Social Media to the Rescue!

With Meighan L. O'Toole

Salonistas, I know you were just thinking... “I’m so stinkin’ overwhelmed by social media.  When will I  deepen my online experience? How can I make social media work for my creative design business?  Why can’t I meet the perfect social media lifesaver who will reach out and save me from drowning in this digital sea?”  

Whew, we’ve found just the girl!

Meighan L. O’Toole is a digital and social media strategist, with an exceptional understanding of pushing & curating online content, while simultaneously creating community around a product. Her expertise lie in training and educating small creative brands, and individuals on creating community, deepening their presence online, and defining their voice via social media.

In 2007, she launched her personal art blog, “My Love for You.” Surrounding herself with amazing artists from all over the world through podcasts, studio visits, and Q&A’s, Meighan experienced the possibilities of online communities and saw the magic of the Internet first hand. After managing and running her blog for 3 years, Meighan was approached by Yahoo! to join their social media team in Sunnyvale, CA. She’s since gone on to work as a community manager for Wikia (Wikipedia’s sister site), and most recently WIRED.

Meighan now works as a consultant, through her own firm O’Toole Social Media and Digital Strategy in Boston.

Meighan’s passionate about connecting people to technology and information to expand and deepen their online experience. She believes that the Internet offers endless opportunities, and is interested in helping her clients find their own promise within it.

When: Tuesday, December 3

Time:  7:00

Where: Vanegas and Co.  
1 Design Center Place
617-439-8800

RSVP: info@jillrosenwald.com

Please bring wine or snacks to share with the group!

Brand Building Powerhouse, Mitra Morgan

This October, The Design Salon launches her new "season" with our scrappy-super-girl-powerhouse who knows exactly how to bring it.  Ladies, meet Mitra Morgan, Co-Founder and former Chief Curator of Joss & Main.  www.jossandmain.com ,THE leading flash sales site for housewares and  home decor. 

Starting with a mighty team of just 3 people, Joss & Main has grown to become a destination for all things home. Mitra, along with her power crew, built the empire that provides it's members with inspirational imagery, design ideas and products though flash sales and on-line sales.  

Mitra will share all of her experience in brand building and growing.  In particular, Mitra will focus on the early stages of the process, which she feels requires a scrappy approach to forging relationships and partnerships in order to blast the brand forward.  

If you are thinking of building and growing your brand or creating an empire, Mitra's knowledge will give you a great nudge to get you going.

***************************
Mitra is a graduate of the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and studied at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts. She received her undergraduate degree from Bowdoin.  Before founding Joss & Main, Mitra founded Brooks Pond, a provider of high-end juvenile products.  Mitra's professional experience includes time as a management consultant for international corporate development work and running an international travel company.

When:  Tuesday, October 15

Where:  The Liberty Hotel at Clink***

Time:  7:00 pm

RSVP:  Jill.palese@gmail.com

***  Please bring cash! Clink's minimum requirement is 2 drinks per person or $30.00

Three Companies, One Night! Stationery Night

We have a panel of ladies from 3 amazing Boston-based stationery companies ready to share the ins and outs of owning a stationery business. Carrie + Laurie of Two Trick Pony , Shelley of Albertine Press and Deb + Kate of Smudge Ink. This is going to be an open panel, so bring your questions with you or e-mail them ahead of time.  

This event is Tuesday, June 25th @ 7:00

                    Where:  Hudson  http://hudsonboston.com/                     
                    12 Union Park
                    South End, Boston 
                    RSVP:  Jill.palese@gmail.com
                    Please bring wine or snacks to share with the group

Carrie and Laurie from Two Trick Pony

Two Trick Pony began in 2006 when friends Carrie Holmes and Laurie Johnston decided to create a new kind of eco-friendly stationery company. They recognized the growing interest in environmentally friendly and handmade products and were excited to be part of the movement to combine great modern design, quality craftsmanship and environmentally responsible business practices. Today, they have expanded that sense of responsibility to include a greater community, and a percentage of sales are donated to various non-profit organizations with the goals of spreading awareness and contributing financially to the advancement of causes close to the Ponies' hearts. Two Trick Pony has been featured in various magazines including The Knot Magazine, Stationery Trends and Country Living, popular blogs such as Design*Sponge, Paper Crave, and Style Me Pretty, as well as two books, Handmade Hellos and Today's Top Stationery Artists 2. 

http://www.twotrickpony.com/

Shelley from Albertine Press

From classic and elegant to witty and irreverent - Albertine Press is a Boston-area design and letterpress print shop run by Shelley Barandes, a sometime-architect who just loved paper more. What began as a custom design and print studio has grown to include a full collection of greeting cards, note sets, journals, coasters, calendars and more available at stationery stores and gift boutiques across the country. In addition, Albertine continues to work closely with individuals on custom printing projects including wedding invitations, business collateral and personal stationery as well as printing work for other designers.

