I followed my passion by launching Simplified Bee® blog in January 2009 - it was now or never. The blog not only helped kick off my business, it allowed me to live for today, love life again and eventually move past an early stage breast cancer diagnosis nine months earlier.
How Blogging Changed My Life: Cristin Bisbee Priest
Attendee Profile: Cristin Priest of Simplified Bee®
Before launching Simplified Bee®, I first put my organizational and design skills to work in the high tech industry for over eight years directing marketing efforts including events, press and lead generation. After the birth of my first child, I hung up my corporate hat and switched gears as a stay-at-home mom. Shortly after, I followed my passion for home decorating and studied interior design.
As a busy mother of young ones, I understand the desire for a home to be functional, yet beautiful. I saw a need for “functional” interior design and knew homes could be orderly without sacrificing style. As a result I launched Simplified Bee® in January 2009 offering residential style-savvy organization and design services in the San Francisco Bay Area. I believe surrounding yourself in beautiful, organized homes reduces stress, makes you happier and inspires healthier living.
In May of 2009, after a client pushed me to do so, I started the Simplified Bee® Blog. With limited marketing funds, the blog was originally a placeholder for a website that would be developed later that year. To my surprise, the little blog grew and I grew to love writing about interiors, organizing and entertaining. “Meeting” new blogger friends has also been a wonderful element in starting the blog.
Some of my favorite projects are helping busy families with children. Currently, I am working on designing a playroom for a family with three little ones. It is a fun space to design because of the challenge to be functional first and foremost, while still be style-savvy and budget friendly.
Nature, textiles and color are typical inspiration points for me in design. Currently I am obsessed with the block-print textiles from designers like John Robshaw. I also prefer designs that are approachable, wabi-sabi and artfully blend old and new. Eco-friendly design is also important to me. I love upcycling furniture found at a yard sale or flee market. I am not a fan of interiors that are matchy-matchy and look a page out of a furniture catalog.
Attending The Design Bloggers Conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn from some of the best in the design blog community. I’m also very excited to meet the talented conference speakers and attendees - many of whom are fellow bloggers I have followed for years!
Attendee Profile: Claudia Juestel of Adeeni Design Blog
In addition to running my own interior design firm Adeeni Design Group I have been writing for SFLuxe and Reside, two San Francisco online publications since the Summer of 2009. In my position as design and architecture editor I cover what is happening in design and architecture around the Bay Area and interview icons of design and arbiters of style for my series “Tea With Claudia”. To express a more personal side and to share random reflections of what I find beautiful and thought provoking I decided to start my own blog, which I took public in July of 2010. There I introduce new articles for SFLuxe, as well as write about my experience and interests, ranging from architecture, design and art, fashion and travel to cooking and entertaining. I often provide a more European perspective and cover subjects related to my homeland Austria, celebrating its riches in culture and history. I also love supporting masters in their fields who may not yet have received the recognition they deserve; and so I just added a series called “Unique Talent”, which features artists, artisans and craftsmen with unique skills and designs.
In my design practice we emphasize bespoke interiors in a variety of styles, driven by the architecture of the home and the personal life-style of each client. We cover anything from traditional to modern and from rustic to elegant, whatever the project requires. We just completed a chic art-driven coffee and wine bar in San Francisco, CA. While I have had the pleasure of working outside the Bay Area and overseas, we are currently mostly working in California, including a turn-of-the-century farmhouse in Walnut Creek, a historic Italianate mansion in Diablo, a French cottage in Carmel, and a contemporary artist’s apartment in San Francisco. One of my biggest passions in design is creating on-of-a-kind furnishings for our clients. We design everything from casegoods and seating to rugs, fabrics and lighting. It is so satisfying to know that these clients own and enjoy something perfectly tailored to them, which nobody else has.
I am inspired by so many sources, travel always being on top of the list. But while often being tied to my work too much my armchair travels take me to other blogs, magazines, and books, where I often find much stimulation. I have a passion for the exotic, which I often incorporate into my design. I love meeting people from other cultures and learning about their way of life. But I cannot always find the time to visit fascinating places like India or Thailand. So I am happy to meet exiles from all over the world right here in my back yard, or to come across exotic objects at antique shops and flea markets, all of which can stimulate great design ideas. I find it so important to always learn new things, both professionally and personally.
At the conference I am looking forward to spending time with some of the seasoned design bloggers I have been following, such as Ronda Carman of All the Best, Cristin Bisbee Priest of Simplified Bee, Scot Wood of The Adventures of Tartan Scot, and new I ones I should know. I am excited about the opportunity to meet people face to face outside our virtual world and to learn more about their passions and dreams, and what works for them. I know that such kind of interaction will be very stimulating. I can’t wait!






















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