking forward to collaborating…we will definitely chat soon!

  7. Hanging out at Haven with you two was a gift if a lifetime! Thanks for making it so special!

  8. Pingback: Haven in Polaroids

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