From the category archives:

events

One of the things I have missed the most since we moved back to Switzerland is the local blogger community in the NYC Metro area, and access to blogger events. So it’s no surprise that when I heard of The Hive, I knew I had to attend!

And so it was that last Friday evening found me on my way to Berlin, armed with directions to my Airbnb accomodation and to the Betahaus, where The Hive was to take place, starting the following morning at 9.

Unfortunately it became obvious during my flight from Zurich to Berlin that I was about to experience an unpleasant bout of flu, and that spoiled the fun somewhat, but not so much that I couldn’t enjoy my time at The Hive.

And so on Saturday morning I left the apartment bright and early, and after grabbing some breakfast on the way at Milch & Zucker, I arrived at Betahaus. What an amazing space, you guys. Clearly planned for brainstorming sessions and creative efforts.

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

Lovely garlands in the official Hive colors were hanging everywhere.

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

And near the stage there was a map of Europe, where we were encouraged to hang our business cards in our corresponding nation. (I hung mine in Switzerland.)

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

(I later found out that the the garlands and map were all made by Lauren of Folies du Bonheur, who is clearly a creative genius and I want to be her.)

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013 “So many bloggers, one heart” by johannarundel

Just before beginning, I managed to meet-up with Andreea, and was lucky to enjoy her company for most of the conference. Here she is!

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

After an intro from Peggy and Yvonne we got started right away. The choices: “How newsletters can support your blog and business” by Tiffany, or  “How to make a kickass media kit” by Isa and Claudia of Haptstandtmutti. Guess which one we picked?

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

Man, but these gals are fabulous.

The next two talks we attended were a little disappointing, so we skipped a couple  of the scheduled talks after that, and chose to hang out at the café until lunch. But not before capturing a bit of the fabulous Etsy space:

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

The afternoon was filled with good talks.

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

The first: time management strategies from Luisa of The Wednesday Chef, who is really smart, charming, and my new hero. We all looked around and giggled nervously when she said “Stop checking your e-mail 300 times a day. Cut it down to two.” Clearly, I was not alone in my obsession. Thank you for the great strategies, Louisa! I’ll give them my best try!

The second was a tough pick, as three things were happening at the same time, but we picked “Blogs for a special niche and audience” by Jenni Fuchs, who is lovely, funny, charming and a little geeky, and my new girl crush. She doesn’t show off, doesn’t blow her horn, doesn’t talk about herself excessively (like many of the speakers, sigh) but don’t let her unassuming appearance fool you: the girl is pure awesome, you guys. And you should definitely take a look at her blog.

The third was by Katja of Travelettes (which I now realize has the tag “backpacking in heels” – not sure how I feel about that.) Katja talked at length about her experience in creating a successful blog, and then another successful blog, and then getting a fabulous job out of it as well. Are you green with envy yet? I know, it would be enough to hate her a little bit, except she actually shared some great pointers for travel bloggers and bloggers in general, so thank you Katja!

Then we had a barbecue dinner inside, because of the completely uncooperative weather. It was cold, really crowded and very loud, and my head cold was in full swing so I decided to head home early to get a good night’s sleep and be ready for day 2.

Which really went by incredibly quickly.

I attended three talks, my favorite being the short presentation by Alline of Aicuisine, who is gorgeous and takes gorgeous photos, and I loved that she recommended again and again to keep things simple and stop over-styling  shoots.
“Make it about the food, not about the photo. The food should jump out at the viewer and should make their mouth water. Don’t distract them from the food with unnecessary props.”
If that isn’t just about the best advice I have ever heard about styling, I don’t know what is.

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

But the real highlight of the day was dinner. It was supposed to be a large group, about 15 of us, but a few canceled, and after the Betahaus kicked us out, some of the others probably coulnd’t find us. I managed to meet up with Tina, Juliane, Heidi and Zsuzsi and together we headed to Drei Schwestern, a restaurant inside a beautiful old building in the middle of a park in Kreuzberg, only about 15 minutes on foot from the Betahaus.

The food was lovely, the company amazing, and I simply didn’t want the evening to end. It is so rare to have such a wonderful time with people you have just met, and yet there I was, sitting and chatting with four lovely women I had only just met hours before but I could imagine becoming close friends if given half the chance. This dinner for me was the highlight of the weekend, and I couldn’t imagine a better way of ending The Hive.

