There was so much that happened at the Design Bloggers Conference 2012, it’s a challenge to sum it all up. We figured that we couldn’t summarize the conference any better than our attendees, so in this blog post you’ll find a comprehensive collection of their highlights, recaps, and tips gleaned from the conference, along with lots of photos. We trust you’ll find them entertaining and informative.

My Almost Week In LA

I just flew back from LA yesterday and boy are my arms tired, I know pretty corny, but with the exciting time I experienced in La La Land the last couple of days it just fit. And no I wasn’t in Los Angeles for the Academy Awards although I was caught up in all the traffic as most of the streets around the Kodak Theatre were blocked off. Although I didn’t walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards I still managed to be at a star studded event in LA, the Design Bloggers Conference hosted by Design Sherpa. We might not have had Brangelina, but I did however hear that the lovely Naya Rivera, who plays Santana on one of my favorite shows Glee, made an appearance at the DBC. Read more…

5 Best Things—Design Blogger Conference

This past week I’ve been in Los Angeles at the Design Bloggers Conference put on byDesign Sherpa. Last year was the inaugural event and absolutely blew my mind. This year I thought how could I possibly be as excited? But as the timing to go drew near and more announcements were made as to who would speak and who would attend my adrenaline rushed as if I were a first time attendee. Here are my top 5 highlights of the trip.

1. A conference is only as good as its speakers. I listened about the fabulous life ofMartyn Lawrence Bullard, I learned what hard work and passion are from Bunny Williams, a powerhouse named Macala Wright from FashionablyMarketing.Me blew my mind with her vast knowledge and insight, and people like Ronda Carman (All the Best Blog), Tobi Fairley (Tobi Fairley Interior Design), Cassandra LaValle (Coco+Kelley andRue Magazine), and Kelley Moore gave me a glimpse into the future of blogging. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference - Martyn Lawrence Bullard

After a week in Los Angeles (more pictures from that later on this week) which ended in another amazing Design Bloggers Conference, I have a lot that I wanted to share with you from so many insightful and inspiring panels. So let’s get straight to it.

For many of us as each panel was happening throughout the day we would Tweet *LIVE* our instant takeaways, for our friends online that were not able to attend.

I called mine - #Top Quotes. So this week not only will I try and share as many of my live tweets as possible, but also include links, visuals and additional information about the panelists and the sponsors that made this such a special event as they occurred. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference Highlights

In case you haven’t heard, Design Bloggers Conference 2012 was a blast!

Now that I’ve had a few days to let all the awesomeness sink in, I wanted to share a few highlights with you! I had such an amazing time catching up with old friends and making new ones along the way!

First, the keynote speakers were amazing! Bunny Williams and Martyn Lawrence Bullard were both OUTSTANDING! Brooke, was lucky enough to snap this cute pic of she and Bunny. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference 2012

I’m finally feeling rested and have caught back up with work. Starting Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending the Design Bloggers Conference in downtown Los Angeles. This was the second year of the event which brings together around 200 or so design bloggers who may or may not be actually in the design business. To say that I left inspired would be an understatement!

Sunday night there was a cocktail party at the hotel where the event would take place. It was a great chance to catch up with fellow design bloggers that I had met the previous year and when I attended Blogfest in NYC last May. Then Monday morning the event kick started into full gear with the keynote address by designer Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, which you may know from Bravo’s show Million Dollar Decorators. I sort of fell in love with Martyn after watching the show and was thrilled to hear him tell his crazy tales about working with celebrity clients. That mans’ life doesn’t even seem real it’s so outrageous and extraordinary! Read more…

Oscars and Design Bloggers celebrate

How fitting that Oscar night takes place on the same night as the Design bloggers Conference 2012 begins. Not only are we in Los Angeles.

We are staying at the Millenium Biltmore, where Oscar events unfolded for 14 consecutive years in the very room we are convening. Interesting to note that the first Oscar ceremonies were men only.

How they would leap about to see what the world has come to. Women changing the world. Winning awards. Opinionated, feisty and aglow. Read more…

Bunny Williams’ Smart and Stylish Interior Design

Home on the Range designer Lynne Bier enjoyed the Design Bloggers Conference last week and wants to spotlight renowned interior designer Bunny Williams, who gave the keynote speech on the final day of the conference.

If you’ve been following the conference buzz on Twitter, you may have seen how much everyone loved Bunny Williams’ talk - so much that Bunny received a standing ovation! She has a wise outlook on the industry, and her interior design style is a marriage of beauty and function. Blending modern and traditional pieces in her design, Bunny strives for—and achieves—timeless spaces that are comfortable and lived in, characteristics that are easily seen in the design of her own apartment. Read more…

My Highlight from The Design Bloggers Conference – Bunny Williams

For the last eight days, I have been city hoping from Newport, RI to Houston to Los Angeles. My last leg of the trip in LA was spent with 350 Interior Design professionals for two very full days and nights talking about blogging, social media and interior design at the annual Design Bloggers Conference.

