It's easy as a creative and freelancer to get blogger burnout, where productivity hits a bit of a wall and you struggle for inspiration, or you keep saying yes to everything and then find yourself frazzled juggling it all. I often find I'm at my best when surrounded by a community of like-minded people to bounce ideas off, and although everyone is probably feeling that end of year tow *because let's be honest 2016 has been a bit of a bitch* I am so grateful to have such a wonderful group of inspirational people in this city.
So when I was asked whether I'd like to be whisked away to the rolling Welsh countryside for a creative Weekend:In, I jumped at the chance to spend time connecting with others and flex the grey matter. Organised by the lovely Olivia Tripp, the weekend was set in a wonderful minimalist retreat that I have been insta-stalking for some time now! The ChickenShed is an architectural delight and the perfect blend of sleek design and rural retreat, making it the ideal base for our influencer itinerary.
After receiving the beautifully designed invite, I arrived in style with some of my blogging buddies with the services of Slide, and was wowed by the autumn scenes that greeted us. We quickly tucked into a breakfast of granola, pastries, teas and coffees from my fave Pinkmans Bakery, while waiting for the day to start and taking the opportunity to snap pics of the design throughout.
Our first workshop was hosted by the lovely Sidonie Warren, founder and owner of the coolest stationary store I know. I have been a super fan of store come design studio, Papersmiths, for years now and regularly pop in for my magazine fix, so was super excited to try my hand out at styling some of the fab independent designers they stock *swoon*.
There's nothing like getting a bunch of bloggers together and witness their excitement at creating flat lay images ;) I even took sometime to try out some early wrapping skills for Christmas and listened intently as Sid shared her story on how her business came about.
We then settled over a delightful lunch, taking the time to catch up and discuss ideas and how work is going. It was lovely to see so many friends there with Abi, Fritha, Kat, Kym, Lyzi, Lucy and meet some other ladies there for the event too. Check out there blogs for some fab reads.
I was super excited for our afternoon wreath making workshop with Tallulah Rose Flower School, especially after seeing Rachel's wreath! We learnt how to build up the the wreath frame with moss and feed in a selection of foraged leaves, flowers, buds and Ivy to create our design. In fact it was nice just making something with my hands again and nice chatting in the process. On getting home I promptly put up my wreath on our kitchen window so I can admire it with my morning coffee.
After the dirt had settled and the left over leaves swept away, we nestled on the sofa to sample the delights of More Wine and their range of boxed and canned wine, how cool is the packaging! Then caught up with founder of Caro to hear Forecasting Trends and conversation around our industry of creatives and where it is going.
Feeling very inspired and full after a wonderful evening meal, I headed onto our mini bus, thoughts whizzing after our creative Weekend:In. I'm so grateful that Bristol is full of such inspirational and creative people allowing events like this to come together and forge a community, and a big thanks to Olivia for such a great day. x
Oh my gosh, this looks like the most perfect time! I love the venue - really sleek - and the workshops look so dreamy and fun. So glad you had a chance to go and get reenergised! xo
ReplyDeleteSounds like an amazing weekend! Getting together is always great x
ReplyDeleteWhat an idyllic way to spend time, it looks and sounds heavenly X
ReplyDeleteAll the posts I've read about this make it sound like such a lovely event in a wonderful location. Really beautiful photos too Lori. Looks like you had a blast!
ReplyDeleteThis event sounds just amazing - it looks like the perfect opportunity to relax and re-group. x
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such an inspiring and creative way to spend a weekend. I can often feel so isolated working away on my own at home – wish there were enough fellow creatives in my area to set up a shared workspace or at least meet up once or twice a month to just bounce energy and ideas off each other. x
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place! Love your pics x
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling to know how to dress the table this year so definitely looking for inspiration! Thanks x
ReplyDeleteNice interior Dining Design look beautiful
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