Inspired Conference | Samantha Shepard

One of the things I consider a personal passion of mine is entrepreneurship, and specifically, entrepreneurship in women. The fact that every year I see more women in the headlines innovating our workplaces and inspiring our future leaders is a testament to the movement of more women taking the lead in business. I’m proud to be a member of this movement. It is important to me that others feel they are not alone, and for that reason, earlier this year I looked for an opportunity to help this movement wherever I could.

During my research, I came across a conference called Inspired. The retreat style conference for creative entrepreneurs is run by Nashville wedding planner, Amber Housley. Intrigued by both the topics and the setting, I reached out to Amber with an offer to help in any way I could. I was prepared to have her ask me to stuff goodie bags or even donate a giveaway. I was not prepared for Amber to ask me to speak about the Studio Calico story.

The conference was a 4 day retreat in the beautiful hills of Tennessee, just outside Nashville. Designed to attract creative entrepreneurs, the small size and rustic setting was the perfect way for women to step away from their busy lives and strategize about their businesses.

I wanted to share a few highlights and a lot of pictures. Plus, of course, a small giveaway from me.

The roommate I was assigned was Mica May of MayDesigns.com. I would describe Mica as a soulful fireball. She is chock full of heart, hustle and ambition. The core products in her business are beautifully convenient, personalized journals. As a moleskine devotee, I was skeptical these books would satisfy my need for good old-fashioned paper. After we received custom May Books during the conference, I became addicted. If you haven’t ever heard of MayDesigns.com, be sure to check it out and say hi to my good friend Mica. Random side note: Mica was featured on Good Morning America for her personalized May Books, and in one broadcast, her business catapulted into the limelight. She continues to launch new products and continues to grow May Designs. All this from one really great product.


I was asked to speak to the group about the Studio Calico story. Anticipating that people might get bored listening to every detail about the partnerships we’ve developed through the years and the arduous task of explaining Sneaks and Reveal. (Really, do you know how hard it is to explain to people who aren’t scrapbookers?) I decided to make my speech about growth. But not just growth for the sake of it, growth on your terms. I told them about how Studio Calico got started by April and Greg over seven years ago in their garage. I told them about the growth we’ve seen due to the incredible customer base we have. I also told them about all the mistakes we’ve made. Some of them you all know about, like the time our letterpress platforms got shipped out without grid plates. And the time we mixed holiday confetti with the pink and orange confetti. (I still have a pack of that if anyone wants it.)

But I also told them about our successes and about how every day I login to our message boards to find out how we made someone’s day a little better. Overall, I’m sure I rambled. I know for a fact I was sweating due to my nervousness. I think I entertained them though. It was such a rush and an experience I’ll never forget.

That night, I led a crafting session. It was a blast to introduce these ladies to scrapbooking. I started them off slow and gave them each a Project Life kit, as well as a Handbook. Then it came to the mind-bending revelations, including a full demonstration about acrylic blocks. People, you don’t remember what it was like to start this craft, but to see the eyes of these ladies when I explained how to mount a clear stamp…I tell you it gave me the giggles thinking of how, not too long ago, I, too, did not know about the joy of clear stamps.Do you know Kim of Tomkat Studio? She has inspired me through all of her crafts for so many years. Kim spoke at the conference as well as styled the party the first night. It was beautiful and included some, wait for it, scrapbooking products from our friends at American Crafts. She, too, led a crafting session, much more successfully I think. The poor folks on my team expected me to lead them to victory, but sadly we did not win. I don’t craft well under pressure. Other teams did much better.

Throughout the conference, I wore the same shoes I wear every, single, day. Tieks. It’s strange to find your feet amongst the photos.

All of the photos in this post were shot by the incredibly talented Callie Pitts of Nancy Ray Photography.

At the close of the conference, I was so sad to say goodbye to all the women. I did not do the event justice. It was incredible. Every single detail was carefully planned and executed by the talented team of Amber Housley. I am considering having a party just so I can make Amber plan it. She worked incredibly hard, and at the end of the day, I witnessed each woman walk away invigorated and inspired to conquer the world.

As promised, here's my GIVEAWAY:

I have a tote bag full of things from the conference. Comment below and we’ll select one lucky winner this week and announce it on Friday.

