I think Jenn has done a pretty good job of giving everyone snapshots from our 4 days in NYC – in her articles for EdenCafe: part one is here and part two is here . So I thought it would be cool to tell you what I was thinking from a work perspective – as most of you know, I am the Marketing Director at Eden.

You can see awesome photos on our company Facebook, check it out here.

(and become a fan while you’re over there!)

EdenFantasys seemed like the perfect fit for BlogHer , in my eyes. We are all about community, and openness; we feature so many women’s opinions and stories. I was excited to be working on this. I was full of optimism. So, months ago, I started planning – making sure we had the supplies, the signage, the paperwork, all of it. Brainstorming with our beloved Bloggess on how to have the most awesomely craftacular sex toy party ever. I reached out to our great friends at Doc Johnson, Evolved Novelties, Pipedream, Wet Lubricants, Hathor, System JO, Extase, njoy, Lelo, Jimmyjane, and Bust Magazine to ensure that our panel table would be full of great demos and take-aways, our swag bags would be exciting, and our post-BlogHer prize packs would be stellar. Thank you everyone! I also collaborated on ideas with Anne of ASCNYC.org to fit condom crafts into our party plan. And we were all set. We had a plan!

Day one came upon us quickly, and as Jenn mentioned in her posts, there was a lot of hustling and rushing and coordinating. We handled it, but I worried a bit about everything running smoothly. Thanks to two hardworking Eden staff members, Ilya and Arthur, we pulled off all the loading and setting up. On our first night out at parties, we were very well-received. People had heard of Eden, were SexIs readers, and had found us through the reviews, giveaways, and the Bloggess’s column. My hopes were confirmed – we were definitely a good fit!

Meeting The Bloggess in person, after all the work we have done together in the last year and a half, was wonderful. We hugged and wiggled and squealed.It was perfect. Seeing her every day for those 3 days was great, and is something I could get used to! She even told the ‘SexIs controversy’ story during her ‘Where is the line?” panel, and used working with Eden and SexIs as an example of how to work with good companies who support the writer and care about the relationship. It made me so proud of her – she has a true balance of humor and grace. She had everyone laughing, but it was heartwarming too. And it made me realize just how much our relationship means to her. Then hearing so many women tell us how much they love the site, how they want to work with us, that they love the columns – it made me feel really warm and really proud. Hearing the stories behind their blogs, about their families, about their hopes, made me feel connected and fortunate to be in this place where I could listen and share.

The ‘Bringing Sex Out of the Closet’ panel was a smashing success – the panel was packed, we were swamped, everyone was excited, everyone wanted toys and magazines. It was incredible. They were interested in SexIs, they wanted to play with the Delight, and the Kissa, and the Pure Wand. They smiled and laughed when pushing buttons on the Siri and Iconic Rabbit. We pretty much lost our voices from talking about adult toys so much. What a great moment for this industry! We were embraced! Even now, I am finding dozens of new mentions all over the internet daily – about the table, the swag, the panel, the toys, the magazines. Oooh, and the swag – what a hit! Everyone wanted an Eden tote bag full of swag! I saw them later being carried around during the conference, and I smiled to myself, knowing that we had made many women happy.

Yes, you’ve heard we met the Pioneer Woman, and I got her into the Expo Hall when the security guy was clueless, and she asked about my hair…but, she also asked us for our cards, and she said she reads SexIs Magazine! And did you know that she joked with us about toys? And that when we took the photo with her, she said “Ok, everyone say sex toys!” – that was pretty awesome! Ree also asked about what I do for Eden, and joked that it must be so hard working with sex toys all day. She was wonderful and gracious. I am even more of a fan of The Pioneer Woman now than I was before!

Next was our party – which turned out amazing. We had been inviting people for 2 days, it was also on the Bloggess’ SexIs post and on her blog. People knew, but still, I worried. And we rushed! We did it all DIY – no catering, no services. Just us and Anne of ASCNYC. And we kicked ass. That suite looked great, the crafts areas were fabulous and full of so many things to use, the food was delicious, and the booze was plentiful. The party was so much ridiculous silly fun. It was loud with laughter. It was packed with enthusiasm…and people! Why did I even worry? We had more people than we could fit, I’d say 200 or more came through in under 2 hours. And the photos and video from the party are still making me laugh today. Afterward, we all headed to the Volstead, then onto Sparklecorn. It was an exhausting end to a whirlwind long weekend. Covered in glitter and sweat, and maybe a few sequins, I passed out that night feeling satisfied and excited to have met so many new and wonderful women.

We are definitely doing BlogHer next year – and I have many notes on how to make it even better. I paid attention, I listened, I noticed things. And now I am fully confident that we will make an even bigger impact next year, in a way that is meaningful for everyone we meet, and all of our friends that we hope to see again!