Live it: Blogtacular 2014

Last weekend, when quite frankly the UK was cold, windy and damp - there was an explosion of creativity, colour and people (mainly women) for the inaugural Blogtacular at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London.  We had never been to an event like this before so we had no idea what to expect... we were blown away! 

Both of us had been following Kat and Kat's respective blogs for a while before the conference was announced so we knew that this was going to be the most awesome blogging event of 2014 and it did not disappoint. As the speakers were announced they just got better and better, the lead up to the event was an exciting time finding out who of our blogging friends were going to be there and which of our blogging idols we were going to get a chance to meet. 

The Friday night kicked off with a goody bag of epic proportions designed and printed by the amazing Zeena  Shah including gifts from the Hambledon, Betty and Walter, Tigerlilly Quinn, Lollipop, Ladybird Likes and all the event sponsors including Mail Chimp, B&Q and the Lovely Mollie Makes followed by a drinks reception and book signing.

The opening key note was given by a blogger who has been an inspiration to us for many years, Joy Cho, a designer and mother among the long list of accomplishments this lady has under her belt.

"You are not just a blogger"

                                                                Joy Cho

Day two was an intense learning explosion, packed full of workshops and lectures. We especially loved hearing from Tilly (Tilly and the Buttons) and Vicky (editor at Kyle Books) who spoke about going from blogger to author and the secrets of just how to write that book.

"Self Promotion, not to be confused with over sharing"

                                                                                                          Anne Ditmeyer

The Editors panel including Lara ( Mollie Makes) Caroline Rowland (91 magazine) Kate Carter (Life and Style at the Guardian) and Heather Young (freelance interiors journalist for IPC magazines) was a real treat. We got to hear their tips for pitching to publications and an insight into what they look for in contributors to their magazines. 

We were hugely inspired by the fab duo behind Mini Moderns, Mark and Keith who took us through their top tips for branding and design.  Let's face it, it was nice to have a few guys around the place! Although there was a few in the audience, but we never got to meet them to find out who they were. If your reading this guys, say hello!

Even in between all the brilliant lectures and workshops there was no time for a creative lull, there were stalls and activities from sponsers Thomson Holidays and B&Q.  Blackwell's had an array of creative books to read and buy from all the speakers and more to keep those juices flowing and the B&Q team helped us avoid that 3pm slump with a little help from The Meringue Girls.

We felt that the closing keynote from Natalie Lue (Baggage Reclaim) was the perfect way to end a weekend filled with inspirational and motivational advice from the leaders in our field. She spoke so wonderfully about not comparing yourself to other people and that EVERYONE has self-doubt, but you know what you deal with it and move on!  Natalie really is a force to be reckoned with and definitely gave us some Big Lessons to learn from!  She may well have inspired H to write that book about weddings too, so watch this space!

"You will have more ideas than time, this is ok"

                                                                                             Natalie Lue

We both headed home with our heads buzzing with ideas and inspiration, as we are sure all our fellow attendees and speakers did too. It also made us have some hard but important conversations about what we both want for the future of Live it. Love it. Make it... All good, promise.

If you are now totally jealous that you couldn't make it to the best blogging event of the year, don't worry, sign up to the Blogtacular mailing list to be in with the chance to grab a virtual ticket to be able to go online and watch videos of some of the sessions. There was a rumour that the first few UK based purchasers of virtual tickets would get one of the goody bags too!

To Kat and Kat,
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for dreaming big and envisioning the absolute delight that was Blogtacular. We learnt so much and are so excited for the future of our blog thanks to your hard work and determination to make your vision becoming a reality. We have added "To speak at Blogtacular" to our list of blogging life goals.

H and Sammy