I both love and loathe to throw a party. I love bringing people together! But there’s always so much anxiety in the lead up to an event. Will people come? And more importantly: Will they have fun?
That said, I think I’m really good at hosting events. I almost never give myself credit for my skills, but your girl knows how to throw a fun party. I learned it from my mom, who is a wonderful host. What can I say, it’s genetic?
Relaunching The Purse on a new site with a fancy new redesign was the perfect excuse to gather some of my favorite people in one room for a few hours to enjoy some drinks and dim sum and celebrate all our hard work.
I agonized over where to host the event. Finding the right venue can be tough, especially in NYC where everything is so expensive. I wanted it to be cool but comfortable, spacious but still cozy, and not too trendy. I got so lucky when I found Beverly’s, a very cool, woman-owned art bar in Chinatown. The vibe was perfect right down to the color palette. Plus, it turns out the owner, Leah Dixon, and I both grew up in Cincinnati, and our moms share a mutual friend. It seemed like kismet that we were connected for this party.
The other trick to throwing a fun party is getting the guest list right. You want to make sure you have the right mix so no one ends up standing in a corner without anyone to talk to. For this party we invited old friends and colleagues, a few of our favorite publicists, and of course some really amazing women finance writers. We also invited some of our family who have been so supportive of The Purse. My only regret about the night is that I didn’t have enough time to talk to everyone. I think everything else was pretty much perfect.
As to be expected, the whole evening was a whirlwind, and I’m so glad we hired Marissa Alper to photograph the party. She always makes us look so good! (You can click on the images below if you want to see them bigger.)
A big thank-you to Greenlight, who has been the most amazing partner for our relaunch.
Stephanie Cook (far left) of Good PR introduced us to our wonderful relaunch sponsor, Greenlight. Elsa Ienna (right-hand photo) of Palette Studio is responsible for our incredible redesign.
The room was filled with so many old friends and colleagues. From left to right: Ashley Feinstein Gertsley (The Fiscal Femme), Erin Lowry (Broke Millennial), Priya Malani (Stash Wealth), Alexa Mikhail (She Media), Hillary Hoffower (writer and editor), Maria Aspan (NPR), Alex DiCapo Patel (Argent), Kathryn Lindsay (Embedded), Sharon Yi (marketing extraordinaire), Gina Marinelli (Argent).
Hard to sum up how wonderful it was so to have so many friends in one room!
A bunch of really stellar women from left to right: Jennifer Cook (Mom Friend), Rachel Lipson (The Point), Francesca Donner (The Persistent), Venessa Wong (MarketWatch), Elsa Ienna (Palette Studio), and Nadya Wasylko (our fantastic portrait photographer).
Left photo: Pretty sure I met these amazing writers (and moms) via the internet. From left to right: Erika Janes, Heather Boneparth, Rachel Lipson, and Charlotte Cowles. Right photo: Some newer friends I met thanks to The Purse. From left to right: Adriana Morga (The AP), Hanna Horvath (Your Brain on Money), and Lilly O'Leary (PR maven).
It was a total love fest!
There were so many other friends who joined in the fun, and Alicia and I are so grateful to everyone who came out and celebrated! I’m ready to start planning our next event! Who wants to come?
