Get Inspired and Craft with Me and April {Live Event!}

Hi everyone! It’s Sam, your friendly Studio Calico marketing lady. We’re snowed in here in the South so I thought I’d take the opportunity to tell you all little bit about what we will be up to this SPRING (is it here yet??) and tell you about an opportunity to come and craft with me and April.

This April (the month, not the person… man this will get confusing), we are honored to be speaking at Inspired, the creative conference for entrepreneurs. If you haven’t heard me talk about this event before, you can read my post from last fall about it here. Last year after I attended, I fell in LOVE with Amber Housley. She’s a genius. The atmosphere she creates with this retreat is unlike any experience. I spent every single day and night (late, late nights) sitting and talking with women about their businesses. Normally at conferences, I feel like there’s no time to do this. There’s too many attendees clawing at the speakers to get anything of value out of them. And the pressure to feel like you are dressed appropriately and have “enough” followers, it just gets to me.

Inspired is nothing like that. It’s the opposite in fact.

A few things that stick out in my mind are the meals and the caliber of speakers. Of course, I talk first about the food right? The retreat is hosted at a tucked away, scenic resort outside of Nashville called Evin’s Mill. The place is amazing to look at, but the food is out of this world. The chefs took care to craft beautiful farm to table meals each day for every meal. Not one food allergy or sensitivity was violated. Every single person with special dietary needs was spoken to and accommodated with amazing options. I almost stole a bite of Val’s gluten free chicken one night because it looked so amazing. (Valerie McKeehan one of the amazing speakers).

So, now you know the food is amazing, let me tell you about the atmosphere in which you are enjoying this food. The cornerstone of each day is the dinner each evening. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve just spent a full day in sessions, some large, some small groups, working with the speakers to invigorate your business (or help create one) and now it’s time to eat a meal. I think I expected to be tired and cranky but I wasn’t. Each night by the time dinner came, I was so fired up to meet someone else and pepper them with my usual set of questions. “Why are you here? What is your passion? Where do you get stuck? What can I do to help?” I’m sure it’s dizzying for some people to get the Sam grand inquisition but I don’t care, I am there to make sure people walk away ready to DO something.

The evenings would start with a cocktail hour out on the porch of the Grand Lodge. The group is small, so usually it’s easy to strike up a conversation. No one knows each other, so there’s no cliques to make you feel like an outsider. Besides the conversation there’s usually something fun to entertain you like the photo booth. Pretty soon, too soon, you hear Amber’s voice above everyone announcing that it’s time for dinner. She opens the doors and inside is a dining room I can only describe as a celebrity level wedding reception. Gorgeous flowers, beautifully decorated tables and chairs, all perfectly color coordinated. Amber invites everyone to find a seat. I usually tried to hang back and wait for some to take their seats first before choosing mine. All the speakers like to sit by someone different each time. Then, out comes the food, and we’ve already covered that. Three words and I’ll move on: Carrot Ginger Soup. Do it.

I also wanted to briefly mention the other thing that makes me think Inspired is so amazing and that is the caliber of speakers. By the way, this is not to toot my own horn. I was by far the least qualified speaker there and I have no idea why she is asking me back other than now I am her boss. (I hired her after Inspired last year. #Genius). Amber carefully selects her speakers and receives hundreds of applications each year. You can tell she cares deeply about the attendees and their experience. It would be easy to select a speaker panel based on their popularity in the world or on their ability to sell seats. It’s not easy to meticulously comb through the speaker’s qualifications and ensure a well rounded retreat experience. I’ve seen her do it. She agonizes over the perfect combination of speakers. It’s not only impressive, but it speaks to the integrity Amber possesses. I’m glad to call her my friend and I’m honored I get to be one of the speakers again.

I’d love for you to join us at Inspired. The cost is far outweighed by the experience, in my opinion, and I can confidently say you’ll walk away from the retreat ready to conquer the world. Plus, you will have made many new friends along the way.

Here’s the best part! April and I are teaching a crafting session. I want one of you to help us. The first person to register with our code, STUDIOCALICO, will work with April and I to lead our crafting session. We’ll spend time ahead of time planning the session and I’d be honored to have one of our community members sharing expertise. (We all know I am really not in charge of this right? April laughs at me when I try to craft.) So join us and craft with us!

Oh, and if you’re the second person to register with the code, I’ll probably still recruit you.

The early bird rate ends soon. The code STUDIOCALICO will get you $200 off, did I mention that? You can register and see all the details on the site here!

Leave you comments and questions about the event below, I’d love to convince a few of you to join us while there are still seats!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Sam

Inspired: The Retreat from Amber Housley on Vimeo.