There were several highlights of the trip but my big one was hearing Bunny Williams speak. Trained in the ‘old school’ way of learning from the bottom up, her first job out of college had her cataloging antiques. Her second job was on the staff of the famed team of Sister Parish and Albert Hadley (Parish-Hadley) for twenty-two years. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference

The Sunbrella team had a great time this past week at the Design Bloggers Conference. The conference brought together interior design industry professionals who share a passion using new media to to do some amazing things in interior design.

The event offered many ways to learn with insightful keynote speakers and panelists, and lots of networking and mingling with friends. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference Part I

The Design Bloggers Conference was held this week in Los Angeles at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. The stage was beautifully decorated by Currey and Company. The amount of positive energy and passion for design was felt throughout the room. We were all engaged with the line up of great inspiring and motivating speakers: Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, Bunny Williams, Lisa Robison and Kim Turner of Dwell With Dignity, Hardy Wallace of Dirty South Wine and Tobi Fairley to name a few. Bunny Williams, Lisa Robinson and Kim Turner received a well deserved standing ovation. There was networking and some fun cocktail parties, and more networking.

If you didn’t attend the conference, here are few notes: Read more…

Top Five Take-Aways for All Bloggers from the Design Bloggers’ Conference

Held in the architecturally significant Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles early this week, the Design Bloggers’ Conference was packed with pertinent information for all bloggers.

Held in the architecturally significant Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles early this week, the Design Bloggers’ Conference was packed with pertinent information for all bloggers.Here are my top 5 take-aways from the event.1. BE YOURSELFTrite but true, and emphasized repeatedly throughout the conference. With millions of blogs out there, the only way to stand out is to speak with your unique voice. Makes perfect sense. There is only one you. Read more…

Bunny Williams at Design Bloggers Conference

It is always a pleasure to hear Bunny WIlliams speak about Interior Design. Bunny has for years been one of my design heros, her name is synonymous with style, elegance and sophistication… and of course, Parish-Hadley, where she got her start in design.

Bunny spoke of her path to decor stardom and offered advice to designers regarding the business of design.She showed beautiful photos of homes she has designed, offering great tips and pointers to her eager audience. Her furniture line, Bee Line Home, will have many new items for the Highpoint Market in April. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference L.A. 2012

Design bloggers had their academy awards last week at the Biltmore Millenium in downtown L.A. Design Sherpa sponsored the Design Bloggers Conference which debuted last year to educate and recognize top design bloggers. Martyn Lawrence-Bullard kicked off the first morning, regaling us with stories of his magical career. His designs look effortless, and inviting. Rooms appear to have grown organically over time.

Bunny Williams regaled us with anecdotes of her long career. She was actually both funny and concise. Like Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, she emphasizes comfort, but she does grand interiors. Making grand comfortable is accomplished through artful furniture placement, parsing the space into inviting conversation areas punctuated with multi-tasking functional pieces. Read more…

Ten Pearls of Wisdom from the Design Bloggers Conference

I just returned from Los Angeles where I attended the Design Bloggers Conference. More than 200 design bloggers enjoyed two days packed with a fabulous agenda and excellent speakers.

In order to record all of the pertinent information and share it with those not in attendance, I tweeted during the presentations. After reviewing my (lengthy) Twitter feed, I have selected ten pearls of wisdom to share:

Martyn Lawrence-Bullard: There’s nothing more flattering than being copied. Read more…

Day One: Design Blogger Conference 2012

The first day of our Design Blogger Conference event begins with check in at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. This hotel is the premier choice for celebrities, presidents and dignitaries for over 85 years. The Millennium Biltmore Hotel offers historic grandeur and modern luxury in the heart of exciting downtown Los Angeles. Located in the vibrant cultural and financial districts, the downtown Los Angeles hotel is steps away from major attractions, including our latest find Bottega Louie!

Upon check-in we received top notch designer swag from some of our favorite pals in the industry. One Kings Lane provided us gift cards for their ongoing tastemaker sales and Christen Maxwell partnered with The Foundary and Hayneedle to provide designer Ikat patterned business card holders. What I love about Christen’s products are that they are all made in the USA—simply the perfect gift to be prepared to share business information with the other 350-blogger attendees! Read more…

Day Two: Design Blogger Conference 2012

Well the party didn’t stop at the gift cards and the sweet treats during day two—actually there was more design inspiration! Our Design Blogger Conference started with the wit and wisdom of Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Bunny Williams greeting us at the door! During his keynote speech, Martyn told of his colorful design path and how the relationships he formed with Cheryl Tiegs, Elton John and Cher has help to carry his career to what it is today. Martyn’s line with Schumacher is pretty fabulous too!

Our day then rolled into several conference topics. Following a champagne toast, we welcomed “BlogStars: Social Networking, Content, and The Future of Blogs” Read more…

INTERIOR DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE 2012

I just got back from the Interior Design Bloggers Conference; such fun and so informative! The conference was held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles (more on this historic hotel in my next blog!). There is soooo much to tell, but I’ll stick with the major highlights.

