Whew...I am exhausted after an exciting trip to Brimfield, Massachusetts to attend the Brimfield Antique Show. It is one of the largest antique and vintage shows in the Northeast and easily hosts thousands of vendors. I have blogged about my love for finding vintage furniture and putting my mark on it. But I had another reason for taking the 4 1/2 hour drive.
YEP! The Brimfield Tweet Up! The brain child of Gretchen Aubuchon, Fashion and Decor, and Cynthia Bogart, The Daily Basics. They bring together interior designers. bloggers, design enthusiasts and vintage hounds with sponsors such as Benjamin Moore Paint, Aubuchon Hardware, Kathryn Markel Fine Art, Company C and media partner Style at Home. It is a three day networking event with shopping involved. The ultimate! Introduce yourself by your twitter handle and more than likely you end up in an embrace because these are the tweet friends you talk to most days but never met in real life.
Most attendees are women who own and manage their own business. It was refreshing to listen to women exchange ideas on how to attract clients, readers and how they could help each other grow their businesses. What kept running through my mind was...this is the 2012 version of "the good old boy's club" and we are brain storming in our own unique way. One thing I learned is...large retail companies ask bloggers to blog about a product or service but are not always paying the bloggers. As women and business owners we should not give our work away. This is just my casual business observation and not intended to hurt anyone's feelings. I will admit to being a little bit of rebel and my "protesting days from the 70's" surface every now and then...but all companies regardless of their size have budgets for advertising.
Business getting done! Look at the happy faces of these women....I think a lamp just found a shade but you will have to visit @Casualinterior or @Doovah to find out.
I met some wonderful vendors like Rebecca Brawn who strips antique chairs down to the frames...
and works her magic. After chatting with her I learned she started her business after raising 5 children. She wanted to do something for herself and never expected she would grow large enough to employee a staff. Most of her clients are designers and she now buys the chairs in bulk to keep up with the demand. I am a sucker for this type of success story. She is working on getting a website and did not know anything about social media. So I made an introduction to a social media expert and finger's crossed maybe business will get done.
Gotta love Randy! One of the few vendors I met at Brimfield who uses social media. If you look at the bottom of the sign you will see his blog address jerseypicker.tumblr.com. Brilliant tactic!
The message on this sign says it all....because if you read my bio I said I might slip in a blog about sales.
At the end of my two days at Brimfield, I was tired from walking miles but left with a huge smile on my face. I made new friends, built new relationships and had an amazing experience. Sign Me Up for September!
Betty
