Beauty conference inspires young professional

Fashion blogger conference shares tips and tricks

Victoria Stacey attends second annual Spark Sessions held at District 28 in Toronto. Photo Courtesy of Victoria Stacey.
Victoria Stacey attends second annual Spark Sessions held at District 28 in Toronto.

Victoria Stacey attends second annual Spark Sessions held at District 28 in Toronto.

Spark Sessions, Toronto’s first fashion and beauty blogger conference returned to Toronto this weekend, adding more creativity, blogging, education and hands-on workshops to their annual two-day conference.

On Nov. 15 and 16 at District 28, attendees were presented with insight into networking and how to create a quality online blog and website from some of the industry’s best bloggers, PR speakers and television personalities. The workshops included a blogger speed-dating program, which gave young professionals the chance to pitch their own ideas.

Marissa Anwar, the founder of Spark Sessions, described the conference as a bridge between the brand and blogger and opportunity to let someone create their own image with a little help from professionals.

“We have about 34 brands working with us this year, and we felt that this was a very good opportunity for us to elevate the skill level, and to create a digital workshop for people to create content in Canada that is up to par with everyone else,” Anwar said.

Victoria Stacey, a University of Waterloo Arts and Business student, attended the conference, and found the dynamic between guest speakers and new workshops thoroughly insightful.

“This year there was a lot more interaction between the speakers and the audience. Networking is the key to this type of business, and I was able to talk one-on-one with almost everyone,” Stacey said. “The smaller workshops were really helpful because it’s easier to speak to the one person you’re interested in speaking too.”

Stacey, who is the founder and CEO of her own magazine Passion8, has been involved in the digital media world since her second year of university. Ever since the early days of Passion8 in 2012, she has reached out to other brands and made connections with other online bloggers who have been more than happy to help.

“Even if you don’t have any interest in writing or blogging, it’s an event for people to learn how the professional world works, and what it takes to make those connections with people,” she said. “I’ve met some incredible people who will help me pursue my dreams.”

Anwar says that Spark Sessions will continue to grow over the next few years, and she expects more to join the 250 bloggers who participated in this year’s conference.

“To have the amount of talent under one roof is incredible and shows that people are passionate about their work and want to share their experiences and knowledge,” Stacey said. “Next year we can expect bigger and better things.”

About this article

By: Samantha Bridges
Copy editor: Beth Jarrell
Posted: Nov 18 2014 12:09 pm
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