The Southern C Summit Recap

Today I'm excited to recap my whole adventure at The Southern C Summit here in Charleston, April 27-29.  Three days of panels, networking, and sharing was just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing for this little blog.  The Summit took place at two adjacent Patrick Properties: The William Aiken House and The American Theater (anyone recognize it from The Notebook?).  Presenters covered everything from blogger and brand collaborations to social media strategy and PR and marketing to creative strategy and branding.  I realized afterwards that I didn't take nearly enough photos throughout the event, so I had some fun last week going through the #tscsummit hashtag on Instagram so I could showcase a few of my favorite details of the week:

Wednesday: The stage was set at The Southern C with the marque outside and a beautifully decorated stage.  My two favorite sessions of the entire event started the conference off with a bang: Eddie Ross showed us many beautiful before and afters from Better Homes & Gardens.  After that, four fantastic bloggers (Chassity Evans, Grace Atwood, Liz Adams, and Caroline Harper Knapp) shared everything about branding, collaboration, and strategic growth.  The Vine decorated the whole William Aiken House courtyard, and all attendees enjoyed an array of drinks and snacks from local food and drink vendors like Food for the Southern Soul, King Bean Coffee Roasters, Proper Pepper Pimento Cheese, and Cathead Vodka.

@waitingonmartha ||| @chairishco

@megd_taylor /// @thesouthernc

After a few cocktails, I headed over to Zero George to meet up with some fellow bloggers for even more drinks and snacks.  Afterwards, a few of us went to Cru Cafe, and I will be sharing my whole experience there later in the week.  Thanks so much to Erin for setting it all up!

Tiffany, Allie, Paula, Erin, and me

Thursday: My favorite session of the day was definitely the first one, Mandy Rye of Waiting on Martha.  Her talk on social media strategy was great, and now she's one of my favorite people to follow on snapchat!  We enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Fish Restaurant.  More sessions followed, and day two ended just like day one with more King Bean Coffee Roasters and Cathead Vodka, plus Tree House Macarons.

@suthingirl ||| @thesouthernc

@kathrynmccrary ||| @treehousemacarons

Friday: The send-off brunch was held at Le Creuset Atelier’s state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, and their take on chicken and waffles with a quail fritter was wonderful!  As a member of the Charleston Blog Society, I also helped at our DIY table, creating origami business card holders.  Thanks to Minted for all the beautiful paper!  Last but not least - that swag bag.  Oh my gosh, there are SO many goodies.  You know everything edible is gone, and I love that hot pink Moon & Lola keychain!

@chsblogsociety ||| @hermosajewelry

@thesouthernc ||| @hermosajewelry

To finish off the week, I joined up with a few creatives at one of my favorite Charleston spots: Candlefish.  They hosted a wonderful scented candle-making class for us.  Thanks so much to Jordan and the team for having us and to Callie's Biscuits for the delicious treats!

I had a great time meeting new bloggers, companies, and spending time with my fellow Charleston Blog Society members.  I look forward to many new collaborations in the future!