I attended Gather Workshop in October 2015 and it was a fabulous time getting to know other creatives, hearing lots of entrepreneurial advice, and dreaming about Personify Shop. Gather Workshop was started by two creative women, Mattie Tiegreen and Kaitie Bryant. I met Kaitie at the Back to Cool Market by Indie South Fair while selling my Pepper and Orange jewelry. I basically stalked her because I knew who she was, she had photographed a few of my friends’ weddings, and we got to talking about Gather. I decided to attend last minute and am so glad I did!
Here are a few things I learned:
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I was able to narrow down our style aesthetic for Personify Shop. We were asked to come up with some images that spoke to what we wanted our brand to look like.
It gave me a clearer picture of what types of products we wanted to have and the overall vibe for our store. We love color, we love bohemian, we love whimsy, we love western, we love folk, we love dreamy, we love playful, we love vintage, and we love modern. Now, if we are thinking about buying something or bringing a new vendor on board, I ask myself if it is a good combination of these things. Our style is modern whimsy.
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Kaitie Bryant gave me an idea for a Blog series and I’ve already started working on one!
Kaitie Bryant’s presentation on Living a Creative Life. Photo by Maz Wanger for Ban.do
I just love this idea. Figure out who inspires the people you are inspired by. Stay tuned for posts about Katy Perry and Justina Blakeney of the Jungalow.
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Also in Kaitie’s talk on Living a Creative Life she said, “The easier it is to quantify your work, the less its worth. Create work that can’t be quantified, can’t be copied because it is a unique blend and has something in it that makes it MAGIC.” I love this because sometimes in retail it’s easy to just sell what someone else is selling, but I know people don’t buy from us to get the best deal. They love our unique blend of products, style, and the little things we offer customers that companies like Target don’t.
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Mattie Tiegreen’s talk on Branding. Mattie has a business building brand identities and design called Green Tie Studio.
Mattie talked about how to best parts of your business are going to be the best parts of your personality. I love how my business partner (and mom) and I have two different skill sets so our business can be more well rounded. I know I’m not great at the customer service side of the business, but I know she is. I’m really good at researching new products and artists and creating a specific look for the store.
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Shanna Skidmore’s talk on Creating a Success Mindset. Shanna Skidmore is a business and finance coach for women in the creative field.
This one really blew my mind. She talked about shifting the way you think about your business from having as much financial success as possible to really defining your financial need… both in your personal life and business. What do you really need to be making? What do you want your life to look like while running this business?
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This one is from Kaitie’s talk on Boundaries and Balance and ties into the last one.
She talked about how you can build your business around what works for you, instead of being a slave to it. Entrepreneurship should bring freedom, not bondage.Here are some more pictures…
Photo by Eliza Morrill. Kaitie Bryant wearing a Pepper and Orange Necklace!
Katie Bryant ended up purchasing one of my necklaces that she saw at the craft fair the first time we met! Then she featured me as a Gather 12 days of Christmas maker on Instagram.
Some pictures of a few pieces I brought to the weekend:
Don’t I look like I’m having fun? Because I was.Me painting at the Mini Studio Sesh with Britt Bass Turner
The whole crew! It was a blast!
You should definitely attend! They have the conference multiple times a year.
blog.personifyshop.com 
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