New location!

The B-List has moved to Typepad! Follow us over at http://blog.theb-list.com/

Coming soon...

The B-List will have a new home soon, so stay tuned! 

Topic for discussion

One topic we spoke about at the conference was the idea of advertising, and specifically, sponsored posts. I don't think we ever came to a consensus about it, but I found this article and thought it might be interesting to reopen the topic here. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts.

This is Not A Sponsored Post: Paid Conversations, Credibility, and the FDC by Brian Solis.

Paper Goodie Roundup from Nole

Hi everyone! This is Nole from Oh So Beautiful Paper – the resident stationery expert over here on The B List blog. Vané asked me if I’d be willing to do a quick round-up of all the lovely stationery and paper goods that we were lucky enough to receive at the meet-up last month, and I was happy to oblige.

Blue Ribbon Design

Blue Ribbon Letterpress Design Studio provided a set of their luxe botanical thank you cards, which feature gorgeous yellow flowers letterpress printed on 100% cotton paper using soy-based inks. So pretty!

Dephine Press

Delphine Press provided a whole range of lovely stationery and paper goods – from letterpress journals to beautiful sea-star thank you cards. My favorite was the blank flat note card with the small butterfly detail in the corner!

Ink + Wit

Ink + Wit sent us home with a few of their everyday postcards as well as thank you cards and mini notes. I absolutely love Tara’s design style – it’s complete nature-meets-modern perfection!

Iomoi

These Iomoi notepads were a big hit with all the B List bloggers!

Linda + Harriett

From Linda + Harriett, the B List bloggers were given a glimpse into a few of the products that will make their debut at the upcoming National Stationery Show. These thank you cards feature calligraphy by Jenna Hein over three different patterns – stripes, mermaid, and tulips.

Nantaka Joy!

Nantaka Joy – and its sister company Oh Joy Studio – is one of my favorite design studios, and I was overjoyed to see these gray ombre lace flat cards in The B List gift bags. These flat cards can be run through a home printer, so I’m holding onto these to use as invitations to a dinner party sometime this summer!

Paper + Cup

Paper + Cup sent each B List blogger home with a set of thank you cards from their new bookworm collection. Minhee and Truman from Paper + Cup joined us for the vendor meet + greet following the B List meet-up, and I had such a wonderful time getting to know them a bit better!

Sarah Drake

Sarah Drake provided these adorable letterpress mini journals, each of which includes 16 pages and is wrapped with a coordinating ribbon. These mini journals are perfect for a group of bloggers like the B List, since we’re always trying to keep track of upcoming features, ideas, and new sources of inspiration. And at 3 x 4”, they easily fit into a pocket or handbag.

Smock Paper

Smock Paper is one of our favorite eco-friendly letterpress studios over at The B List – not only does Smock Paper have a wonderful line of wedding invitations and social stationery, but Smock’s sister company, Bella Figura has worked with Tara from Ink + Wit on a line of exclusive wedding invitations, and of course you all know about Vané’s collection of her favorite Bella Figura invitations. Smock sent us home with a set of beautiful letterpress cards from their social collection.

Stuck Labels

I was absolutely thrilled to see these red and white labels from Stuck Labels in our B List gift bags. Like many of you, I’ve been drooling over these adorable labels for the past few weeks, and I can’t wait use them!

Thoughtful Day

By now, you’ve already seen Erica’s wonderful new line of Thoughtful Day letterpress wedding invitations, called the Melodie Collection, but The B List was given a special sneak peek a few days before the big announcement. And let me tell you that these beauties are even lovelier in person. Several of us spent more than a few minutes oohing and aahing over this sneak peek that Saturday afternoon! Erica also designed the B List logo and gift bags.

Two Bees Press

Two Bees Press also sent us home with a couple of letterpress thank you cards. Two Bees Press is run by B List member, and Elizabeth Anne Designs co-founder Rebekah Anne, and you can see more from Two Bees Press in their etsy store right here.

Wedding Paper Divas

Last, but definitely not least, a final thank-you card from Wedding Paper Divas! I love the delicate cherry blossom design in the corners of the card.

Everyone at The B List meet-up appreciated the generous support of our sponsors – and, as a blogger with a fondness for all things paper, it was such a treat to be able to bring home so many stationery goodies. Thanks again to Vané and Anne (who recently became a new mom!) for pulling together such a wonderful meet-up, and to all of our sponsors for making it possible!

{all photos by Nole of Oh So Beautiful Paper for The B List}

The Blog as a Business by d*s

While one of the main reasons for starting the B-List was to finally meet our favorite bloggers in person, another main component was helping each other out with our blogs. Sometimes you can feel like you're out there all by yourself when it comes to figuring out advertising, legalities, and all that other fun stuff, which is why coming together to share our experiences was so important. Some of the ladies talked about parts of the blogging puzzle they had tackled (we'll share synopses of those soon), but having a seasoned pro like Grace from design*sponge was the icing on the cake! While we couldn't have her in person (she was getting married that day!), she was kind enough to write up her experiences and advice about running a blog as a business. You can download Grace's notes here, but also check in at d*s for her Biz Ladies series on Tuesdays, they're incredibly helpful!

Thanks, and congrats Grace!

Now thats what we call Swag!

We have to give a big thank you to our giftbag sponsors! They've all donated generously.

Abigail Kirsch
Bella Bridesmaid
Blue Ribbon Design
Blurb
Chronicle Books
City Pass
Delphine Press
Fresh
Fritts Rosenow
Gumdrop Cookie Co.
Hallak Cleaners
Hello Super8
INK + WIT
Iomoi
Jennifer Behr
JimmyJane
Jones Soda
Karen Wise Photography
Linda + Harriett
Minted
Mohawk Fine Papers
Nantaka Joy!
NELLE Handbags
Nunu Chocolates
OneWed
One Love Photo
Papabubble
Paper+Cup
Paperwink
Poseprints
Ritzy Bee Events
Rust Designs
Saipua
Sarah Drake Design
Smock
Sonya Renée
Stuck Labels
Style Made Simple
The Smart Planner
Thoughtful Day
Two Bees Press
Union Photography
Viv&Ingrid
Wedding Paper Divas

[photo by Jenny Ebert Photography and Maria from Ritzy Bee]

big enormous thank-yous!

thanks to:

...galapagos art space for lending us their amazing space
...erica miller of thoughtful day for all the graphics associated with The B-List
...jenna hein for her calligraphy
...jenny ebert for her fabulous photography
...seaport flowers for making the space look pretty
...sterling affair catering for feeding us lunch
...mark joseph cakes for the amazing cake we had for dessert!
...swirl events for the wine tasting and chocolates, yum!

and all of our sponsors in the left column...click on their ad and show your support! this event could not have been possible without them!

stay tuned, plenty more coming up!