The 2nd Annual Arizona Blogger Conference...It Cometh

I am excited to announce that the Arizona Blogger Conference is coming back for year number two! We, the Phoenix Style Collective, were thrilled we had such an amazing turnout last year and have somehow managed to make this year's conference even bigger and better. I can't even wait for everyone to get there! Pop up shops! Goody bags! Instagramoverloadtimesonethousand!

The conference will be held at the Hotel Palomar in downtown Phoenix. It's very swanky and cool.

This year's speakers include the fashionable Jessie of Style and Pepper (flying in from New York!), the lovely Danielle of Sometimes Sweet, Sarah and Sara of Emma Magazine and Frances Vintage (respectively), and the too cute Summer of The Girls with Glasses!

Can I get a three cheers for this lineup?

I have looked up to many of these ladies throughout my blogging career. To know that we will have the opportunity to pick their brains for a while, to learn a few secrets behind their much deserved success, is a little much for the brain to handle. Girl crush overload. 

Followed by an all out dancefest at the Palomar's Lustre bar. Can I get another three cheers?

#ABC13

Buy your ticket!

arizonabloggerconference13.eventbrite.com

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About Town: Friends & Fun Edition

With the promise of warmer temperatures coming to the Valley (it's an absolute ice box here! I just turned on my heat again. Shiver.), I'll be much more open to the idea of attending local art events, parties & happy hours. Well, full disclosure, I've never been one to turn down a great happy hour.

First up, the Phoenix Style Collective crew and I will be hosting a fabulous event at the brand new Kendra Scott store at the Scottsdale Quarter. Come stop by for cupcakes, champagne, and catching up with your favorite stylish local ladies & gentleman. We always have such a fun turn out at these events - thank you to all who come out! Thinking I might need a new ring or sparkly pair of earrings after this night.

The second is an art show featuring the talented other half to my friend Courtney. Sanford and his friends will be displaying "An Exhibition of Excessive Bravado", which is sure to be an absolute blast. The collection debuts on March 25 at Gallery 100 at ASU's Herberger Institute School of Art, with the opening reception on March 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. I'll certainly be there - I hope you will too!

Three cheers to local Phoenix & Scottsdale fun! Spring is in the air!

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Lulu*s Style Studio - In Phoenix!

I am so excited to announce that for the past few weeks, the Phoenix Style Collective has been working  alongside Lulu*s to bring a style studio event to Phoenix. The event is totally free & open to all you fashionable bloggers out there! Mara from the lovely blog M Loves M will be hosting - who I am so excited to finally meet. Hope to see you all there!

Reserve your spot at http://stylestudiophoenix.eventbrite.com

Tweet me if you're planning to attend too! {@kthornhill}

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Tastemakers

Last Thursday, the Phoenix Style Collective hosted a summer networking event at Hanny's, an awesome restaurant & bar in downtown Phoenix. A refurbished department store, this place is filled with odd nooks & crannies, hidden staircases to nowhere and creepy dark corners.

Me, Courtney & Kara got to the venue early for a quick meeting catch up session and after work drink. We had a while before guests arrived, so we took a few moments to tour the space and all the mystery it had to offer.

Not before sharing a delicious pizza and a few chuckles of course. I love these ladies. 

A few of the leftovers from my phone. What a cool spot! I can't wait to check it out again. 

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{The Phoenix Style Collective Special at Urban Beans}

You know you & your friends are cool when you have your own special drink at a local coffee shop. It may not officially be on the menu, and the baristas may give you an odd look with you insist on "The Phoenix Style Collective special", but don't let them fool you! They are asking for the ingredients to make sure you're legit.

Urban Beans is a cute little shop on Central that is half cool coffee shop for students and office for business entrepreneurs, half urban phoenician bar, and all hipster in between. The mismatched furniture and local art on the wall give it a very homey vibe, the perfect location for one of our PSC meetings.

I'm usually pretty early to our meetings, since our rendezvouz are typically in the downtown Phoenix area, which is close to my house. Driving all the way home & back seems like a silly idea, especially when I've trained myself to carry around my book of the week for perfect stolen moments of alone time. Each time I'm early, usually Kara is too. Which I love, because it gives me a few minutes with a good friend to unload life's woes and usual goings on. I always feel better after our chats, which may or may not have something to do with the fact she's a therapist.

There's nothing wrong with mooching off your friends listening skills while you share a treat (thanks Kara!) I can only hope my untrained ear provides some comfort as well. The evenings we plan to stay late I'll order dinner, and Urban Bean's salmon dill quiche caught my eye somethin fierce. There was no saying no!

So to let you in on the secret. The super official Phoenix Style Collective drink of choice is....a blackberry latte, hot or iced. Try it and prepare to be impressed! Created on accident at the Arizona Blogger Conference, our on hand coffee extraordinaire first pulled the divine drink and started passing it around to the attendees. A masterpiece was born! Paired with an espresso mini cupcake? Guaranteed to make your day. If an afternoon jitter isn't your thing, try the non-coffee version of a blackberry lemonade.  Equally delicious!

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{The 2012 Arizona Blogger Conference: Behind the Scenes}

If you are a blogger and living in the state of Arizona, chances are you were at Saturday's Arizona Blogger Conference at the Saguaro hotel in Scottsdale. And if you weren't...I'm sorry. It was SO fun (not so humble brag)!

The Phoenix Style Collective crew and I arrived at the hotel at about noon on the day of the event. The hotel set us up with a fantastic location, an entire private bar & outdoor patio that was perfect for mingling/chatting/bloggers standing next to each other while they do things on their phone (we can't help it.)

