First ever South West Blog Social hosted by two Exeter students

On June 7th over 70 bloggers and journalists visited Exeter for the South West Blog Social, hosted by Albertine Brandon of DippyWrites and Jodie Dewberry of A La Jode.

It was the first major event of its kind to take place in the South West, and was well received by a number of Exeter’s independent businesses, such as The Real McCoy and Erin Cox, who were keen to make their mark amongst the UK blogging community.

Claudia Meller displayed her colourful handmade kimonos and cover ups at the event.

Erin Cox, owner of Erin Cox Jewellery on Castle Street commented “As an ambitious Exeter based business we are keen to network not only locally, but also on a national level.

“We see blogging as a natural expansion of word of mouth marketing and got involved with this event to further explore the value bloggers can add to our business.”

Maria McCarthy gave a talk on working as a freelance journalist and how to get a book published.

Bloggers attending the event were treated to a makeover station, where they could have their hair, nails and make-up done free of charge, unique BLOG cocktails, which consisted of blackberry, lime, orange and gin, talks from industry experts covering a range of topics, including how to work as a freelance journalist and get a book published, and goody bags worth over £100.

Some of the contents of the goody bags given to each blogger.

Main sponsors of the event, Yves Rocher, provided four products for the goody bags and a backdrop for bloggers to have their photo taken in front of.

They are also hosting a competition for all bloggers attending where they could win over £200 worth of products if their review of the Yves Rocher products provided is chosen.

Bloggers were able to sign their names on a board to doccument who attended the event.

Jodie, blogger at A La Jode and one of the event organisers said “There are always big blogger events in London so we thought we would take the action outside of the capital!

“The event was a fantastic networking opportunity for bloggers and local businesses alike.

“We worked hard not only to make sure that the event was as much fun as possible – but also to give it a real South West flavour.”

Organisers of the event, Jodie and Albertine

Image Credits: Adi Tanase