2018: A Year of Discovery

2018: A Year of Discovery

When I started Movers + Makers in May of 2017, I wasn’t exactly sure what would come of it. I launched the website with the sole intention of  interviewing local entrepreneurs to share their stories with the community. But what I’ve found since starting this experience a year and a half ago is that there’s so much more that Movers + Makers can do. And 2018 played a big part in showing me that. Below are some of the highlights of this year.

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After meeting with entrepreneurs and getting to know their stories, I always left our conversations feeling inspired and motivated. Everyone I talked to was so transparent about their journey with entrepreneurship and openly shared their challenges and wins. Their honesty was refreshing and relatable and made me feel encouraged and inspired to continue pursuing my entrepreneurial goals. While the website is the main space for storytelling, I knew that experiencing these stories in person has a much different effect than reading them online and I wanted to bring this feeling to life for others.

So in January, we hosted our first event–an in-conversation with Kendall Antonelli of Antonelli’s Cheese. Kendall gave us insight into the food industry, shared what it was like to run a business with your significant other, and openly shared her business experience and advice with an engaged audience. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to kick off this event series!

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We hosted two more events (all at REVELRY), including a panel event to celebrate our one year anniversary. The panel featured Christine Turknett of Breathe Design, Hayley Swindell of The Refinery, and Sarah Bensley of Sentrel Natural Beauty. Each of these women shared their unique perspective on running a business and the different steps they took to get started. I couldn’t have asked for a better event to celebrate one year of Movers + Makers. Not only was it inspiring and informative, but it also solidified the importance of a live storytelling experience.

After taking a summer hiatus from events, I came back in the fall wanting to try something that had been on my mind for awhile: a book club! We hosted our first book club in October at the gorgeous APT F storefront and discussed Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. After the first meet up, I discovered that a book club was a great way for creatives to get together and have intimate conversations in a low-key (and super cozy) environment.

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The book club was so fun that we decided to make it a regular part of Movers + Makers and meet monthly! Our book club grew for the second meet up where we gathered at APT F again and had a discussion about Story Driven by Bernadette Jiwa.

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The year also consisted of connecting with many creative entrepreneurs and inspiring women and sharing their stories through interviews and contributed posts. If 2018 was about discovery, then 2019 will be all about growth.

Going forward, Movers + Makers will be exploring more ways to motivate and inspire those who are pursuing a creative life. We’ll be ramping up our online content, sharing more stories through interviews and events, and providing a space to learn and grow as a creative entrepreneur. I’m hoping to start hosting workshops as well as interactive panel events, and partner with like-minded brands to bring Movers + Makers to a wider community. We’ll also be celebrating two years in May!

Movers + Makers started as an inkling of an idea, and I can’t wait to see how it will grow this year. If you have made it this far into the post, then I want to say THANK YOU! I couldn’t do any of this without the support of this small but mighty community. Every Instagram message, comment, newsletter response, coffee date–everything–means the world to me and inspires me to continue, so thank you.

Here’s to 2019!

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Event photos by Lee Behrend.