Antique Candle Works at Haven

In July 2018, Brittany and I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to be sponsors at the design and blogging conference, Haven!  With over 300 home décor, DIY, and lifestyle bloggers in attendance, it truly was a gathering of our kind of people, so Antique Candle Works (now Antique Candle Co.®!) had to be there!

Fun Fact: I had never flown before.  Brittany is a pro and helped me know what to expect (thank you!), but I was getting very anxious in those final days before the conference.  As it turns out, I was nervous for nothing.  The flights to and from Charleston were actually quite pretty.  It was kind of amazing being up close and personal with God’s painted sky!

Once we arrived, it was time to get to work.  We spent the entire first day putting together our ‘floral farmhouse’ booth. 

Our goal was to create a little homey hub that would be the perfect space for meeting friends new and old.  This was a first Haven, so while we were not exactly sure what to expect, we knew we were in for a good time!

And a good time is was!  It was incredible to have the opportunity to finally meet in person many of the ladies we’ve known for so long!  We were finally able to share a few laughs with our good friend, Erin, from The Cotton Stem Blog! 

It was also great to meet up with Liz from Liz Marie Blog, Laura from The Turquoise Home, Sarah from Dreaming of Homemaking, Holly from Our Faux Farmhouse, Kayla from Plum Pretty Décor and Design, and Deb from Seeking Lavender Lane!  These are just a few of the ladies that we are so thankful to know and work with!

We also met so many new friends, too many to count!  It was great to be able to introduce ourselves to those who already knew about our candles, and welcome those who had never heard of Antique Candle Works.

Haven was not only fun, but also a learning experience.  We were fortunate enough to be able to attend a few of their blogger classes.  Brittany heard from Erin, Holly, and Lauren McBride about the power of Instastories, and I took notes from Alisa Meredith about the heart of Pinterest.  We even got to hear the testimonies of Chris and Peyton Lambton, Taniya Nayak, Amy Howard, and The Shanty Sisters, Whitney and Ashley!

All in all, Haven was truly a great experience for us professionally, and personally.  Small business is about relationships, and Haven offered us an opportunity to build countless friendships with people that we truly care about. 

We could not have done it without out amazing team in the studio who worked their butts off in the weeks leading up to it, or without all of our friends who have followed the Antique Candle Works journey.  And who knows; maybe there is a Haven Round 2 in Antique Candle Works’ future!

I can’t wait to share more of our new friends with all of you, so be on the lookout for our candles in new homes on Instagram and Pinterest! 

 

Have a beautiful day friends!