http://albertinepress.com/

Kate and Deb from Smudge Ink

Founded in 2002, Smudge Ink is a Boston-based stationery company run by two women: Kate Saliba + Deb Bastien. Originally focused on bold, colorful letterpress-printed greeting cards and custom invitations, Smudge Ink's product line has expanded to include calendars, gift wrap, boxed notes, offset-printed greeting cards, notebooks and notepads, all of which reflect the same style and vibrancy Smudge Ink has become known for. Weddings by Smudge Ink is the custom wedding line where they work directly with clients to design and print their own unique invitations. 

http://smudgeink.com/

The Art of Business

Every woman at Design Salon has a passion for the creative arts.  Some of us have built mini-empires, others are in the process.  If you are one of those gals who is thinking, "Can I really turn my passion for @#%$^ into a @#$@#^  business?", then please join us tomorrow night to hear exactly how Lara Woolfson is doing it.  With a lens, an idea and a whole lot of smart planning, Lara is growing her Boston based business into exactly what she imagined on her idea wall.  And it's FUN!

Lara Woolfson is Co-owner and principal photographer at Studio Nouveau www.thestudionouveau.com , A creative photography studio specializing in weddings and boudoir. With a keen eye for color and composition, and a stickler for customer service, Lara has grown her business from a two woman home operation to an energized team of 6 photographers and a studio manager at their studio in Waltham.

Lara holds her MFA in visual Art from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. Her work has been published in numerous blogs and magazines including Style Me Pretty, Ruffled, Snippet & Ink, Boston Weddings Magazine, Seacoast Weddings Magazine, Bliss Celebrations, The Phoenix, and Conde Naste, to name a few.

Join Lara as she discusses how her business has grown, the lessons learned and the tricks that worked: from branding, to social media, networking, and wrapping your head around the transition from Fine Artist to "business woman".

When:  Wednesday, May 28

Where:  Twelve Chairs

319 A street

When:  7:00 

RSVP:  Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine and snacks to share with the group!  

The Business of Fashion with Sara Campbell

Fashion+Boston=Sara Campbell 

 Sara Campbell www.saracampbell.com is Boston's fashion leader in Boston.  A woman who has mixed her passion for clothing with a keen business sense, Sara has achieved what many only dream about:

1.  Build a Boston based fashion company
2.  Open a collection of beautiful stores in lovely locations
3.  Manufacture small production runs mainly out of the USA

As always, the ladies of Design Salon will have an opportunity to hear from the designer first hand about starting and running her business here in Boston.

Enjoy!

Sara Campbell is Founder and CEO of Sara Campbell LTD, a manufacturer and retailer of women’s apparel.  Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts & Science degree in Design from the University of California, Davis, and a Masters degree in Art Education from Lesley College.  During that time she mentored and pursued a Masters in Design & Textiles at Massachusetts College of Art and Design with late artist and educator Corita Kent.

Sara began her career in 1982 as a featured artist in a wearable art gallery and museum shows. This lead to the birth of a women artist mail order catalog, where Corita was an initiator, contributor, and partner on the project.  Sara's one-of-a-kind garments became a numbered, limited edition series.  

In 1985 she founded Sara Campbell LTD, where she designs, manufactures, and retails the brand of woman’s clothing, aptly called Sara Campbell.  In 2009 she completed the Harvard Business School Executive Education program, as a tool to help facilitate in the reinvention of the company. Today she delivers her unique, limited–production offerings through ten free standing Sara Campbell retail boutiques.

The company is built on a philosophy of giving back to the community, while creating and delivering not only a unique and beautiful product, but a transformational shopping experience in her boutiques.

Please join us!
When:  Tuesday, April 23
Time:  7:00
Where:  Sara Campbell Warehouse and Studio
46 Plympton Street
Boston's South End
R.S.V.P:  jill.palese@gmail.com

Better Your Brand: Sprucing up for Spring with Jessica Sutton

Dear Salonistas, 

Are these winter blues getting the best of you and your business?  Do you feel like your company image could use a lovely Fairy Godmother who could swoop in, wave her magic wand and make your image shiny and new?  Luckily, Jessica is just what you are looking for!  She will be at Design Salon to share some smart tips that will inspire a few little changes that can make all the difference for spring.  And couldn't we all use a new perspective?  

Hope to see you!

