Boston: Blog Better Boston Style Summit

This past weekend was the Blog Better Boston Style Summit, a local blogging conference organzied by Amy and Alana and held here.

I was honored to be invited to host a discussion session on Instagram sharing 10 tips on How to Make your Instagrams Better and Finding Your Voice (Thank you Kait for this shot of me!).

I also enjoyed attending the style summit to hear the other speakers discuss topics such as working with brands, creating content calendars and media kits. 

It was so wonderful to meet bloggers in person (Kaitlin, Melissa, Georgina, the JustUsGals, Allie, Tieka, Julie, Emily, Alyssa, Susan, Brooke, Holly, Sheryl) and see others I hadn't seen in a while (Alison {who I accidentally called Amy during my sesh!}, Shauna, Alana, Amy, Emily, Kristen, Amanda, Surabhi, Noelle and Elissa)

If you missed my Instagram discussion, here's a recap:

10 tips on how to make your Instagrams better

• Find your voice on Instagram by connecting and following others in the IG community
• Hashtag so that people can find you!
• ie: #igersboston (Instagrammers in Boston), #igers, #igdaily, #ignation etc., will allow you to connect with other IGs in Boston and around the world!
• Take a genuine interest in others, and leave comments
• Be visible, not just online (attend events such as Blog Better Boston and other blogger events)
• Be passionate about your IGs, treat them as you would photos with a real film camera
• Explore other apps to make your IGS better (ie. VSCOcam, Instasize and Afterglow)

There were a lot of sessions I wanted to go to, but alas, could only attend a handful, so here are some things I learned:

Working with Brands led by Kristen

• know your stats using google analytics
• a media kit is really important to introduce yourself
• create a pitch and send to a brand you really like and identify with
• know which posts are most read on your blog (most interaction/likes/views)
• your time is valuable
• follow up once you have worked with the brand/done a post

Creating a content calendar led by Julie:

• identify your priorities
• create a content calendar and schedule posts so that there is consistancy for your readers
• use google calendar or even a paper calendar and pencil, whatever works for you
• stick to a general theme and find your niche
• save your great idea for when you have time

Creating a media kit led by Tieka:

• a media kit is a pre-packaged set of promo material on YOU
• selling yourself to give a brand a few facts on whether or not you are a good fit for them
• include: about page, you and your blog, site stats, past brands/partnerships
• what you can provide as a service (ie. sponsored blog post, giveaway, side bar ads, text links, be gifted products to review)

Here are just a few snap shots from the Style Summit, as I was mostly taking notes! For more #BBBos coverage, check out the Twitter feed, and for more photos and updates follow Blog Better Boston on Facebook.

Thank you Amy and Alana for having me, and for all the sponsored goodies!

Here's how you can join the next Blog Better Boston summit.

Boston: Jason Wu at the ICA

The Institute of Contemporary Art recently hosted fashion designer Jason Wu for a conversation with chief curator Helen Molesworth.  

I met up with Elizabeth, Jaime, Noelle and Elissa for the talk and I think we were all impressed by how warm, candid and genuinely funny he was!

Wu credits his parents for allowing him to go to any college he wanted, with the only condition being that he went to boarding school. Wu went to Parsons.

He also thanked Debi Greenberg, owner of Louis Boston for being a tastemaker and one of the first stores to carry his designs.

He reflected on how gorgeous the First Lady Michelle Obama is, and how well-dressed!

He mentioned that his "approach to fashion is that it's super wearable" and reflected upon the first time he saw someone wearing his clothes, thinking "That's look #9!"

A few quotes I tweeted:

"As designers we have to react to what's relevant." "It's the ability to do something when it makes sense" - @JasonWu @ICAinBOSTON #JasonWu

"I'm most myself when I'm doing my work." @JasonWu "I do things that I want to do" @ICAinBOSTON #JasonWu #ICABoston

Wu laughingly remarked:

"A Jason woman doesn't want to talk to you. She's a little bit bitchy."

