Our Melbourne class was full of some firsts for me, namely hooping in front of a group of strangers and getting interviewed by ABC News. The whole day felt a bit like an out-of-body experience but I’ve learned that when opportunities present themselves, you just have to roll with them, push any fears out of the way and hope for the best.
We’d found out a few days earlier that ABC wanted to film our Melbourne class for a news story on blogging and it was hard to stay tight-lipped about the whole thing — the best part was watching the ladies’ reactions as they streamed in that morning and spotted the crew and cameras!
I’d never done television before and could barely sleep the night before. Finally, I just convinced myself that the best way to handle an interview was to pretend I was chatting with a friend and that was the only thing that really helped. Everything went off without a hitch and it was all over before I could really process it. We raced home that night to eat thai takeout on the couch (how glamorous!)and watch the segment.
We held our Melbourne classes at Lightdrop Studios — the brick walls and hardwood floors made everything feel super intimate and cozy.
The ladies who attend our workshops always have the BEST style, Arienne included!
During class activities, there’s always tons of frantic note taking and it’s fun to see the personal flourishes that make their way out.
Our breaks are mostly filled with one-on-one blog reviews for the attendees who want extra feedback — Kat was an especially busy bee in this class!
Hoop Lovers
As if doing a segment for ABC News wasn’t exciting enough, we had professional hooper Deanne Love give us a lesson in what it takes to become a hoop star! I was slightly intimidated by the whole activity because I’d never hula hooped in my life. I was a total tomboy growing up and too busy building forts and riding bikes to learn the finer techniques of hooping!
Before I knew it, Kat, Gala and I were called into the center of the circle to put on a show! I couldn’t keep that hoop up to save my life but as you can tell from my reaction, I had a blast anyway!
The rest of the girls were waaaay better than us, hooping like old pros!
I loved this activity because it forced all of us to get out of our shells and just roll with the good times. The ladies got to keep their hoops and I am imagining them practicing their moves in living rooms across Australia!
More bonding happened in our Boothalicious photo booth. They even made a video of the day’s debauchery!
Before class, we went a little crazy picking out prizes at Typo. It’s true, Melbourne has some of the best shopping around. I so wanted that mint flip clock!
I took a mini break in the way cool lobby of our venue. It’s definitely inspired me to refinish all the hardwoods in my house but that’s a conversation for another day!
Class Photo
Our class of sparkly-eared hoop stars!
Melbourne Sponsors
Our lunch was sponsored by 99 Designs and hand delivered by Goldilocks Lunchbox. I’m still thinking about how good it all was.
Nothing livens up a room like party horns! Lauren and Kat had a little too much fun with theirs by Hello Happy Day.
These earrings by Najo were a total hit with the ladies. So pretty!
Sacred Self sent along an assortment of scented oils.
These necklaces by Head Full of Feathers are always a hit.
And as you know by now, no class is complete without Crown and Glory ears!
Design and PR Girl provided lip glosses.
It feels a little weird to think that we only launched The Blogcademy a little over a year ago now. All the experiences we’ve had including putting together the curriculum, living out of our suitcases for weeks at a time and meeting women across three continents have changed my life in ways that I could have never imagined when we started this workshop. But the best part by far is watching women walk out of the class with a notebook full of ideas and a group of new friends. I am so amped for next year’s classes!
Sign up for The Blogcademy and join us on our 2014 tour.
Photos by Lakshal Perera.
Makeup by Bernice.
Lauren says: 
Linda 
Serena 
