So I Attended PinCon….
I have to admit, I never really viewed myself as a “creator” or an “artist” until I attended Pinterest’s PinCon Event Powered by Tastemade.
I have so much to share about the event BUT before I get into the cool aesthetics of the event or what I learned from attending, I figured I would first touch on the back-story about my journey with Pinterest.
So, I believe I was probably about 14-15 years old when I first heard about this ultra-cool app called Pinterest; a place where you can find inspiration for just about anything and a place where you can share your passions and explore new ones. When I first signed up and created my profile on there I didn’t see it as a way to connect with anyone, I saw it as a way to express things I liked that I didn’t have but could possibly have (even though I probably didn’t even have two nickels to rub together at the time, so my beautiful country estate would have to wait hahaha!)
As a young woman looking for more creative outlets, I started creating boards for all of my different interests, home design, cooking and recipes, holiday decor, clothing and accessories I liked and heck, even a future wedding (which didn’t happen for almost 13 years later but I was excited about dresses and centerpieces at the time apparently). As most users do, I had been pinning aimlessly almost every night for years without any real end-goal for all of these beautiful boards I created. They would almost sit on my hypothetical shelf of “possibilities” and I would admire them but not share them because who would be interested in what I was passionate about.
Fast forward years later, I started my brand/business Timber + Plumb, my husband and I were getting married and were finally living together in our first home. As most normal human-beings, my head was about to implode with having so much on my plate. I was working for myself and bringing in no form of household income (starting a business is hard), we were getting married and trying not to blow our budget (I have expensive taste) and we were living in a home with brown walls, brown floors, and it was lacking in furniture and well… taste. Since I had just moved 4-5 hours away from all my friends and family, I lost connection with them and if it wasn’t for my husband, I was pretty well completely alone. The stress of building a brand was really getting to me because I had all of these ideas but I was NOT a good communicator of what I wanted. So I looked back at how 15 year old me coped with figuring out what I wanted in my life and rediscovered my love for Pinterest. Although all my old boards were “out-dated” and my personal style and taste had changed, it really gave me the boost I needed into getting inspired and crafty (as mentioned a thousand times before, I was broke and not making much money).
In the last 5+ years, I have used Pinterest to help define what my brand vision is from logos to colour palette, branding photography to special events we hosted. Pinterest was a reliable source for finding my passion to create. I not only used this tool for my business, I used it to plan the 1920’s Downton Abbey inspired wedding that majority of our guests said “This was the most beautiful and unique wedding they’ve been to”.
I used Pinterest to find in-expensive DIY solutions to make our house feel more like home. Cooking is such a passion of mine as well and I used my food and desserts boards to help me decide what to conjure up in my kitchen when hosting family friends or creating a romantic dinner for two. Then throughout the pandemic, I like many others was going through a mental health crisis and instead of logging onto my social media to dive into the negativity and panic that seemed to be seeping into every corner of the internet, I used Pinterest because there is nothing negative about being innovative and scrolling through other people’s passions.
Honestly.. I could talk for days about why Pinterest is so great but I came here to share more with you about the PinCon event in Toronto that I so excitedly got invited too (literally I was so audibly thrilled, I think I shrieked with glee when I saw the invite land in my inbox).
The event happened on a beautiful September evening in Toronto, the air was cool and the vibes were incredible. I arrived about 30 minutes early to the event because I was antsy and wanted to get a head start on chatting with fellow attendees. I walked through the office doors and was immediately like “oh my goodness, this space is so chic and fun". I picked up my name badge and a signature red ribbon bracelet to wear (very on brand) and then I proceeded to walk through the entrance doors the main event.
The first thing I did was whip out my phone… I know, I know, live in the moment but I just felt so compelled to share the experience with you all that I just had to start recording and snapping photos (see my reel on Instagram). There was custom curated cocktails with recipe cards, there was a massive food spread (like everything from a full charcuterie options, to cold salad wraps, to shrimp cocktail), there was stations for all different sorts of activities and naturally there was the coolest people just chatting away with one another. Of course, I immediately went to a “paint your own candle” station and sat down and started chatting with Adreea Apostal owner of Terradomi. I have to say, I painted a beautiful tapered candle in about 20 minutes but it felt like something I could have done for hours upon hours. It was so relaxing and enjoyable!
Photo Booth where Christina and I created a cute GIF
Sitting at that table is where I met fellow attendee Christina Kacollja, a fashion, beauty, and life creator who is based in Toronto. We pretty much hung out at the entire event together (she’s so sweet) and had some really insightful chats about content planning and a zillion other topics. Together, we checked out the Release Ritual Station where you write out something you need to release on beautiful card-stock and pack it into an envelope with dried herbs and florals. Once you get home, you can then burn the envelope with the dried potpourri and your card-stock inside to let go of the things that have been holding you back. This was a very mindful practice and at the time I couldn’t write much because I wanted to do all the things, so I packed mine up to finish when I got home.
I then met a couple other friendly humans Sadie & Teagan, who I talked to for probably about 20 minutes because the conversation was just so light and breezy. These two inspiring women are the hosts of the Our Golden 20’s Podcast which is something I immediately added to my “must-listen” to podcasts list.
There was a live panel that featured two of Pinterests top creators who I didn’t follow before the event but now I do! The panelists were Jamie Milne of Everything Delish a self-taught cook and recipe creator and Donte Colley an incredibly inspiring dancer and for sure a fashion icon! I loved listening to the panel because you not only got some really honest truths about topics such as self-worth and mental health but you got to interact and connect with them on a more personal level. Both panelists shared their “big why” and how they utilized Pinterest for their brand but also how to keep moving forward with your ingenious concepts and what they had next on the docket for their careers.
I honestly didn’t want the event to end… but I also knew that I had an incredible hotel room and husband waiting for me (Steve agreed that I couldn’t miss out on this opportunity and that we would celebrate our wedding anniversary throughout the weekend instead of that evening… what a gem and I’m so grateful for him!)
In the spirit of keeping this brief because I’m not a novelist, I wanted to come back to the beginning of my blog and point out that although I never really viewed myself as a creator AND I never really introduced myself that way… I am one and this event ensures that! I have been sharing my own work on the platform for almost 2+ years and with that, I’ve had people from all over the world repinning, following, and engaging with my work (it makes me so teary-eyed thinking about that). Back a number of years ago, I didn’t use this platform to connect but now that’s really what I’m striving to do, connect and share my beautiful creations. If you want to follow me, click the Pinterest logo at the bottom of this post 😘
I want to send a massive thank-you out to Pinterest and Tastemade for inviting this gal out to your event and if you’re ever looking for someone to partner with… well give me a call!
Ps. If you’re looking for some thriving creators in Ontario, Windsor is FULL of them!
Anyways, thanks for reading about my PinCon experience folks and if you haven’t been on the platform in a while or don’t have a Pinterest profile, check it out and start rekindling your passion. Finally, I will end with this; there is a whole world of positivity waiting for you and it’s literally just a click away… so I ask, what are you waiting for?
Markie.