Hey, Creatives! Here's What to Expect at Our Making It With Madewell Summit
Photo: Smith House Photography
Calling all artists, creators, dreamers, and makers, we’re teaming up with Madewell on August 15th for our Making It With Madewell Digital Summit. Join us for a super fun afternoon of biz-focused chats, workshops, and studio tours devoted to championing creatives, including artists, small business owners, and Madewell’s own Hometown Heroes.
We’ll be joined by the likes of Blair Armstrong, founder of Gilded, Steffi Lynn Tsai, artist and founder of Have a Nice Day, Danielle Nagel, designer and founder of Dazey L.A., and more makers who will be chatting about the challenges of scaling a biz built on handmade goods, the ever-evolving small business e-comm landscape, and so much more!
Experts from Planoly and Squarespace will be hosting workshops on how to make the most of all their latest tools and resources. Plus, we'll have a community Slack channel where you will have the opportunity to network with fellow creators, artists, and designers all day long! Who knows, you might meet your next business partner!
Last, but certainly not least, Emmy-nominated actress, comedian, and producer Yvonne Orji will take to the virtual stage to chat with C&C founder and CEO Jaclyn Johnson about how she pushed fear aside to follow her creativity, what her creative process looks like, and how she feeds and nurtures her creativity to build a life of passion and purpose.
Scroll on for all the deets, and if you haven’t already, be sure to RSVP for free (yes, you read that correctly, FREE!) ASAP!
THE DATE
Saturday, August 15th, 2020
TUNE IN FROM HOME
First things first! On Saturday, August 15th, you’ll receive an email with the link to access the exclusive Making It With Madewell site. Please note: All content will go live on Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), including the launch of the exclusive Making It With Madewell site. To find out what time a session is happening in your time zone, use this handy time zone converter.
Making It With Madewell is made up of pre-recorded video sessions hosted via Vimeo and live video sessions streaming via Zoom. We recommend that you have a strong WiFi connection and update to the latest version of Zoom for the best experience. Making It With Madwell is optimized for desktop, so it is best viewed via a computer or laptop, rather than a tablet or phone.
While the live content is specifically designed to be watched in real-time, you’ll be able to access and view it until Friday, August 21st at 5 pm PDT (Insiders, you have all-access even after the cutoff via your C&C Insiders dashboard!). You’ll be able to RSVP up until August 19th at 12 pm PDT.
THE SCHEDULE
Making It With Madewell is built just like our in-person conferences, which, of course, you all know and love. We have a stacked schedule with an A-list line-up of speakers so we suggest taking notes along the way.
Want the full lineup? Check out the play-by-play schedule to map out your big day. Please note, all times are listed in PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) and EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). To find out what time a session is happening in your time zone, use this time zone converter.
It’s going to be HUGE so we recommend getting a head start on planning out your day now.
THINGS TO PREP AHEAD OF TIME
Here are a few things to prep before the big day so it goes off without a hitch:
Make sure you have a strong WiFi connection.
Install Zoom on your desktop computer or laptop and test it out.
Zoom tips:
Find a quiet place to tune in. Try to situate yourself in a small room that does not have an echo.
Try and stay away from noisy electronics and silence your cell phone and computer notifications for an optimal experience.
When possible, limit your internet connection to solely the device you’re using for the Zoom conference.
Set your phone to airplane mode, pause your television connection, ask others in your home to pause anything that may require a strong internet connection, etc.
Update to the latest version of Zoom for the best experience
Be sure to download the workshop assets so you can follow along with the expert in real-time. Note: Your exclusive workshop downloads will be available starting Saturday, August 15th via the exclusive Making It With Madewell site.
In the gamified workshop From Telling to Selling: How to Grow Your Brand Online Presented by Squarespace, with Brittany Antoinette, founder of The Idea Girl, your Internet knowledge will be put to the test using the best e-commerce/online practices.
As viewers follow along on this live website audit, they'll be graded on a scoring system where they'll receive points for each practice already implemented.