We stuffed goodie bags, arranged cute mini cacti, and loosely set up where the vendors and fun activities were going to take place. There were also coffee runs involved (of course), although we probably had enough steam to stay up for days just based on excitement energy.

Typically, our group meets each Wednesday at a different local coffee shop in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. This past week, our final prep before the conference, I was on my death bed with a wicked fever. It had been some time since I had seen Josh, Courtney, Kara, Chelsea and John so I was excited we got to spend a few hours before the big event just chatting and catching up. Mostly freaking out that the day was already here.

Madewell lent us two racks full of their beautiful clothing for a styling station, which were hung with love by Courtney and I. Mostly Courtney, since every new piece that came out of the tub I nearly fainted with clothing envy for anyone who already owns the beautiful tops, skirts, sweaters & accessories. Oh Madewell, I will be making a very fun trip to see you soon!

The pièce de résistance, the Madewell banner which we used as the backdrop for our fashion entry photos. The last place this well loved denim quilt traveled was Coachella, which was entirely too cool for any of us to handle.

Anyone who made it out to the event, a heartfelt thank you for making it such a success. Two days later and I'm still glowing from all of the nice things people said about the conference, and I can't wait to make next year's bigger and better than ever.

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photo cred for picture #1: Brenda Eden Photography

{2012 Arizona Blogger Conference - It's Almost Here!}

For those of you who haven't purchased a ticket to the Arizona Blogger Conference this weekend, I highly suggest you hurry up and do it! Our tickets are almost sold out. Below are the awesome attractions and activities you have to look forward to if you're attending, which I stole off of the Phoenix Style Collective Blog. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

-Savante Salon will be doing mini salon services

-The Coffee Chop will be serving one of a kind espresso and coffee and will be teaching latte art

-The Agency AZ will be teaching fierce blogger pose perfection

-Madewell will be sponsoring a styling station

-Brenda Eden Photography will be making you all look beautiful in a photo booth

-Corona Couture Jewelry will have their finest on display for sale

-Rumble and Spur Jewelry will showcase their unique collection

-The Saguaro Hotel will have a fantastic collection of munchies for you to enjoy (included in your ticket purchase) as well as a cash bar

And don't forget about the amazing presenters who will be sharing their knowledge with us:

-Sarah Rhodes of Arrow + Apple will share tips for taking better blog photos

-Georganne Bryant, owner of Frances Vintage will speak about blogging for a business

-Katie Leavitt from Running on Happiness will talk about a day in the life of a personal style blogger

-Margaree Bigler of Local First AZ is speaking about the importance of supporting local

-Kenny Barrett of Roosevelt Row will talk about getting involved with Roosevelt Row and the downtown community

DON'T FORGET:

-Each ticket purchase includes a goodie bag that is STUFFED with goodies from our awesome sponsors! (Also, don't wait til the last minute, these are first come, first served!)

-Each ticket purchase includes one raffle ticket for some amazing prizes, and there will be extra tickets available for purchase!

-You can stay at the beautiful Saguaro Hotel at a discounted rate using the code: PRBLOG

-Tickets are selling fast, so get yours NOW! We will have a very limited number of tickets at the door for last minute attendees but please don't wait til the last minute to buy your ticket. We want to see you there!

SEE YOU SATURDAY!

With love,

The Phoenix Style Collective

--> PURCHASE TICKETS HERE <--

{Featured: 1100 Magazine - Paradise Valley}

Photo by Brenda Eden Photography

I woke up this morning to a fantastic surprise, me & the rest of the Phoenix Style Collective crew were featured in 1100 Magazine's Paradise Valley edition. If you'd like, check it out - click here! The reporter, Sarah Brue, has a fabulous blog as well if you have a few moments to wander over and say hello.

Happy Tuesday!

{A Thank You}

I'm over at the Phoenix Style Collective blog today, sharing photos from our event & a big thank you to all of our friends and supporters! Go to the post here.

{founders}

{Today's the Day!}

Our launch party is here.

I've consumed enough caffeine in the last 24 hours to give an elephant jitters.

Which doesn't even begin to approach my level of excitement for this new venture!

The Phoenix Style Collective is an organization that was formed with the goal of linking Phoenix's style & fashion community. We're creating a network of creative enthusiasts from artistic fields across the board, stylists, designers, photographers, bloggers and all the fabulous people in between. 

Our founding group consists of Courtney from Phoenix is Haute, who is the queen bee of this endeavor, credited with bring us all together, Chelsea of Tea Talk and her wonderful boyfriend John, Kara of Sunshine Cupcakes, Josh, co-owner of the fantastic local boutique GROWop, and finally, me.

If you can make it out to our event tonight, look forward to the awesome food truck, Luncha Libre, treats & drinks and a fantastic raffle, with gift cards from local boutiques, concert tickets and some other great things! If you can't make it, be sure to follow us on twitter, #PSCLaunch!

Happy Friday, friends! Cheers to new adventures!

{Phoenix Style Collective Launch Party}

I mentioned I'd have more information on this new project soon, and here it is! We're throwing a launch party on Jan. 27, and would love to see everyone come out. Check out more info below, and let me know in the comments if you'll be attending!

{The Phoenix Style Collective}

Some exciting things.

I'm going astray from my usual Friday Links post to announce a fun little project I've been working on,  with the best team anyone could ask for. I'm happy to introduce...the Phoenix Style Collective. 

We're aiming to be the Valley's lead network of the stylish, the style mavens, entrepreneurs, artists, fashion bloggers, design enthusiasts and all around creative people. Our blog is up and running, and we're hosting out first event on January 27. More details to follow, but we want to hear from YOU! Save the date, and of course have a fabulous weekend!