Blogshop Austin - Good, Not Great

So, you've heard of Blogshop, right? A photoshop for bloggers class/workshop run by Bri Emery (of designlovefest and Angela Kohler (of Angela+Ithyle) that travels city to city spreading the love of design, editing, and blogging? I saw all the pictures and videos they'd posted of their other classes, and I so badly wanted to go to there - and this past weekend, I did, in Austin. This is my opinion, my side, my personal views. I'm kind of hesitant to post this at all, because who likes being the odd man out with the single opposing voice? But maybe this will help someone else like me, or, at least, make myself feel better that this is out there somewhere.

Now, before I go on, I want to preface everything with the fact that I've spent the last two days really coming to terms with my experience: my expectations going in, what I actually learned, how it went down, etc. And bearing in mind that I'm NOT the world's most cynical person, and that I HAVE been amazed and awed and wowed, and, while I don't wear or display on my personage that which may be deemed adorable and cute, I LOVE THAT KIND OF STUFF.

Okay. So now that you know those things about me, here's my experience oversimplified and blunt - it wasn't how I thought it would be.

Yeah, I know that I misspelled "balloons," but I'm too lazy to fix it. So. BALLONS.

The first day felt rushed, disorganized, and underprepared. What do I mean? Here are my (PERSONAL) gripes:

• Angela didn't show up until halfway through the day, and so Bri seemed to be a little discombobulated and distracted, wondering when she'd get there,
• the special touches that they always take pictures of and post on their blogs and twitter weren't all ready or displayed,
• the individual lessons flew by and (for me, at least) moved on too quickly,
• lunch (one side of an open-faced panini sandwich and a salad, though ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and LOVELY) was not enough,
• it was recommended that we bring a mouse or tablet, and the space was not unforgiving, yet some tables had 4-5 girls crammed together,
• and the goodie/gift bags were...unimpressive and (some, including mine) were missing an item

I mean, I understand that they have to travel, too, and time IS limited, being that the class is only two days. But...I'm not over exaggerating when I say that I left the first day unhappy and feeling a little gypped.

The second day was A WHOLE LOT BETTER. It still didn't reach the heights of giddy exclamations from me, but everything just improved by a ton.

• There was a lot more food for lunch (which already is a huge plus because it kept me from being cranky and hungry, not to mention that it was also very good - small banh mi sandwiches with a slaw-like salad and fried wonton chips)
• The small little decorations were up and artfully placed, making the ambiance nicer and more like the pictures people love to tweet and blog about
• Having Angela there for the whole class seemed to help balance things out - she and Bri kept each other in check when one was going too fast or leaving something out of the lesson
• There was also a precious little table set up full of treats and yummies provided by Bake Sale Austin (SO GOOD, btw. Especially those carrot cake cookies! My only complaint here was that they set it up so early that it was just sitting there, taunting us - can you tell that keeping me well-fed is an important part of my mood?)

These may not sound like big deals to you, but it all made a WORLD of a difference. I still didn't feel like I connected with either Bri or Angela on any level, even though I tried talking to both during our little breaks, but that may just be me. And I'm sure it's hard to get super personal with every single person in every single class in every single city. So, though that made me a little sad, it's not a huge issue for me.

Listen, the space was cute, the local vendors they used were delightful, the food was yummos (albeit, I could have done with some snacks or something - it's exhausting sitting in a room learning new stuff all day and not having anything to eat!), and I LEARNED A SHIT TON. Like, I'm not knocking what they taught at all. In that respect, I'm super glad I took the class, and the (almost) step-by-step guide to each lesson that they handed out was incredibly helpful and probably my most prized possession from that class. It's good stuff. And, handled differently, it would probably be worth the $772.71 (I know, wtf who am I, right?) that I spent to sign up for the class.

My problems were with the overall experience, the takeaway 'memories' that I'll always have with me - the fact that some of it felt impersonal, insincere, and half-assed; the fact that sometimes it felt like they were more interested in taking cute pictures of each other and of the space for their own purposes than making it cute and fun for the people actually in the class; the fact that their INTERNS seemed to be more alert to questions and helping than they were; the fact that the first day was kind of a mess; the fact that I just don't get ALL of the enthusiasm and hype before and afterwards. Did I not take the same class as you people? Was I somewhere else? Did I miss something? Is it because I'm not hipster/eclectic/cutesy/weird/cool enough to get it?

I don't know if posting this will make me sound idiotic and ranty and maybe get me blacklisted with all the fancy big time bloggers or something, especially since I'm a nobody in the blogging world, but I needed to write it out and say my piece, in an honest and forthright manner. I don't want people to think that this class isn't worth it - it might be an incredible experience for you. They teach a lot and aren't stingy with the information that they share. If you travel to a different location, that in itself may make it worth it. I definitely learned things that I wouldn't have been able to on my own (due to laziness and just a general lack of technology savviness), and for that, I'm grateful. I also made a new friend from Dallas, and getting introduced to a good person that you get along with and genuinely like is always priceless.

Bri and Angela are good at what they do. I still admire and enjoy all of Bri's work, and I think Angela is a fantastic photographer with a good eye. Together as a team, I like what they produce. And if they were to ever sell something else, I'm not above buying it and trying them out again; that's how much I like what I see of their stuff online. But I would go into it with lower expectations, knowing that they aren't really there to make friends with everyone, and that sometimes pictures with pretty filters and doodles make things look better than they really are. Which seems to be a good life lesson in and of itself, right?