HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR FALL BUSINESS, BRANDING, AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORKSHOP
Paige Hull
The Business Branding & Social Media Workshop Series is one of our favorite events to host at The Vintage Round Top. These workshops allow us to meet other artists, designers, makers, entrepreneurs, as well as connect small-business owners with one another and to our esteemed panelists. Not to mention - we get to hang out and open the stage up to some of our favorite creatives and inspiring tastemakers to share their knowledge.
We kicked the day off with a delicious breakfast catered by Bistro 108. There were tasty scones, mini quiches, pastries, and a yogurt granola bar. Oh and we can’t forget to mention the delicious coffee provided Sacred Heart Coffee (we love any opportunity to work with a brand that also has a meaningful cause). Make sure to look them up and purchase from them – the coffee is delicious.
Breakfast provided the opportunity for a meet and greet between workshop participants and panelists. This time is one of the most valuable aspects of the workshop as many business partnerships, collaborations, and even friendships have been born during this time.
Smoot and I started off the workshop sharing a bit about the history of The Vintage Round Top and some business tips we’ve learned along the way before introducing the incredible panelists that we would be sharing the stage with: Annie Sloan (@anniesloanhome), author, paint expert, and creator of Chalk Paint®, Rachel Hardage Barrett (@rachelhardagebarret), Editor-in-Chief at Country Living magazine (@countrylivingmag).
After the first panel, we held breakout sessions/demos with:
Editor-in-Chief at Country Living magazine, Rachel Hardage Barrett, shared her notes on how to adapt in a changing media landscape, as well as tapping into a deeper understanding of your customers and the content that they are looking for.
Curious Details prop stylist and photographer Becki Griffin (@curiousdetails), with pen in hand, spoke about some of the secret sauce behind her content creation including some photography tips. She was able to use items from the swag bag that had been generously donated by sponsors: @anniesloanhome , @countrylivingmag , @marburgerfarm , @royerspiehaven , @thevintageroundtop , @sacredheartcoffee to show the best way to style a flat lay photo.
Annie Sloan provided attendees with a paint demonstration using her signature Chalk Paint® and sharing about the artistic foundation of the brand. After having used her paint in No.1450 it was so amazing to see her in real life in Boho telling stories and making the whole audience feel as though they were in her own living room.
A tasty lunch was catered by Garden Co. a Round Top based restaurant. We love showcasing to our workshop attendees all that Round Top has to offer, as many may know it for its twice-yearly “Antiques Week” but has evolved into something much bigger and more of a year-round destination.
Lunch was followed by a social media panel that Julia Duke, principal, and co-owner at Susan Becher & Associates PR (@sba.pr) was included in. She shared so much information from her public relations background with authentic stories and tips.
We closed the workshop with a panelist Q&A, giving our attendees an opportunity to ask specific questions to these experts. We feel so fortunate when we can connect with creatives like those on the panel who share our visual vocabulary and design sensibility, yet who bring their own unique talents to the table. With many different minds contributing to a project, the result is often greater than the sum of its parts. Without their participation, our dream of hosting events like this wouldn’t be possible.
While we feel tremendously grateful to be able to do what we love, oftentimes the creative life can feel like a solitary one. We personally feel most inspired when we’re in connection with the ideas of other creative folks, and that is why we strive to collaborate with individuals like those who participated in the workshop: artists, designers, stylists, makers and more!
We’re excited by the feedback we’ve received from our attendees that they left feeling more connected, more inspired and that they received a real return on the investment they made by taking away key insights and actionable steps to grow their businesses and brands.
Keep an eye on our website and newsletter as we are excitedly looking forward to announcing more workshops and events soon!
All photos by Haylei Smith