The Entrepreneurial Woman

Me and Melinda Emerson at Reinvention Weekend

As Gigee Marie continues to grow, I always try to attend various events/seminars/workshops in which I can take valuable information and apply to the business (there's so much more to this operation than just creating pretty clutches!). Recently, I attended two great workshops -- American Express/Tory Burch Foundation Mentoring Event, and Melinda Emerson's Reinvention Weekend. The first event was a partnership between American Express' Open for Women: CEO BootCamp and the Tory Burch Foundation, specifically targeting women entrepreneurs. The event started off with a discussion with Tory Burch and then broke out into smaller discussions with mentors across various industries. There were over 25 mentors, including Tory Johnson (you probably recognize her from the "Deals and Steals" segment on Good Morning America), Alexis Maybank (Founder and Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, Gilt Groupe), and Moira Forbes from Forbes Woman.

The second event I attended was called Reinvention Weekend, hosted by the Small Biz Lady, Melinda Emerson. It targeted small business owners and gave great insight into areas such as social media, website functionality, creating valuable content, and financing your business. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Melinda at both events...that woman is EVERYTHING! Lol. She is full of personality and she's a straight shooter when it comes to telling you what you need to do to make your business successful. I wasn't able to take a bunch of pictures, but here are a few from the two events:

A little blurry, but that's Tory Burch speaking about being a woman entrepreneur

Me and Melinda Emerson at the American Express/Tory Burch event

Are you an entrepreneur? Tell me about your small biz journey!

Urban Chic Boutique Trunk Show

Gigee Marie + Urban Chic Boutique

I was recently invited by Urban Chic Boutique -- a fab boutique with locations in both the Georgetown area of DC and in Baltimore -- to be part of one of their local designer trunk shows. The trunk show was a great fit for Gigee Marie clutches because both Gigee Marie and Urban Chic share very similar qualities -- contemporary pieces that are both simple yet stylish, and can easily be transitioned from day to night. Here are a few pics from the trunk show:

Posing with the fab Larissa and Fendy, sporting their Gigee Marie clutches

Gigee Marie Fall clutches

Gotta have a pre-event shameless selfie, lol

What are some of your favorite boutiques in your city?

Event Recap: Fashion Law Week [with a side of Louboutin]

Fashion Law Week is an annual event that was created by Howard University's Law School students, aimed at addressing legal issues in the fashion industry. This year's theme was Intelligent Design: Protecting the Luxury Brand.

I had the pleasure of attending the keynote presentation, given by Harley Lewin, an Intellectual Property lawyer known around the world for his IP protection work, specifically in the luxury apparel industry. Mr. Lewin is most recently known for winning the most significant IP case in the world in the past 10 years -- Louboutin vs. Yves St. Laurent. Some of his other clients include Diane von Furstenberg, Cartier, Alexander Wang, Dior, and Givenchy.

Although the presentation was geared to an audience of legal professionals, there were several good key takeaways that I thought could be applicable to entrepreneurs.

Photo Credit: InStyle

 

Event Recap: Crystal Couture

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of participating in the 5th Annual Crystal Couture event, a five-day fashion show and trunk show that takes place in the Crystal City section of Arlington, Virginia, just outside of DC. Produced by the talented fashion event planner Maggy Francois and her team, nearly 70 boutiques, fashion and beauty brands, designers, stylists, and makeup artists gathered into what felt like a fab fashion warehouse. Attendees were able to watch runway shows as they shopped, sipped, and enjoyed free makeovers. Hosts of the event included radio personalities Sunni and Guy Lambert from WPGC 95.5, and Sarah Fraiser from Hot 99.5, as well as Miss DC 2011, Ashley Boalch. I met some really cool people, including a few Twitter and Instagram followers :-)

 

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take many pictures (plus, the lighting was horrible when using my iPhone camera...I think it's about time I invest in a real camera), but here are a few that I did take, plus a few photos courtesy of Mud Productions (go to their site and you can see Crystal Couture pics from the entire week).

November Event Recap

I try to do "pop-up shop" - type events once every 1-2 months. November was a pretty busy month because I had 3 events to do (which I'm not complaining AT ALL lol). I love doing events because it gives me face time with current customers, and it gives me a chance to introduce the brand in person to people who may not have heard of Gigee Marie. Here is a quick recap of the November events that we participated in:

Get Fashion
Get Fashion was an event presented by No Kings Collective (an arts and culture group composed of working artist and designers) and KOLTON.J (an eco-vintage jewelry line), showcasing local DC designers and filled with art, live music, and good food. It was sponsored by Tweli, Red Bull, Honest Tea, H & Pizza, Twice as Warm, and Car2Go. It was a fun time, as I got to hang out with my girls Veronica of eeCuffs and Corrine of Carnelian Boutique (check out their sites and #SupportSmallBiz!)

Me and Veronica of eeCuffs
Photo credit: Jason Dixson/Brightest Young Things


Dew Drop Glitter Glam Swap & Shop
The team at Dew Drop invited me and several other fashion and beauty brands to participate in their Glitter Glam Swap & Shop. Dew Drop is known in the DC area for their clothing swap events, drawing a larger crowd each time. The event also benefitted Goodwill of Greater Washington.

Swap and Shops are a great idea for getting rid of old clothes [that are in good condition] and actually getting something "new" in return. It's a fun "girl's night" idea too. In addition to the swap, vendors, cupcakes, and cocktails, they also had a mini fashion show where bloggers created an outfit using pieces from the swap and from the vendors. Waverly of Pich and Roor rocked our Jade clutch with her ensemble for the fashion show. Also, check out the interview that Dew Drop did on me to promote their Swap & Shop.




Me and Veronica of eeCuffs
Photo credit: Capital Style



The lovely blogger models Waverly, Meagan, and Naja

 

 

Pop-Up Beauty Lounge

Pop-Up Beauty Lounge was an event organized by Red Sprinkle and Square Root Group, which brought together fashion designers, makeup artists, boutique owners, bloggers, and media for a night of fashion and beauty (duh, right?! lol). The event was held at the La Petite Marmoset show room room and was hosted by bloggers Nife of Skinny Hipster and Naja Diamond of From Combat Boots to Stilettos. They had a mini fashion show and quick holiday hair tutorials from Seven and Company. A portion of all proceeds will go to benefit Red Sprinkle's Fashion Camp. Special thanks to my girl (and fellow Terp!) Aminata of Square Root Group for inviting me to be part of this event. 





Aminata of the Square Root Group and Nife of Skinny Hipster

Ashley rocking the Gigee Marie Camo Clutch

Veronica of eeCuffs (clearly my partner in crime at these events lol) and me
Photo credit: La Petite Marmoset

 

 

 

 

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