The influence of the design blogger

Today I had the honor of being invited to partake in the Decorati and Schumacher panel: The Influence of the Design Blogger.

Moderated by ceo and Decorati founder, Shane Reilly, the event took place at the Schumacher showroom in the PDC as a part of Westweek. My fellow panelists and bloggers as seen here, Mark Cutler {Mark Cutler design}, myself, Shane Reilly, Timothy Corrigan {Decorati guest blogger} and Andrew Puschel {Schumacher}. The discussion was lively with great dialogue between the audience and panelists.

Topics from the audience included:

whether it's worthwhile for publicist to send bloggers press releases on their clients newest product? I said, great, but if it's a form letter, I'll probably pass right by it. Sending a personal email makes all the difference and has even created a few friendships along the way.

There seemed to be a slight bit of angst as to how one actually creates a blog. Not necessarily the hosting part but, the art direction and the building part of the blog? That's the beauty of blogging! It's all you. A personal reflection of you and your thoughts. No rules. I always tell people, forget about your header, forget about that back ground color, grab a template that appeals to you and start writing. The writing is the most important part. Or posting if you're image heavy. The look of your blog evolves.

need photo of the group chatting afterward *here*

The hour sped by quickly and afterward I chatted with a few people whom I had only "known" as readers or from their own blogs. It's always fun to meet everyone in person.

I was especially excited to see fellow bloggers Vanessa de Vargas of Turquoise, Rebecca Orlov of Apartment Therapy and Christian Mays of Maison21 {whom I knew only from our facebook banter and now for 'real'} and thank you to my dear friend Coleen of Coleen & Company for dropping by too.

If you are unfamiliar with decorati, take a minute to jump over there now. This is the preeminent global resource for interior designers and design enthusiasts. Consumers are able to browse and purchase trade-only products via the web. What's not to love about that? Brilliant.

BIG, BIG thanks to Ronda Carman , Decorati and Schumacher for including me in this pertinent and informative seminar.