Blogfest: Why I'm Totally Excited? It's like Christmas in May!

Yes, yes, April showers bring May flowers. All of this New England snow will have melted and spring will be in the air. All of this is very exciting, especially with the winter we've been having around here! But no, it gets better!

I am so looking forward for May because I'll be attending BlogFest 2011 in New York City from the 16th to the 18th! Yes! May can't get here fast enough. When I first saw the posting for the event, I knew I had to jump on such an amazing opportunity, even in the midst of an already packed schedule that lies ahead.

So what exactly is BlogFest 2011? Its subtitle tells it all: "Access to Inspired Design." The design world clearly recognizes the influence that bloggers have, see bloggers as on their side, and are embracing the blogging community. That is what is behind this weekend in May.

Kravet and Lee Jofa are teaming up to invite interior design bloggers from across the country to join them in a "whirlwind tour" of New York City's design world. How cool is that?! Talk about access! (Sorry for all the exclamation points. Can you tell I'm just a little over the moon with anticipation?)

We are going to be treated as design VIP's, given access to so many different design venues at once. On the BlogFest 2011 website, ninety-two blogs/bloggers are currently listed as attendees. In the conference world, that's small....very VIP-like. With events featuring editors from House Beautiful, Veranda, Town & Country, Elle Decor, and Architectural Digest, I'm feeling quite priveleged and honored for this opportunity.

Hey Margaret, see you there! 

photo via bravotv.com

We'll get an insider's look at some of these top design mags, tour the Elle Decor Concept House, be treated to a cocktail parties and a champagne reception -- what's not to love? I'm really looking forward to the panel discussion on "The Importance of Blogs to the Print Media Industry Today" too, as I am all for the longevity of my favorite magazines. Digital is nice, but nothing can replace my stack of design magazines and inspiration pages in my list of favorite things!

What is most amazing about all this, that I haven't made emphatic enough up to this point, is that this opportunity is a direct result of social media. That's right; you know those tweets I've been sending out and those "friends" I've been talking to and about on Facebook? Well, without those connections and without that network I would never have been privy to this event. So in addition to the fabulous agenda and industry icons, I'm pretty darn stoked to that I will be meeting IRL (in real life) so many people I have only known online up to now! I'll be able to not just meet them, but also have some quality time enjoying all of this with people who inspire me on a daily basis. Long list of folks I can't wait to meet: Ellen from Nouveau Stitch, the ladies behind Material Girls, Tobi Fairley, Janell of Isabella & Max Rooms, Leslie Fine, BKLYN Contessa, Leslie Carothers - famously known as @tkpleslie on Twitter - Faith Sheridan, Gretchen Aubuchon, Sharon Laxon and Yvonne Vanderkooy from Layers and Layers, Katy Elliott, the folks behind Design Blahg, Emily Anderson, Tamara Matthews-Stephenson, Linda Merrill, Juliann from CreateGirl, Jen from Made By Girl, and so many more. Told you it was a long list! I hope you'll check out some of their blogs, too!

The agenda keeps getting better too so I can't help but wonder -- will there be surprises as well? [I can't help it...that's the kid in me I guess.]  I feel like I've won the lottery and I've only had the luxury of something like that once before, so I'm so glad I was "tweeting" when Kravet made the announcement; I think I had that application filled out within an hour of the announcement... hah!  didn't let anything stop me from jumping at this tremendous opportunity.
And for those unable to attend, not to worry, we're bloggers remember?  We'll be sure to keep you in the know and you can attend vicariously through us.  Follow-up posts for sure! And for those of you attending BlogFest, I'm looking forward to meeting you all!