For the past four days and three nights, I've had the most incredible time bonding with an international group of nine talented, warm, funny and vivacious women. The occasion? #EmbraceParis, a social media gathering at the beautiful Parisian palace, Le Meurice.
Together, we deboned fish, whizzed around the streets of Paris in electric cars, visited an atelier where luxury handbags are hand-stitched, lunched in a castle, learned how to apply make-up, snapped photos of the mot magical views of Paris, ate breakfast in bed, stretched our bodies and expanded our minds. But, most importantly, we forged a network of women determined to empower each other through positive peer support on social media.
I'll be sharing lots of information about the activities and sponsors in future posts, but first of all I would like to introduce you to the ladies of #EmbraceParis - 2014.
#EmbraceParis -- Empower * Brainstorm * Collaborate * Engage * Social Media
Carina Okula (host) - extremely talented Australian photographer who resides in Paris
http://www.carinaokula.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FranceUnframed?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/carinaokula
http://instagram.com/carinaokula
Norma Thiessen (host from Toronto) - personal guide for your fun and stylish Parisian adventure
https://www.facebook.com/mybeautifulparis
https://twitter.com/MyBeautifulPari
http://www.mybeautifulparis.com/
http://instagram.com/mybeautifulpari
Lisa Ferguson (Toronto) - Strengths Trainer determined to help people maximize their potential
https://www.strengthsmentor.com/
https://www.facebook.com/StrengthsMentor
https://twitter.com/StrengthsMentor
Lynne Knowlton (Toronto) - designer, DIY’er, lifestyle blogger and wordpress wrangler
https://www.facebook.com/DesignTheLifeYouWantToLive
https://twitter.com/lynneknowlton
http://www.lynneknowlton.com/
http://instagram.com/lynneknowlton
Jennifer Brouwer (Toronto) -residential/commercial designer and developer
http://www.jenniferbrouwerdesign.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jenniferbrouwerdesign
https://twitter.com/jennbrouwer
http://instagram.com/jenniferbrouwerdesign
Ann Garvin (Wisconsin) - author of The Dog Year and university professor
http://anngarvin.net/
https://www.facebook.com/AnnWertzGarvin
https://twitter.com/AnnGarvin_/
Brooke Crowle (Sydney) -retailer of antiques, homewares and French vintage
http://elementsilove.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elements-i-love/113000625498597
https://twitter.com/elementsilove
http://instagram.com/elements_i_love
Andrea Claire (Singapore) -celebrity hair and makeup artist
http://aclairebeauty.com/
https://twitter.com/@GlobalBeauteh
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrea-Claire-celebrity-hair-makeup-artisthost/117705241587123
http://instagram.com/aclairebeauty
Claudia Strasser (Miami) - author of The Paris Apartment. Claudia also takes small groups to Paris for shopping.
http://www.theparisapartment.com/
https://twitter.com/parisapartment
https://www.facebook.com/theparisapartment1
http://www.pinterest.com/parisapartment/