What a year!
It has been a big year at The Grove. I mean, BIG!
To celebrate it all and really appreciate all that's been going on, let's take a look back at 2022.
March: Inaugural Grove Retreat
This year we launched our Grove Retreats with a bang! Something that had been a dream for years was finally brought to life. For 4 days, an intimate gathering took place in Southern California, with deep talks about business, dreaming, growing, and balancing it all.
New friendships were born. New collaborations were created. And many amazing memories were made.
The first one was beyond anything we could have dreamed, so it will happen again! While no date is currently set, you can stay in the loop by signing up for updates HERE.
July: Branding shoot
A change was very overdue, so in July I did a branding shoot with a fantastic photographer. Our goal was to get some updated photos of me, but also some to show our amazing community of women and some that can serve as website photos to sprinkle throughout.
What a fun day this was! I put out an open call for some women to be models on the shoot, and ended up with a fantastic group of women. Jenn, one of the women who volunteered, was even a friend from high school who I hadn't seen in over 20 years!
Here's a peek at what we captured that day!
September: New look, new website
After many months of planning, waiting, and adjusting.... we have a new website! This new site that you're on now was desperately needed. Not only did it give us a chance to rebrand and refine our messaging, but it led to the launch of several programs that were waiting in the wings for just the right time to debut. Let's take a look at what launched along with this new site:
Membership
Finally, there's an official membership!
To help cater to different needs, we have two levels of membership - Community and Premium. By being a member, you're not only investing in your future, but you're helping to keep us going so that we can keep providing support.
For those of you who are members - THANK YOU!
If you're interested to hear what the membership is all about, you can learn more HERE.
Mentorship team
The Grove is not only a resource for women in the early years of their interior/architectural photography journey. It's also a platform for seasoned photographers to create a presence as experts, to build their voice, and to create additional income streams.
The mentorship team is a great example of one way that we're doing just this! We've now got a team of 6 mentors that you can pick from to do one-on-one sessions to level up your business. Each woman has some specialties, is in a different market, and is ready to talk about it all.
I'm so proud of each woman that we have on the team, and encourage you to get to know them! You can learn more about each one on the Mentorship page HERE.
Merch Shop
We have some goodies for you!
The new site was a chance to finally open up a merch shop for The Grove goodies, and there are some fun treats in there! Our favorites are the t-shirts, with fun sayings that are oh so uniquely us. Head to our shop to check them out!
Grove Socials
One thing that has been clear from early on is that we are nothing without YOU, the community. And really, we are all about connecting with each other.
To encourage more and more connection, we launched Grove Socials. Grove Socials are local, in-person casual gatherings that are sprinkled throughout the country. They're free to attend (just pay for any food/drinks you purchase) and there is no agenda. It's like a happy hour for photographers! The idea is that you connect with other women in your area who can be your local support system for you and your business. And connections are always stronger if you create them in person!
We've already had a couple of Grove Socials and are gearing up to start them again for 2023! We'll start with Southern California, our home base. Check the Events page for updates or be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter to hear about any scheduled events.
November: Sponsorship at PMRE
The Grove has been involved with PMRE for the past 3 years, and last year we were excited to help plan the first ever Ladies' Luncheon and Ladies' Panel at the conference.
This year, though, The Grove became an official sponsor of the Ladies' Luncheon! Along with this came a refresh of how the luncheon is structured, so we threw in some merch goodies for each attendee and brought our friend, Ema Peter, in to speak to all the women. Ema was kind enough to talk about her journey and then answer any questions from luncheon attendees. It was an amazing talk!
We've already got some fun surprises in store for next year, so keep an eye out for next November's PMRE Conference. Here are some photos from this year's event.
What's in store for 2023?
We've got some really great things in store for 2023!
- First, you'll see Grove Socials be scheduled more regularly. We'll slowly add in more regions, so be on the lookout for one near you soon!
- Our next Grove Retreat is our big event and comes up in early March, so we're finalizing details for that. It's going to be incredible! Go to the Retreat info page to learn more, register, or sign up to be on the interest list. We hope to see you there!
- To continue elevating women in our field, we have contributors who are working on creating digital products for our shop. There's an exciting course already in the works that will have a major impact on your business, and some really exciting digital download products that are being developed! We'll be shouting from the rooftops once those are ready for purchase, so be sure to get on the newsletter or follow us on Instagram to hear all about them.
- We'll be sponsoring the Ladies' Luncheon again at PMRE next November, and we've got another fun event in store for that time, too. We'll reveal more soon!
- Our courses and download products will get updated one at a time, starting with a long-overdue update of our first course ever - Editing Interior Photos Masterclass. If you purchased it already, you'll get all future updates!
- We'll continue to bring in amazing experts in different fields, and already have some wonderful women lined up! We'll announce those through the newsletter and on IG as well.
And I love throwing in surprises when I can, so there are sure to be some more things heading your way next year!
I want to take this moment to truly thank you. Each and every one of you that reads this. Without you, The Grove would not exist. Without you, there would be no community for the women in our field. It has been and continues to be my pleasure to lead and organize amazing resources and events to help you elevate your business.
Thank you for an incredible 2022. I can't wait to see what we do together in 2023!
xo
Natalia