You’ll leave this workshop more knowledgeable and confident on how to amplify your online presence and convert site visitors into diehard customers.
In the interactive workshop Maker Toolkit: If You Build It They Will Come, Instagram Planning 101 Presented by PLANOLY, co-founder and CCO Brandy Pham will teach you how to utilize storytelling on Instagram to break through the clutter and turn your followers into customers.
Follow along using a worksheet (which will be available to download on the day-of site on August 15th) to brainstorm storytelling techniques, content that drives engagement and sales, and learn planning best practices from the woman who pioneered visual planning on Instagram.
You’ll leave this workshop with a better understanding of how to best position your social media through storytelling by creating captivating stories that are driven with intention along with a clear path to making sure your content stands out.
Join the Mentor Power Hour Slack channel and peruse the list of mentors who will be answering questions in real-time in hour-long Zoom webinars and choose your mentor(s).
We have experts in everything from creating engaging content to growing a dedicated following on social media.
If there’s more than one mentor you want advice from, don’t worry! You can hop from session to session over the course of the hour if you’d like.
Don’t forget to jot down any questions you have for the mentor sessions ahead of time! You’ll be able to ask your Qs in real-time by typing them into Zoom’s Q&A feature.
GET SOCIAL
Stay tuned for exciting announcements and updates by following along on our social at @createcultivate. Don’t forget to tag @createcultivate and @madewell and use the hashtag #MakingItWithMadewell for the chance to be featured in our Instagram Stories throughout the day! (Psst… Search “Create Cultivate” on Instagram to use our custom GIFs.)
NETWORK
Networking is a huge part of our event and our C&C Making It With Madewell Attendees Slack Workspace is a great place to mix and mingle with your fellow Create & Cultivators before, during, and after the big day. We’ve created channels for every workshop and panel, as well as channels for international attendees, networking, and more!
Attendees will receive a link to access our Create & Cultivate Making It With Madewell Attendees Slack Workspace in our What to Expect newsletter on Wednesday, August 12th. This Slack channel will remain accessible until Friday, 21st at 12 pm PDT. Not familiar with Slack? Here are a few tips to get you started:
Download the Slack app to your phone, computer, or both
Complete your account profile with a profile photo, your name, and what you do
Public conversations will happen in the channels (ex: #networking) and are located on the left-hand side of the app. You can also start direct messages with others in the Slack workspace
Hit send too early on a message? Slack has an edit feature! Click the three-dot icon located on the right side of the message to open the drop-down of message options
We’re all about GIFs at C&C! Here are instructions on how to integrate GIPHY into your Slack account.
Our Slack workspace is a busy, happening place on the day of the event. Streamline the notifications you receive by using the “mute” feature on channels that don’t pertain to you. To mute a channel, simply open up that channel, click the three-dot icon labeled “more,” and select the mute option
Most importantly, be kind and respectful of others. If you don’t follow this rule, you will be removed from the Slack group
If you have any questions on the day of the event about navigating the schedule, accessing the workshop downloads, or anything else, you can drop them into the customer service channel in Slack.
C&C INSIDERS’ PERKS
Our Insiders get a ton of perks at all our events—and Making It With Madewell is no exception. As an Insider, you’ll have access to all of the workshops, mentor sessions, panels, and keynotes via your C&C Insiders dashboard. This content will be uploaded by August 24th, 2020. Not an insider yet? Well, don’t miss out—you can sign up here.
VIRTUAL GIFT BAGS
We know you want ‘em! Complete our post-event survey to receive an email packed with promo codes from some of your favorite brands, including Madewell, Planoly, Dazey LA, Schmidt’s Naturals, BYCHARI, Have a Nice Day, Teressa Foglia, Sunwoven, and more. You’ll receive the survey in your inbox on August 21st, 2020.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES?
Live chat with a C&C specialist on CreateCultivate.com. You’ll see a “Chat With Us” pop-up in the bottom right corner of your screen.
WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU ONLINE! Who are you most excited to hear speak? Which workshop are you looking forward to most? Tell us in the comments below!