So Sylvie

Straight outta Brooklyn — Grace Bonney of Design Sponge hosted a Biz Lady Meet Up at Design Within Reach in San Francisco on Tuesday night (Oct.23rd).

It was stimulating, inspiring, informative, and yummy (so many talented bakers!). Grace has proven to be a powerful impresario and motivator, with over two hundred women drawn to the event; one of many on her tour of major U.S. cities. Grace arranged for professional women from the community to speak on topics like small business loans, marketing, and Grace's specialty, PR.

Meg Mateo Ilasco, who authored the book Craft Inc., Turn Your Creative Hobby Into A Business, among others, was one of the guest speakers:

Cate Kellison, from Rose & Radish (she said when she chose the name she thought it sounded professional, "like a law firm"), and Emily Gasner, from Working Solutions were the other speakers for the evening:

I was grateful to meet so many talented and supportive women, like Victoria from sfgirlbybay:

She encouraged me to put a new button on my blog to link my shop (see upper right of sidebar). Thanks for the great tip Victoria! I know it seems like an obvious connection to make, but I always thought that my blog was too personal (ie. unprofessional) to cross paths with my business. But Victoria got me to rethink all that.

I really value this blog/design community, now more than ever. Thank you so much Grace for taking the time and effort to create this wonderful event. You're a peach!