The Hive Berlin – May 25-26, 2013

So I want to thank all my new friends, for making this such a lovely weekend!

And thank you to the speakers who created lovely presentations and shared knowledge without making it all about themselves ;-)

And thank you Yvonne and Peggy, for organizing The Hive! It wasn’t perfect, but it had a lot of heart. There are a few kinks to iron out, but it was a lovely experience and I’m sure each edition of The Hive will only get better!

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Event Alert: Women’s Expo

by Elisa on May 15, 2013

in events,Zurich

There have been a lot of changes in Zurich since I first moved here in 1999, pregnant with my now-thirteen years old daughter Sarah: Zurich is more open and more fun to live in, and decidedly more expat-friendly; there are events, blogs, and even a magazine  geared towards expats and Zurich’s international community, and altogether definitely more resources than I could have imagined just a few years ago.

One of these events is coming up, and it is geared specifically towards women: I am talking of course about the Women’s Expo.

It is no mystery that women are considered the world’s most powerful consumers, representing up to 85% of consumer spending; and lest someone be tempted to say “it’s all those bags and shoes”, let’s not forget that wives and mothers are, more often than not, the ones making purchasing decisions for an entire household – purchases that go from groceries to birthday gifts for kids and adults alike, from wardrobe items for all members of the family to all that goes into socializing and entertaining , and anything in between!

It is no surprise then, than more and more merchants try to appeal to the ladies of the household. Unfortunately not all merchants have the budget or the chance to do that on a regular basis. Until now, that is.

Lisa Mundembe-Chuma, creator of Inspirational Woman magazine and member of the Executive Committee of the Professional Women’s Group of Zurich, has organized an event that combines supporting local women-owned businesses with networking, information and shopping opportunities.

Let’s hear from Lisa herself:

Why the Women’s Expo?

I realized that more and more women in Switzerland are starting businesses. An event for women to connect, promote collaboration, showcase & promote their businesses and build new relationships made sense. So the Women’s Expo was born.

I wanted to create an environment where women in business throughout Switzerland come together to meet each other and also meet face to face with the public to promote & showcase their businesses as well as build new relationships amongst themselves and the public; an environment where the public of Switzerland has the opportunity to know and learn more about different products or services from their owners, ask questions and get responses, try new products and give feedback, discover new and exciting products & services, connect with new people and have fun.

 

What can visitors expect?

The day is going to be full of action, from shopping opportunities all the way to free flowing networking. It will also include health scans, massages, makeovers, product testing, art displays… all attendees will also be eligible for entry in special giveaways and will receive special discounts, and there will be free face painting for the kids. 

 

Do you have any tips for women who would like to start their own business, but are at a loss as to where to begin?

I would want to encourage women who are thinking of starting their own businesses to connect with other women currently in business and ask them questions so you can see, and most importantly learn, how others are doing it. I would also encourage them to start from where they are right now and grow from there. There is nothing like the perfect time.

It is also very important to have a clear vision of what you want to do and to know exactly what you are trying not to do, clarity is key in business. Have two or three trusted people that believe in your idea and accountability buddies because they will help you to keep your goals. I would also encourage them to come to the women’s expo and connect with the exhibitors, I believe the environment will be very inspiring.

 

The Woman’s Expo will take place on May 26, 2013 at the Kongresshaus Zürich, starting at 10 am.
Entry is free.

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All is fair in love and design – submerge yourself in design at Blickfang

November 25, 2011 events

If summer in Zurich is all about festivals, fall and winter are all about fairs and exhibitions. Zurich looooves hosting fairs. There’s a fair for all tastes: shopping, wine, travel, motorcycles, gardening… and why not? After all, late fall and winter in Zurich generally bring fairly low temperatures, so finding something to do indoors seems like a [...]

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Fashion Days Zurich 2011 – the Fashion Rocks showcase

November 14, 2011 events

Attending the last evening of Fashion Days Zurich was a real treat: live music and fashion combined, what could be better? The evening started with Oakley showing its latest collection, much of it inspired by and created with in collaboration with pro snowboarder Eero Ettala. The soundtrack was provided by DJ Doobious, without a doubt [...]

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Copyright Elisa Bieg, 2008-2009.