It came! It happened! It went! Our third annual Yellow Conference flew by — a whirlwind of honest talks from incredible speakers, the launch of The Yellow Collective, and a deeper realization that we all possess Grit, Valor and Heart in unique ways. It was seriously amazing, and just makes us more and more excited to see what’s ahead in the years to come!
Droves of creative women were welcomed into our Arts District venue by our in-credible Yellow volunteers! They’re what make things really happen, and we couldn’t do a thing without their support.
Each attendee received a nifty name tag, conference program, and a print-out guiding her through different art installations designed and created by our friends, the insanely talented The Shift Creative. Each piece represented one aspect of this year’s theme: “GRIT. VALOR. HEART.” Once each person made it through the art walk, they were given a goodie bag full of do-good products and snacks to enjoy!
The bags featured so many wonderful things, like a ‘Chase What Sets Your Soul On Fire” journal from Break Down Walls HQ, toothpaste and eco-friendly toothbrush from Hello and Humble Brush, a yoga kit from Saje, a ‘Create’ mug from The Created Co, perfume from THX, and many, many other delightful products. Not to mention, we had SO many awesome samples — from Thrive cooking oil to COOLA cucumber moisturizer.
Everyone enjoyed striking a few poses in the photo booth (with the most amazing decorations and florals provided by The Dainty Lion Floral Co. and The Shift Creative). Everything those two brands create is GOLD. Everyone enjoyed some Kind Bars and Alkaline H20 from Generosity Water before settling into their seats and taking in the richness of the wonderful Yellow creative community.
The Conference officially opened with a dance flash mob to Alessia Cara’s “Wild Things,” right before our lovely emcee and spoken word artist extraordinaire, Arielle Estoria, took the stage to announce all the spectacular humans we got to hear from over the next 48 hours: Alexis Jones (activist), CJ Casciotta (founder of Sounds Like a Movement), Elle Luna (designer, painter & writer), Jessica Ekstrom (CEO of Headbands of Hope), Jessica Hische (letterer, illustrator and type designer), Jedidiah Jenkins (travel writer and Executive Editor of Wilderness Magazine), Kirsten Dickerson (CEO of Raven + Lilly), Krysta Masciale (CEO of Big Deal Branding) and Tim Harris (founder of Tim’s Big Heart Foundation). Can you even imagine a more powerhouse line-up? We even got to hear a heart-stirring spoken word from Arielle herself, accompanied by interpretive dance choreographed by Gigi Torres.
In the midst of all the excitement and truth-sharing, ultimately, women connected with and encouraged one another toward their dreams, and built new friendships that will ignite world-changing collaboration. And that’s our dream: that everyone who set foot into the Yellow Conference 2016 will feel the call to action to do creative things together that bring good to this weary world.
AND, amidst all this, we finally launched our brand new membership platform: The Yellow Collective! Our way of keeping the goodness from the conference going all year long, becoming a Collective member means receiving a quarterly box, digital resources and a creative community in your local city! Go check it out RIGHT NOW and become a Collective lady – you won’t want to miss this amazing opportunity for connection and creativity.
Whether you were in attendance of the conference or not, this year’s theme of “GRIT. VALOR. HEART.” means BIG things. To keep moving forward, you must learn GRIT— to get up and keep trying, even when you fall flat on your face. Once you get up, you need to practice VALOR – honorable bravery; it’s fighting for goodness in the world, and using your voice for those without one. And finally, HEART. You demonstrate GRIT and VALOR, but Heart has to do with your intentions and integrity – living with truth, love and genuine compassion. You need all three to thrive, and that’s what we wanted everyone to know this year.
Check out the amazing posts from our #yellow2016 hashtag and tell us- what was it about Yellow 2016 that inspired you?
Tell us in the comments below! We’d love to hear your thoughts!