Inspiring Speakers :

Martyn Lawrence Bullard (designer to the stars, furniture, rug, fabric, and accessory line designer) – funny, elegant, down-to-earth, extremely likeable! Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference

As promised, I have some follow up info about the 2nd annual Design Bloggers Conference that took place in LA last week. This conference is a melding of the minds among bloggers who write about home design and interior designers who blog. My Way Home was well-represented by myself, Katie Rosenfeld, Cindy Bogart, Kate Smith, and Susan Serra. I had been on photo shoots with Katie and Cindy in the past but had never met Kate or Susan in person—what a fun place to get better acquainted!

At the risk of making this blog post look like a bunch of braggy sorority party pics, I am including shots from the conference because I want to convey what a supportive and creative group this is. All us lovers of home design attended the conference to learn from each other so we can bring readers/viewers/customers (You!) the best possible content. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference 2012

The second annual Design Bloggers Conference in Los Angeles was once again a whirlwind of intelligent minds, wild talent and boundless energy. Returning to the reality of home office and having a go at synthesizing the takeaways and todos is no small task!

Much easier is extending a grand thanks to Adam Japko, Design Sherpa and all those involved in orchestrating this 3-day extravaganza. What a set.

With such an astute line-up of presenters this year it’s virtually negligent to highlight any one, but I must…

Meeting Bunny Williams was, gulp, smashing. With a career too decorated to catalogue and talent too far-reaching to expound, the only thing that equaled being there to experience her words of wisdom was witnessing her graciousness and generosity toward adoring fans. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference: 3 Days, 3 Parties

With the Design Bloggers Conference happening in Los Angeles this past week, along came several invites to parties all around town. While it was hard to make each and every one, I did have the opportunity to attend the Hollyhock party hosted by Suzanne Rheinstein, the Harbinger party with TRADHome and Kravet, and the Grace Home Furnishings party.

Suzanne Rheinstein, proprietor of Hollyhock hosted a kick off party in honor of Ronda Carman of All the Best Blog at the start of the 2012 Design Bloggers Conference. Read more…

CONTENT MARKETING: FURNITURE and DESIGN

For the past three days, I’ve been in Los Angeles attending the Design Bloggers Conference. The brainchild of Design Sherpa, a division of NCI Communications, this conference brings together top design bloggers with sponsoring brand attendees to create collaborative opportunities through online content marketing partnerships.

Why, as a retailer do you care? Because getting to know the design bloggers is one piece of this industry’s future. Why? Because the design bloggers representing 36 states and 4 non-U.S. countries that were at this conference (and all the other design bloggers who were not able to attend) can impact your customers. Read more…

Lights Camera… Action - Design Bloggers Conference Style

WHIRLWIND.

Got to LA on Sunday, still here but I have a glass of wine and a laptop and an actual wifi connection that seems to be sticking around so I thought I would whip together a little glimpse of LA Blogger Style. My fabulous roomie Katie Rosenfeld of boglestreet.com & I are hanging out in our room, drinking wine, pesudo napping (she’s now packing).

So the little bit of news I have… this blog, this very one that you are reading right now just won Best New Design Blog and has been inducted into the Design Bloggers Conference Hall of Fame. Read more…

Bunny Williams speaks at Design Bloggers 2012

Bunny Williams, celebrated designer speaks from the heart at Design Bloggers Conference 2012 in LA. Her professional journey started working for Parish-Hadley and learned from the inside out the nuts and bolts of working both sides (the creative and the business detail oriented) business aspects of running and marketing a design company. Her passion for entertaining has led her to enjoy designing table-scapes which are noteworthy. She tends to extend the life of well-made great quality furniture pieces by recovering, refinishing and giving them a freshened up look. “You should have a love affair with your home, your sanctuary!”, says Bunny. Read more…

THE BLOGGERS CIRCLE

I am on my way home from The Design Bloggers Conference in L.A. and have so much to share! The event was full of inspirational speakers like and an overall theme of be original, be true to yourself and you’ll stand out. Dallas’ Dwell With Dignity was able to share their story and announce that they are excited about expanding into other cities. In order for them to grow, they need to continue to have the support with volunteers and of course donations.

At the Design Bloggers Conference, they announced the Bloggers Circle! It is a great way to become involved with DWD and help them to achieve their goal of ”going national”. I am happy to announce that Shop Ten 25 is partnering with DWD to help them reach their goals! It’s easy really! Read more…

Five Must-Visits in Downtown LA!

John and I are out in LA for the Design Bloggers Conference taking place downtown… We were at the conference last year and made some fabulous friends and connections, learned a lot, and drank lots of white wine.

The 2012 DBC festivities kicked-off tonight with cocktails at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel, so I blew off much of the Academy Awards for more white wine and then a fab dinner at First & Hope. Frankly, the Oscars tire me. I guess I need to finally see The Artist, n’est-ce pas? Besides, Billy Crystal was so Eddie Munster. Read more…

Design Bloggers Conference 2012

In addition to recovering from jet lag, it’s taken me a little while to come down off the high I got from being at the Design Bloggers Conference in Los Angeles earlier this week. What an experience it was to mingle with fellow designers and bloggers, experience the L.A. design scene, and learn from some of the best in the field. Read more…