After a long two years of virtual events, we were thrilled to actually get together IRL to celebrate our AWIE 2022 Honorees at Shoptalk! We held a breakfast for all of our amazing women on March 29 at Fleur in Vegas, and it was so meaningful for everyone involved.
Our event sponsors were The Stable, Refersion, and Gorgias. A portion of their sponsorship funds were donated to Girls Inc. — $1,500 total — along with proceeds raised from our event day raffle (more on that below).
We started the event with mingling and mimosas (a great way to start any day), followed by a delicious breakfast. Then, I was honored to moderate a chat between two of our AWIE 2022 Honorees: Meg Pederson, founder at steep & mellow and NJ Falk, Managing Partner at APL. Meg shared her truly inspiring experience of founding a company right out of college, while NJ shared her vast experience in eCommerce, and the wisdom that comes with it.
The Attendees
We had 80 attendees at the event, including several of our honorees from 2022 and years past, along with other amazing women in eCommerce from brands like Hanky Panky, Rimowa, Athletic Brewing Co, Krave Beauty, The Citizenry, and more. Women from all corners of the industry were present, from founders to marketers and everyone in between!
The Giveaways
We were so lucky to have so many sponsors and participating brands involved to help us with a giveaway and some truly amazing gift bags! Here’s what we were lucky enough to offer guests:
The gift bag
In addition to a gorgeous pamphlet showcasing all of our AWIE 2022 Honorees, all attendees received one of our gift bags, featuring a combination of AWIE-branded swag and items donated by the brands behind our AWIE Honorees. Here’s what was inside:
- Ellis Brooklyn candles, donated by founder and honoree Bee Shapiro
- steep & mellow tea, donated by founder and honoree Meg Pederson
- APL discount coupon, donated by NJ Falk
- AWIE merch, including a selfie light, coloring book and pencils, and our signature scarf!
The raffle
We held a raffle to raise money for Girls Inc. and give a lucky winner some truly incredible AWIE Honoree brand goodies worth more than $1,000. In total, we were able to raise $990 for Girls Inc., bringing the event total to $2,500, to add to the more than $16,000 we were able to raise for the organization through the AWIE 2022 nomination process an. Here’s what we gave away:
- Incense, diffuser, and oils set from Brooklinen
- Bedtime beauty set from Princess Polly
- Edible cookie dough set from Doughp
- Unique Hey Harper pieces, donated by 2022 Honoree Catarina Oliveira
- $100 gift card to Nuudi System, donated by 2022 Honoree Annette Azan
- $50 gift card to Sabbatical Beauty, donated by 2020 Honoree Adeline Koh
- $500 gift card to APL, donated by 2022 Honoree NJ Falk
The lucky winner of the raffle was Jordan Sandrini, SVP of Sales at Pacifica Beauty. Congrats, Jordan!
You can check out the rest of the photos from the event here, and if you haven’t already, join the AWIE Slack Community, where you can connect with other members, participate in AMAs with our honorees, get the latest news, and find out about jobs and upcoming events.
AWIE Live Breakfast @ Shoptalk was one of our best in-person events yet, and we can’t wait to see everyone at our next one!