So I've been in the shoe business for... well, ever really- and have attended TONS of shoe shows/ trade shows. I'm usually, however, on the vendor side. That's industry speak for 'I'm with the people slinging the product' (in my case, the shoes). This trip though, I was hired by WWD's Footwear News Magazine to go to the show and blog about my experience and about what I saw happening in and around the FN Platform show.
HOW FUN!
When you're on the selling side you're working like a dog. You're meeting customer after customer selling them shoes, convincing them that your line is better then the countless other lines they've seen, and kissing lots of butts. Now I'm not a sales person so that's just my version of what happens. Don't quote me ;) It's exhausting and I think our sales team is awesome!
When you're someone like a buyer, or say- a blogger... that was me this trip... the tables are turned a bit. You're not someone who needs others to like their product- you're someone that others want to impress. Instead of being greeted at the booth entrance with a skeptical eye ("who's this vendor trying to spy on my goodies") YOU'RE the one they welcome with open arms. It's great!
"Come check out our product! We'd love it if you'd feature us... would you like a water? We have fun giveaways for bloggers!"
Like I said- quite a difference.
For the 3 days of FN Platform I got to walk the show with my "Official FN Platform Blogger" badge and check out all the booths from my new perspective and it was really a lot of fun! We did little blogger roundtables 2x a day where we discussed the different trends and shoes and shared our personal favorites. Tuesday was extra fun because Kristen Cavallari joined our roundtable and we all got to do a little Q & A with her about her shoe line. (A separate post about that coming up as soon as I get photos) She even gifted each of us with a pair from her line.
On the last day I stopped by the BCBG Generation booth and they even had a blogger suite! They were doing nails and hair and had a candy bar and made us all our own personalized bracelets! SO cool!
I saw lots of shoe brands that I didn't know about, as well as brands I'm very familiar with. I had a lot of fun and hope to be invited back to do it again. The other bloggers were great and I feel like I made some new friends :)
OMG speaking of friends! Did you guys see my Instagram!? On my way to Vegas I sat next to Gretchen of RHOC and we got stuck on the plane for a few hours before takeoff and she and I had a blast! She's exactly how I thought she'd be- so fun and sweet.
It's good to be home because as fun as it was, it was even more exhausting! It's been really cool getting back into the swing of things with the blog. It's been so long I almost forgot how to start a new post. But I'm trying!! And I'm still working on that 7 month revamp ;)
XOX