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165 comments

  1. olatz says…
    10/08/2014

    What a beautiful retreat... because of the locations, the girls and the fun! Lucky you!! :)

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  2. sunnychick says…
    10/08/2014

    The photos were beautiful! Really enjoyed the blog post!

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  3. CristinaC says…
    10/08/2014

    I loved reading about this! And I gotta say.. I need to check out those shoes now, they're so pretty! :)

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  4. remerck says…
    10/08/2014

    Wow! Those photos are fantastic! It was so nice to read this post... and yeah, I still have the confetti bag, it's a little reminder for my first month of subscriber

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  5. Joelaw says…
    10/08/2014

    I want to go - and I don't even have a business!! Lol!!

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  6. laukeman says…
    10/08/2014

    Sounds like it was an amazing place of growth, friendship and laughter! I have heard of this conference - thanks for sharing

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  7. mama2joe says…
    10/08/2014

    What a great story. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. elarson0922 says…
    10/08/2014

    Awesome post! Thank you for sharing your adventure:)

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  9. LauraEvangeline says…
    10/08/2014

    What a fun time! I wish I was able to go!!! I think it would be so cool for SC to invite some of these gals to guest design or guest curate some of our kits. What amazing talent!!!

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  10. Ekaterine says…
    10/08/2014

    Thank you, it was beautiful.

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  11. Brandeye8 says…
    10/08/2014

    I loved reading through this and enjoying all of the photos - it sounds like a really inspiring time. Thank you for sharing!

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  12. Square says…
    10/08/2014

    I loved reading this story. So inspiring!

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  13. heavencole says…
    10/08/2014

    Looks like such an amazing retreat!! Thanks for the chance!

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  14. kathyv says…
    10/08/2014

    This looked like so much fun! Love the shoes!

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  15. emmatandy says…
    10/08/2014

    I wish we had something like that in the UK it sounds like lots of fun and a great way of meeting lots of fab ladies.

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  16. rkokes says…
    10/08/2014

    sounds amazing-thanks for sharing it all with us!

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  17. labecher says…
    10/08/2014

    I love hearing about conferences like this -- so inspiring!

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  18. EvaT says…
    10/08/2014

    What a great retreat and business conference rolled into one!!
    I can get excited about women entrepeneurship as well, so this topic is dear to me...

    Now i wonder what all is in that tote bag of yours.... :-)

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  19. jargo says…
    10/08/2014

    What a cool experience!

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  20. tburley says…
    10/08/2014

    I recently found her site online and it looked amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience and some of your goodies!

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  21. drciri says…
    10/08/2014

    lovely conference and of course shoes

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  22. toribissell says…
    10/08/2014

    Wow what a wonderful experience - thank you so much for sharing it with us! I loved looking at the photos too. it looks like such an amazing, inspiring opportunity. I love entrepreneurship too. My mom started her own business 6-7 years ago. Everyday her hard work and passion inspires me! Her business does abuse prevention for child and youth serving organizations - I am daily amazed at how she pushes forward even though starting your own business can be so challenging. Although her business isn't in the creative world I'm sure all women entrepreneurs have things in common - a love for what they are doing, a desire to make the world better, a deep passion, and a strong work ethic. I love hearing about the SC experience - it totally inspires me like my mom. What a great example to young girls that women are powerful and can do anything! I also really loved hearing about doing crafting with newbies - and the light in their eyes. Seriously what a fun experience. This is one of those times when I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see what was going on...or maybe in the future you'll want a scrapbooking caddie (like in golf) - and I'll hold your bag and run and get you things you need. lol. Thanks so much for sharing. I love these personal blog posts!

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  23. serenacraft says…
    10/08/2014

    looks like lots of fun there :)

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  24. melinda12289 says…
    10/08/2014

    What an incredible opportunity. I would love to experience something of this nature. The setting and everything looks awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience.

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  25. Brinkleyboy says…
    10/08/2014

    I really enjoyed reading about this conference and thank you for sharing. My daughter has recently started to follow her passion and startup a business and I can appreciate the support and direction that is out there to help women follow their dreams. The whole event looked fantastic, and recharging for all. Thanks for giving so much to those young women to help them keep going~

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