meeting "mrs design*spong" (i.e. grace bonney)

A few weeks ago I mentioned the design*sponge (d*s) meet & greet I planned to attend while I was in Portland. I was a tad nervous as to what it would entail and what I was dragging my sweet friend, Bethany, along to. It turns out that my nerves were unneeded because it was a fun, relaxing, and inspiring event that felt a lot like stepping right into a blog. Fun! After dodging the paparazzi and waiting in line, I had the privilege of meeting and chatting with Grace Bonney—creator of d*s! (or "Mrs. Design Sponge"—as she is called at home) In Bethany's words, "She was so down-to-earth!" Having a casual designer-to-editor chat reminded me that she is just another gal inspired by communicating through beautiful and interesting things. (Later on we were reminded by another attendee that, "She is pretty much a BIG DEAL." That made us feel like celebrity stalkers again.) The event took place at Alder & Co. which is basically a blog with a storefront. The owner was kind enough to let me snap some shots and here is a little taste of the evening.

All in all, I was re-inspired to design what I love and try new ideas because that is exactly what Grace did when her husband suggested she start a design blog. Six years later, d*s is considered the number one blog for up-and-coming design. I guess that's why it's "...pretty much a BIG DEAL."

:)

Thanks for the encouragement, Grace!

Thank you for hanging in there with your designer friend, Bethany!