It's difficult to believe it's been a year since Fiona of cool events had her very first blogger soirée and I have to say it's been a remarkable year for Fiona and the Irish blogging scene!
It was a full house in the sultry (yes... Sultry) confines of Lillies as bloggers from around the country came to celebrate IBA's first birthday with Fiona. It wasn't just a party however, for the beauty bloggers in particular, there were great stands of makeup, hair products and fake tan (I didn't try any on... Really). There were also some great talks on a varied but relevant number of bloggers and social media personalities. Best of all it was all done in a very laid back atmosphere without any notions present!
Jamie Tuohy was the MC for the day and introduced the likes of Niamh O'Donoghue, Ciamh McCrory, Jake McCabe and Catriona Brennan as they talked about 'Body Image in the Digital World', 'Blogging 101', 'The Beauty of Branding' and 'Working with PR' respectively. A lot was learned and most importantly shared in the room full of bloggers and it was great to see so many people asking questions that are so important to all bloggers.
Jamie on the mic!
Cultured Cuppa being inspirational
Branding is beautiful don't you know...
The drinks flowed all afternoon; I lost count really of how many gin and tonics I had over the course of the day, but it was a Sunday so you really can't blame me! The event ended with Ireland's first (EVER) all male blogger panel as I sat down with Mark My Style, The Galway Player, Jake McCabe and James Kavanagh as we talked about the unique issues facing men in the blogging industry and issues facing all bloggers in Ireland.
A lot was fun was had and I honestly have to say thanks to Fiona for putting on a great event as usual. I really can't wait to see what she has in store for IBA's 'terrible twos'! Were you at Lillies yesterday? My favourite moment was Keith Mahon from www.thetaste.ie telling female bloggers to stop being bitchy to each other! (Runs and hides...) What did you enjoy and love to see more of in future?
I am Timi