{Fabric Pretties at Lee Jofa, Atlanta- they hosted one of our Parties}

I had the great privilege of traveling to Atlanta, Georgia a couple of weeks ago to attend the 2nd ever Design Camp put on by hilarious Interior Designers/Partners-in-Crime, Kelli Ellis & Lori Dennis.  I was invited by Paloma of La Dolce Vita and pretty quickly and enthusiastically said, “yes” even though I was a little nervous and *maybe* skeptical.  I thought, if nothing else, it will be great for networking and meeting people!  Although I consider myself pretty outgoing, networking is not my most favorite thing to do…so going to Design Camp was definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone.

I will be sharing my experience from the perspective of an Interior Designer with my own business.  I’ve been to a lot of seminars/conferences where I’ve felt like it’s a lot of “fluff” and not much meat.  What Interior Designers REALLY want to talk about is business, systems, job management, and making money!  Kimberley Seldon who not only runs a successful design firm but also Business of Design was my favorite speaker.  Her candid talk about how all the business mistakes she made ultimately prompted her to meet with a business coach, which in turn enabled her to put her business practices in two books and now seminars was so encouraging.  I now plan on signing up for her online courses, because this was exactly what my business needed.

My second favorite session was by the ultimate Southern Gentleman, Barry Dixon.  Literally everything he said was quotable.  He manages somehow to be incredibly eloquent without a bit of pretension.  He really sees himself serving the house and the client.  A rarity in the world of egomaniac Interior Designers!

Design Camp is not only a place for inspiration but a place to meet like minded and open Designers, Bloggers, and Creatives looking to give their business and edge all while meeting fun and awesome people from all over the country!  For two other viewpoints check out these posts by Paloma and Ryan.  Sign up for the Seattle Design Camp here!

**My apologies for lack of photos, having an issue with uploading from my computer!  Will add photos later if I can get the problem resolved.