Winter Scottish Blogger Event Roundup

There is so much more to blogging than attending fancy fashion events, being showered with goodie bags and glugging champagne with fellow 'influencers'. In fact, this blog post by Alice from Twenty-Something City nails the often glamourous misconceptions about being a blogger that are accompanied by shit tons of hard work that goes on behind the scenes. However, I'm not going to lie and say that blogger and brand events aren't a huge perk of the job, and winter is definitely a jam-packed time, so I thought I'd do a roundup here of my favourite happenings attended over the last few months for anyone curious!

First off, I got myself a ticket to the inaugural Scottish Bloggers Collective event. This new group, assembled by bloggers Gillian from Elevator Musik and Briony from Glasgow Food Co, ran their first workshop at Eteaket in Edinburgh. It focussed on working with brands and so involved a Q&A with Laura from fashion, beauty and lifestyle PR company Leopold and Frida. We also had a mini cocktail masterclass and delicious pizza from Dough!

In October, I enjoyed the launch event and conference evening for We Mean Business, a Facebook group for female creative entrepreneurs based in Scotland. Taking place at Dear Green coffee roasters in Glasgow, this involved networking with fellow #girlbosses over Bon Accord drinks and Tuk Tuk Indian Street Food, a panel discussion featuring Nikki McWilliams, Kate Clifford, Becky White and Lisa Lawson; and a brilliant SEO workshop by Briony Cullen.

Other great events I attended that month included a floristry workshop by Bloom and Wild and Nicky Tibbles at the G&V Royal Mile hotel, the launch of Sue Thomas' new book Fashion Ethics at Blackwell's Bookshop, and finally, a visit to Handmade Edinburgh, a luxury craft fair at The Hub featuring Scotish designers and makers like Collingwood Norris, Araminta Campbell, and several residents of Coburg House.

November was another busy month for blogger events, kicking off with a dinner at Tigerlily Edinburgh hosted by Salon Success, the hair salon brand group that represents cruelty-free British hairdressing products by the legendary Paul Mitchell. This intimate festive meal with some fabulous fellow bloggers was a great chance to learn more about all the new products that Salon Success has on offer, and take them home to try; my favourite so far is the Gemlites shampoo which his perfect for bleach blonde hair!

Other special events included the launch of the new Odeon Luxe cinema at Edinburgh West which also acted as the Scottish premiere of Murder on The Orient Express. Jack and I also attended Bongo's Bingo at Glasgow's SWG3, a spectacular- and hilarious- rave meets bingo night featuring giant conga lines, rave music, cash prizes and lots of Buckfast. Glasgow also saw the launch of the brand new Monki store in the Buchanan Galleries, featuring the fabulous Forever Yours Betty. If you haven't been to the new Monki yet (Scotland's first flagship store!) the get down ASAP because the affordable selection of on-trend fashion is not to be missed.

There were also some fab local and ethical fashion events in November, including the Scotland Redesigned Runway and awards show, a talk on sustainable style by Lynn Wilson at the National Museum of Scotland, and a screening of True Cost at the Glasgow School of Art with a panel discussion that I featured on alongside Niki Taylor of Fashion Revolution. Finally, last night, I took part in another brilliant Scottish Bloggers Collective event; a photography workshop by Ellie Morag who taught us all the technical basics as well as an interactive how-to on creating the perfect flatlay.

For the rest of December, there are still loads of events I'm looking forward to, and I'm eager to fit as much as I can in amongst the busy Christmas season! The highlights include the festive launch of Skinnydip London's brand new collaboration with Starbucks tonight (basic bitch heaven am I right?), as well as two fabulous events at Leith's centre for design and making, Custom Lane.

Custom Lane is hosting 'Just Shapes', an exhibition of work by minimalist, geometric genius of jewellery and art Tom Pigeon, as well as the highly anticipated Kestin Hare Christmas Market featuring Scottish fashion brands like Jennifer Kent, La Fetiche and Shapes of Things, as well as, of course, Scottish menswear designer extraordinaire Kestin Hare.

So, it has been a very busy few months for the blog; I wish I could have dedicated a blog post to each and every event, but unfortunately, my two (!!) jobs and university course have got majorly in the way! Judging by this past year, I already can't wait to see what 2018 brings to Urbanity! Thank you to all the brands mentioned in this post for your excellent hosting!

Ruth @ Urbanity xxx

lifestyleRuth MacGilp