If you follow me on any form of social media, you know I've been raving about Creative South for the last month. I just can't stop!

In case you haven't heard of it, Creative South is a design conference in the small town of Columbus, GA. I went last year, and left with inspiration, new techniques, and so creatively recharged that I vowed to return every year. 

This year's event was no different. I already blogged about what I learned from the event, but I wanted to take some time to talk about just how much fun I had this year. Yes, there's a lot of awesome workshops and speakers (seriously, every talk was great), but what I enjoy most about this conference are all the fun events they plan out for everyone and the facetime they give you with other designers. I'm currently the only full-time designer in my office, so it's great to be able to connect with other designers and nerd out about all the design things you can't talk about with your friends.

In addition to meeting new people, it's always great to spend more time with my conference buddy and fellow NMC-designer, Lenny. This year, I got in free thanks an extra ticket he got for sponsoring the event. It was really awesome to see him selling his newly-screenprinted posters and t-shirts at his sponsor table, and participating in things like the live Typefight and the Ink Wars illustration battle. A complete turnaround from last year where we mostly stood by ourselves in a corner!

Not only did I get a free ticket to the event, but Eric's younger brother, Blake, won Lenny's ticket giveaway contest and got to come along to the conference with us! Blake just graduated college and decided in the last year or so that he wanted to get into graphic design. It was awesome to have time to talk to him about his plans and work he wants to start making, especially since I only usually see him at family holiday functions.

Needless to say, it was a special trip, and I can't wait to return next year. Here's a few photos that I hope give you a glimpse at all the fun I had during this conference!

^^ The conference was held in the fabulous Springer Opera House, a town landmark built in the 1800s with incredible details like hand-screen printed wallpaper. It was so awesome watching speakers on that stage!

^^ The main street in Columbus is lined with so much cool public art. I love it!

^^ Every year I wish I had captured more images from the town itself. The streets are picturesque with gorgeous historic mill buildings and cool type in every sign.

^^ The river walk is one of my favorite parts about the town. The state is separated from Alabama by this river. Pretty cool to look across into another state!

^^ Just a bit of some of the awesome work Lenny has created in the last year. I wish I had grabbed a picture of every merch table – so many great posters in that room!

^^ Ink Wars was by far one of my favorite moments during the conference. It was a battle between 8 illustrators to illustrate something to the theme of "James and the Giant Peach" in an hour. It was amazing to see what these designers could do in that time. As an added bonus–Lenny got pulled in as a competitor last minute! His finished canvas was amazing, I only wish I had gotten a picture of the worm coming out of the peach at the top! You'll have to trust me that it was amazing.

^^ Snagged a picture of the conference organizer, Mike Jones dancing during Ink Wars. Seriously one of the nicest and most creative guys you will ever meet. He's got a way of making this conference feel like a personal experience just for you. I barely talked to Mike between last year's conference and this year, but as soon as he saw me, he remembered who I was and greeted me with a huge hug. What other conference organizer does that?!

^^ Can't wait till next year when this guy is speaking!

Every time I finish a blog post on CS, I feel like I didn't quite capture the essence of it all. These people totally did though. If you want to keep reading more, here's a list of my favorite posts:

Thank You Creative South - Allan Peters

Table for 20: Thoughts on Creative South + Community - Justin Mezzell

Creative South 2014. Handshakes and Hugs. - Hey Monkey Design

We Go Places: Creative South Conference - Focus Lab

Lessons From Creative South '14 - Emily Carlton