I have been blogging on and off for awhile now. If you have followed along with me for any length of time you know I am kind of inconsistent. Okay, okay, very inconsistent. This year I really wanted to change that. This blog has been very much a hobby for me, but I would love to turn it into a hustle. Last year I happened on this blogging conference account called Haven on Instagram. I followed along during the conference last year. It looked like so much fun. I knew I had to go. Fast forward to this past weekend and hands down it was the best decision I have ever made. If you are teetering on going next year allow me to share my favorite Haven moments from this year. I can promise you it will be a decision you will not regret!
What is Haven Conference?
If you are not familiar with what Haven is, it is a conference for DIY and Home Decor bloggers, influencers, or those just passionate about DIY and home decor. The conference is jammed packed in 2 1/2 days filled with classes, mentor meetups, interactions with sponsors, and lots of networking. This was my first time as I want to get serious with the blog and it really was the best decision I made. I am so glad I didn’t let my feelings of insecurity stop me that first morning.
Haven Opener
Thursday evening is an opener with a very short newbie meeting and a cocktail party. Dinner is on your own. In all transparency, I felt very lost and clueless the first evening. As an introvert I tried to get outside my comfort zone, but just didn’t quite make the connections Thursday night. I ended up eating dinner in my hotel room, alone. I felt very discouraged and isolated. Honestly I wish they would do a dinner the first night or something that would help introverts like myself more on that first evening, but I digress.
Friday morning I decided I was going to persevere… and then I slammed my finger in the bathroom door getting ready. Tears were shed. A few choice words might have been said. I seriously contemplated heading home Friday morning (before the conference even really had begun, especially since I only had a 30 minute drive home). However, I did not. Instead, I put on my big girl panties and sucked it up. I made my mind up that I was going to conquer this.
You may be asking yourself why in the world is she sharing this? I thought this was supposed to be favorite Haven moments, not Haven disappointments. I wanted to share this not as a pity me, but as an encouragement to keep going. If I had given up so easily and gone home I would not have experienced the amazing time I had Friday and Saturday. The conference was a blast and I met some of the most brilliant and creative people.
Friday, the first full day
If I had decided to go home Friday morning I would have also missed hearing the amazing and talented Egypt Sherrod speak. Now that is something to regret! She had such wisdom and words of encouragement for us. What really spoke to me was when you fall you just get back up and you keep going with grace and humility.
Thursday evening is just an introduction, but Friday and Saturday are the meat of the conference. You spend your day moving from class to class, lunch, and spending time talking with the sponsors at the booths. There are also times you spend in your mentor groups.
I was most intimidated by the sponsor booths at first. I knew I was a toddler blogger and did not have nearly the traction and engagement to seek sponsorships. Everyone kept saying go anyway. You never know. Well, I didn’t walk away with a sponsorship yet, but I had so much fun talking with the different sponsors and trying out their different products. The Hoover booth had puppies in their booth. I mean who doesn’t love puppies! The Wagner booth was really fun too. I got to play around with their heat gun and paint sprayer. I now seriously want both products.
Despite being really nervous at first, hanging out in the sponsor booths ended up being one of my favorite things at Haven.
Classes
I learned so much my brain is actually on overload right now, but the classes were so good. I could try and explain each one, but I don’t think I would even come close to doing them justice. There were several hobby to business classes and I believe they are going to be very helpful in this adventure. I also took a photography class. That one was so helpful. I thought I was doing an okay job with my pictures, but whoah! do I have a lot to learn. I have already started to play around in Lightroom and try and make my images even better.
There was also a class I took on Sketch-Up, which is a digital sketch tool software. You can draw out furniture pieces, floor plans, and other really cool things. I loved all of the classes I took, but I do have to admit my favorite was the scroll saw class. It was the only hands on class I took. I am now obsessed. I seriously want a scroll saw as of like yesterday. The scroll saw has been on my tool bucket list for awhile and now it will be a must.
Networking
Meeting the sponsors was a blast, the classes were amazing and I am already working on implementing things I learned, but my most favorite part of the Haven Conference was meeting new friends. At Haven you are surrounded by the most amazing and talented people. Not only that they are people who understand what you do or want to do and they are there to help you achieve it. They are absolutely for community over competition which is awesome. I definitely walked away with more knowledge, absolutely, but I believe the best thing I walked away with is new friends for life.
Thinking about going now? I can’t wait until next year and I hope to see you there!
I’ll leave you with a few more highlights from my amazing weekend…
Disclaimer: I am in no way sponsored by Haven or endorsed, but just sharing my true experience at my very first conference.
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