A Visit To....

The Hive Berlin 2012




Last weekend saw the launch of the first ever European blogging event, The Hive in Berlin. It was the first venture of  three very enterprising ladies who met on-line through their blogs and one day decided to set up a little conference... They are Yvonne of The Girl In The Laundromat, Peggy of Paul et Paula and Radostina of 79 ideas

The meet up was held at Betahaus, 'a coworking space for creatives,' where individuals can rent out studios  with the added benefit of an on-site cafe and entertaining space. There is a truly creative buzz about the place and it made the perfect setting for The Hive.

Our weekend began on the Friday evening with dinner at the sublimely named Dudu. Situated in Berlin Mitte, this Asian- fusion restaurant has a very relaxed cafe-style vibe and produces fresh, beautifully flavoured dishes. The London Blogging Girls (kept in check by the fantastically organized Tina ) had a wonderful evening with Thea and Toni of Sister Magazine; Clara of Taste Sheriff; Susanne of Lieschen-Heiratet and Ricarda of 23qmstil.

The two day event consisted of a variety of talks and workshops by an impressive line-up of seasoned bloggers, all of whom were happy to share their experiences and advice in their inspiring and personal presentations. Talks were modest, from the heart and inspiring. Knowledge and experience were given generously and freely...

I phone pictures show: styled settings from Fraeulein Klein workshop,  'Professional pictures without a studio at home'; Food styling workshop from Anne's Kitchen;  Betahaus.

As some of the talks overlapped, it wasn't possible to attend every one, but most of us were able to dip in and out of presentations and workshops on both days.


On Day 1, I had the pleasure of listening to some very enlightening presentations. Please click through and take a look at the wonderful blogs from day 1 and 2:

New and Traditional Media with Antonia and Theresa of Sister Magazine.
The Business of Blogging with Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom.
Online Magazines with Jeanette Lunde of Fryd Og Design.

Pictures show: Betahaus; Hotel; Berlin skyline from the roof terrace; snippets from a cycle ride through the city.



Day 2 opened with From Blog to Book with Freunde von Freunden.

4 workshops which I looked in on from the periphery-
How to take and style better pictures with Radostina from 79 ideas
Professional Pictures Without a Studio at Home with Yvonne from Fraeulein Klein
Food Photography with Anne from Anne's Kitchen

How To Deal With Negative Feedback with Anne from Pret-a-Voyager

  

Pictures show: snippets from a cylcle ride through the city; the Amano patio.

Pictures show: Hidden Blossom's wonderful homemade business cards; delectable ginger and lemon tea from Dudus (thank you Tina!); the Amano roof terrace; Betahaus; snippets from a weekend in Berlin with my lovely London blogging friends, Tina, Chi, Sophie, Toni and Ursula.


Since starting my own little blog in March, I have been amazed at the kindness and generosity shown by the blogging community. Having only discovered the blog world last year (yes, I must have been sleeping all this time) and taking part in earnest for the past couple of months, it would be fair to say that it has perhaps become a little all-consuming. Combining kids, work, household chores and producing my own material for the blog has been a real juggling act, but also an absolute pleasure. I have discovered hundreds of incredibly talented individuals, literally spanning generations, all over the world, all brought together by a love of life, design, family, travel, work, just being...

Huge congratulations to Peggy (not least for being on your feet the entire weekend, despite being pregnant with baby number 3!), Yvonne and Radostina. Your vision, dedication and hard work paid off and you should all be incredibly proud of yourselves. New friends were made, new ideas were generated and everyone came away feeling energized and inspired....