Jessica owns JSGD www.jessicasutton.com, a boutique creative agency located in Boston's Innovation District. Founded in 2008 with a desire to make good design accessible to everyone, she believes that design should be fun, personal and unique – with clients ranging from small business owners and internet startups to established companies alike.  Over the past five years, Jessica has worked closely with hundreds of business owners, walking them through the branding process and amassed a library of tips to help businesses not only keep their brand aesthetic organized but their work flow as well. She will delve into some key tips for getting your brand spruced up for spring, what steps you should have in place when getting ready to work with a designer, as well as an open forum for questions.

When:  Tuesday, March 26
Time:  7:00 
Where:  M. Flynn Design mflynnjewelry.com
40  Waltham Street
South End
RSVP:  Jill.palese@gmail.com
Please bring wine or snacks to share with the group!

He Said/She Said

A "How To" Guide to Sales featuring Erin Gates and her Husband Andrew

In honor of Valentine's Day, Design Salon has invited it's first male "guest star" to join his wife Erin Gates in order to throw down some good, old fashioned sales advice.  Erin, the founder of the uber-popular Boston based design blog Elements of Style www.elementsofstyle.com and Design Salon Member has some super anti-sales techniques (that obviously are working!), while Andrew will hit us with his smooth, seamless technique.  

"It’s bound to be an off the cuff, fun, open discussion about selling and being in business.  I really hope some of you will come and join the party!  I’d love to meet more of you and hope that we could help out in any way we can! Plus I can guarantee there will be a boatload of this on my part behind Andrew’s back"  -Erin

Please note, although Design Salon ALWAYS meets on Tuesdays at 7, note that we are meeting on MONDAY, Feb. 11th at 6:30 

When:  MONDAY, February 11th

Time:  6:30

Where:  Twelve Chairs  www.twelvechairsboston.com

319 A Street

RSVP:  Jill.palese@gmail.com

As usual, please bring wine and snacks to share with the group!  

XOXO

Marketing Night with Denise Korn of Korn Design

Design Salon is proud to host Denise Korn of Korn Design. (www.korndesign.com) Space is limited for this event, so please RSVP early and be prepared to walk away inspired and ready for the New Year!

Denise Korn, Principal of Korn Design, a nationally recognized brand strategy and design firm with offices in Boston and New York. Korn has worked with a wide range of clients including top-of-class developers, entrepreneurs, chefs, and institutional leaders, providing expert consultation on an equally wide range of assignments in the categories of leading hospitality, restaurants, luxury goods and ground-breaking strategic work. Clients include
The Blackstone Group / LXR Luxury Resorts, Daniel Boulud, Boston Ballet, Sage Restaurant Group, Harvard University, and Ritz Carlton Hotels.

Korn set up shop in Boston’s South End in 1992, after six years working as a designer, creative director and art director in New York City. Since opening her New York office in 2004,
Korn splits her time between Boston and New York and runs the company with her business partner, Javier Cortés. 

Korn Design’s work has been recognized with awards from AIGA’s National Competition, Graphis, Print Magazine, HOW, American Corporate Identity, International Logos & Trademarks, and the Strathmore Graphics Gallery. Korn Design was awarded a prestigious James Beard Foundation medal for design in 2009 and was again nominated in 2010. Her work has been honored by The Best of New England (B.O.N.E.) Design Competition and the C.A.S.E. Association with two Gold Awards. Korn Design was selected as one of the top ten young firms in the U.S. by HOW Magazine (1998) and as one of Boston’s 40 Under 40 Business Leaders by the Boston Business Journal. 

Actively involved in the political and civic life of greater Boston, In 2003, Korn founded
YOUTH DESIGN, a summer jobs program connecting talented urban high school students to career opportunities in design through professional mentorships; since its founding, the program has gained national attention and is expanding across the country. Korn recently wrote a book—10 Who Mentor—as an outcrop of her work with the New England Creative Economy Initiative and working with urban youth. She is also the recipient of two Sappi, Design That Matters Awards for this work in 2008 and 2010 and most recently was presented the Fellow Award from AIGA for her contributions as a design visionary and youth advocate.

Korn has served as the American Institute of Graphic Arts / Boston, Board Chair for Business Outreach, creating forums to connect business leaders and innovators to discuss the role of design communications and its value in smart business practices. Korn served a two-year term as Co-President of the New England Creative Economy Initiative. She currently sits on the Advisory Boards for AIGA/Boston, DIGMA Design Industry Group of Massachusetts, The Private Industry Council (PIC’s) Advisory Group, and on the Board of Kids Can Cook,
an inner-city, middle-school outreach program that uses cooking and the food arts to teach
life lessons.

Korn lives just blocks from her office in Boston’s South End with her husband and two children.

When:  Tuesday, Jan. 15

Time: 7:00 pm

Where:  Jill Rosenwald Studio

369 Congress Street, Boston

RSVP:  Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine and snacks to share with the group!