Haven Conference 2018

Hey, friends!  As most of you know, I’ve been involved in the very successful Haven Conference since its inception in 2012. We are so proud of the conference and how it has succeeded all these years in bringing together the home decor and DIY community of bloggers.  Plus it’s a lot of fun!  This year, we are meeting in Charleston, SC, which is going to be so much fun.  Mark and I are making a little vacation out of it and he’s meeting me after the conference for a couple of days in Charleston, which I can’t wait for!

Today, I’m sharing our Haven Maven mentors with all of you. We’re doing a Mentor blog hop this week and I want to introduce you to our 2018 Haven Mentors!

Here’s a look back at Haven 2017!

Haven Conference 2018

These ladies are all seasoned bloggers and so many of them are dear friends to me, all of whom I’ve met in the blogging community over these past 11 years of blogging.  Some of us have been blogging for a long time together and others are newer to the blogging arena, but all are great women (and people, for those couples represented).

Here’s the line-up in case you want to visit them and discover some new blogs!

1. Charlotte with At Charlotte’s House
2. Sheila with Maison de Cinq
3. Liz Marie with Liz Marie Blog
4. Haneen with Haneen’s Haven
5. Erin with Erin Spain
6. Stacey with Not Just a Housewife
7. Katie & Jeremy with Bower Power
8. Brooke with All Things Thrifty
9. Sarah with Thrifty Decor Chick
10. Brittany with Pretty Handy Girl
11. Aniko with Place of my Taste
12. Lauren with Blesser House
13. Diane with In My Own Style
14. Ashley & Jamin with The Handmade Home
15. KariAnne with Thistlewood Farms
16. Courtney with French Country Cottage
17. Beth with Home Stories A to Z
18. Laura with Duke Manor Farm
19. Debbie with Refresh Restyle

It’s a pleasure to have such outstanding and accomplished bloggers on our Haven Mentor team this year and we couldn’t be more proud of them!  They are all participating in a blog hop today, so I hope you’ll go over and visit them and get to know them a bit more.

They are answering the following questions, so it will be fun to read their answers! I’ll answer these same questions too.  

What is your best advice for a blogger?

My best advice for a blogger is to be yourself.  I think that is the number one thing that has helped me to stay active and growing as a blogger.  Authenticity goes a long way in relating to people and them relating to you, so that’s important to me to keep things real and authentic when I blog.  Even though we all work with brands and have sponsors at times, it’s still important to maintain a down to earth attitude on our blogs because that is going to speak to people much more than trying to be someone you’re not.  I would have given up long ago in the blogging world if I was trying to copy or imitate someone else.  All I can do is be myself and things will fall into place.  Blogging is hard work and it takes a lot of effort to grow a blog into a business, but being a “real” and relatable person is what I think sets me apart from all the other blogs out there. We are all individuals and there’s only one YOU, so be the best version of YOU that you can be!

What is your best advice for a new Haven Maven attendee?

Relax and have fun!  Leave those expectations at the door, get out of your shell, meet new people and you’ll definitely have fun.  We always have a great time at Haven and we really try to welcome new folks in who have never been before.  They have butterflies and are a little scared of being there for the first time, but once they relax and get into the swing of things, it’s all fun and enlightening. We have something for everyone, so I don’t think anyone should feel left out. If you can chat and talk to strangers, you’ll be fine and you just might make new friends right away!  Haven has formed many blog friendships over the years and we expect this year to be no exception.  

Who are YOU most excited to see/meet at Haven this year?

That’s a good question!  Since I’m part of the Haven team, I really don’t have any fan girl moments because I’ve been blogging so long and have met so many in this niche already.  It’s always fun to catch up with everyone and meet and greet new and old timers back to Haven.  We usually have a head liner for our opening keynote and this year it’s the Lambton’s, an HGTV couple who will be with us, so I’d say meeting them will be a highlight for me!

We are excited for a fun Haven Conference this year in Charleston, SC!  It’s especially exciting to be kicking off the conference in this Southern icon city, such a beautiful backdrop for all of us to enjoy.  If you’d like to go to Haven, there are still tickets available, I’d love to see you there!