What a stressful few weeks it's been! Luckily I get this week off from school, so I have some time to breathe and enjoy the holidays.
If you look at my recent Instagram posts, you'll see that I was lucky enough to attend a meetup at the Polyvore headquarters in Mountain View on November 14th! The staff was so kind and helpful, and I had so much fun hanging out with other members and seeing everything that went on behind my favorite website. Even though I only started up my inspirene account in 2013, it feels like forever that I've been piecing together outfits. I recently hit a thousand followers, so I think my eye for style has definitely improved from when I made my first few sets.
The morning of the fourteenth was nerve-wracking to say the least. Aside from being crazy nervous (excitement and anxiety always go hand-in-hand, unfortunately), I was also running slightly late. Traffic and problems with directions didn't help much, either (props to my mom for saving us). When I finally managed to arrive at the office, I was sure I had missed something.
"Nope!" the lovely lady standing outside the door said, handing me my nametag. "You're right on time."
Agh, what a relief. As soon as I walked in, I met two staff members named Chrystal and Nadia. Chrystal had helped me with a little mix-up I had with the RSVP, and Nadia was a face I knew from Polyvore's Instagram during New York Fashion Week. They were both so friendly, and I felt my anxiety disappear. I picked out a donut from the breakfast bar and sat down. While I waited for the Q&A session to begin, I studied the room around me. There were sets hanging on the walls, a charging station (bless), and lots of plants!
At 10:00, the Q&A began. Jess, the awesome bacon-loving CEO of Polyvore introduced herself and told us the story of how Polyvore came to be. Later on, the product & design team members shared some information from their sector.
A little after 11, a panel discussion began. I listened to some amazing stories from four people working with Polyvore, TheRealReal, Modcloth, and Brit & Co. It was great to hear from them about their everyday life and their journey into the fashion world. We received some great advice from each of them on how to build your career in fashion and design (Intern. Intern. INTERN.) and I became so inspired by their stories of success to work hard to achieve what I wanted. It sounds cheesy, but you should never lose sight of your dreams.
Next was lunch! We walked outside to find the Mobowl food truck waiting for us. Yum! There we received cute little headbands from Shopbracket topped with the words Polyvore Meetup. Glasswing Floral had provided us with beautiful bouquets of flowers that adorned the tables. While we ate, I got to know some of the members, and later another Polyvore staff member who joined us at the table. We talked about how long we had been on the website and who our favorite bloggers, members, and brands were. (PS: Mobowl chicken, fries, and rice? Highly recommended.)
After lunch we returned inside for activity time. Around here I hung out with my new friends, Sierra from sisistyle, Hollie from thewovenwolf, and Macy from fashionistatothemax. We had so much fun chatting, taking pictures at the photobooth, making custom tees, and getting makeovers from the BareMinerals crew that had turned up.
At around 1:30, I went with a group of members to try out a cool new thing that Polyvore has in store. I can't say much, but I can definitely say it's going to be awesome. So be on the lookout!
Before we walked in, I managed to get a good look around the Polyvore office, aka the coolest office ever. There was so much technology, windows, and space! Everything felt so open, and the atmosphere was very calm and relaxed while still having a business-like air to it. There were even two little puppies two members of the staff had brought in named Waffles and Chai! No cats though... :(
Once I got back to the main room, I started playing around with the iPad app and even published some sets. It was so versatile and easy to use that it made me want to get an iPad to create sets easily on the go! *gets out Christmas list* Dear Santa...
At 3:00, it was time for Polyvore Member Success Stories with members Leanne (houseofhauteness), Bri (ruibri), and Rebekah (regallyblonde). This was probably my favorite; hearing the stories of where these bloggers started and their journey to where they were now. It was amazing to see in person how hard work and determination really does pay off, and it gave me hope that I really could achieve what I wanted and do what I loved best. Like I said, never give up!
After this it was Happy Hour, which sadly meant it was close to saying goodbye. There was a hot cocoa bar and CREAM ice cream showed up to serve us some yummy ice cream cookie sandwiches. There was a little game of icebreaker Bingo. My friend Sisi won (yay!) and received a beautiful red bag which she totallydidnotbutalmostcompletelydid cry over. Each of us received a tote bag filled with fantastic goodies donated by some amazing stores, including a pair of Frends headphones which I haven't taken off since. While the remaining people drifted around, I talked a bit with Nadia and later with Chrystal. Nadia offered some helpful tips on developing my blog and career and Chrystal gave me some great advice on dealing with school.
I'm still at a very young age of only 15 years old, so I know I have a long road stretching ahead of me...which also means I have a lot to learn. It's because of this that I feel so lucky that I got to go to such an amazing event and that everyone was so eager to talk to me and give me advice.
I leave you with a list of the awesome members with whom I shared this great experience with.
Stay awesome, blossoms!
-Irene xx
| Name | Polyvore username |
| Adyam | strangeviolet |
| Aimee | aimeerancer |
| Barbara | barbmama |
| Berenice M | beautifullylovely |
| Bernadet | bernadet-d |
| Brandy | willbakeforshoes |
| Bri | ruibri |
| Bridgett | b-rex |
| Caitlyn | caitlyn |
| Catherine | cat-1-1994 |
| Charity | thebargaintrendsetter |
| Cherie | cherieaustin |
| Cheyanne | chey-love |
| Christina L | arainymelody |
| Christina N | littlehamst3r |
| Chrystal | chrystal |
| Faith | faythnowell |
| Harjot | istylista |
| Heather | heather_scouff |
| Hollie | thewovenwolf |
| Irene | inspirene |
| Jackie | ducktape |
| Jessica | teamwiking |
| Jessica | Jbarajas |
| Karen | gemique |
| Kathleen | ajiyfun |
| Kelsey | ringsandredwood |
| Kimberly | onetallgirl |
| Leanne | houseofhauteness |
| Lisa K | lisajean1957 |
| Macy | fashionistatothemax |
| Margaret | margaretebooth |
| Marla | mar-jo |
| Melissa | Melsanv |
| Mirary | mirary |
| Nadia | nadia |
| Nancy | Nmponder |
| Nicole | stylistnikilips |
| Poornima | poornimakonsam |
| Rebekah | regallyblonde |
| Sandy | snaddee |
| Sisi | sisistyle |
| Traniecieya | traunicorn |
| Veronica | strawberrybubble |
| Virbeen | virbeen |
| Wendy | clothes-wise |
| Yvonne | yvonnewarren |
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