For more coverage of the event, be sure to check out Elizabeth and Elissa's awesome recaps!

Boston: MiniLuxe

Location:

296 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02115

Who doesn't like things in mini sizes? Mini cupcakes, mini chocolate bars, mini Easter eggs...okay...perhaps these are not the best examples as they're all chocolate related, but, what I'm trying to say is that it's easy to indulge when the portion is mini, right?

You still get the satisfaction of having the whole thing, but it's guilt-free. Such is the deal with MiniLuxe...it's all of the luxury of a full service nail salon without the big price tag, and without sacrificing cleanliness, while still offering maximum satisfaction and relaxation in a pretty salon setting.

I stopped by the MiniLuxe on Newbury recently, courtesy of my friends at Aigner/Prensky, and was treated to a wonderful warm oil pedicure and full manicure by Danh. My feet were soaked, scrubbed, oiled down and steam wrapped. It was a glorious 45 minutes of heaven and the jet-free foot tubs are much nicer and make everything feel much cleaner. Speaking of clean, all the instruments are autoclaved (pressurized steam-heated machine for sterilizing) and the other utensils are freshly opened from sealed packages. The nail files used on clients are theirs to take home after.

Here's the full MiniLuxe Menu.

Thank you Danh for pampering me and getting my nails ready to shoot this event the following day!

Click to read more ...

Boston: Indochino Traveling Tailor

I was honored when Indochino commissioned me to photograph their Traveling Tailor pop-up shop at 234 Clarendon St., in Boston this week!

Based in Vancouver, Canada (always happy to work with my fellow Canadians!), Indochino provides customizable, high quality, hand-tailored suits and shirts (and accessories) for the sophisticated and dapper gentleman.

Traveling Tailor has already been suiting up Chicago, New York City and Washington DC, and now they are here to #SuitUpBos!

Pre-book your 30-minute appointment with one of their talented senior stylists, and if you purchase a suit in store, (starting at $379) you'll also receive a free custom designed and fitted dress shirt as well as a gift set containing cufflinks and a tie pin!

Indochino is currently taking appointments so get measured up to size, while the traveling tailor(s) are in town, only until April 15!

Here's a look at INDOCHINO in Boston...

Click to read more ...

Boston: Neiman Marcus, AnaMaria Pimental for SPRING!

Is it Spring, yet? Honestly, we're so close, yet so far.

At Neiman Marcus, at least, Spring was in the air, thanks to AnaMaria Pimental who is Neiman Marcus's Fashion Accessories Director. I was invited to photograph her colorful fashion presentation on all the trends coming up this season.

So, what's hot? Blues and oranges! As is, "relaxed chic" all the way down to a studded-toe Miu Miu sneaker!  Also, prints are here to stay, which is good because I'm always a fan of a good dose of flowers.

Some of the highlights included this Judith Leiber William Crystal Frog purse, Charlotte Olympia shoes (the likes of which we've already raved about here) especially the Eiffel Tower sandals and the cute cat-face slippers. So, hooray for a range of flats and heels (like these amazing Alexander McQueen studded booties) for Spring.

And I picked up a fun styling tip for carrying a scarf: wrap it around the handle of your bag (as was done over this beautiful Nancy Gonzalez bag) making it look stylish and also easy to carry.

My favorite had to be this Alice + Olivia's embroidered jacket! How stunning, right? Styled with beautiful jewelry designed by Dina Mackney, the jacket looks polished and colorful!

So, come in from the cold and look ahead to a fashionable Spring with AnaMaria's cheery presentation of pretty looks on the always gorgeous Maggie models: Marie, Lauren, Marta and Amber.

Also, Roger Daltrey from The Who barely escaped my lens as he shopped! Thanks to Elizabeth for pointing him out to me, and to Lei Ann for capturing my photographer's stance!

What are you most looking forward to wearing this Spring?