Williams-Sonoma Blogger Breakfast

In October last year I was invited by Baker Brand PR to join the Williams-Sonoma blogger family, which means being part of a small group of Australian bloggers helping to promote and raise awareness of the brand ahead of its imminent arrival in Australia in May and on an ongoing basis after that. I am only too delighted to be involved with these iconic American brands, having been a fan and loyal customer for over 15 years.

If you're a long time follower of my blog, you will know that a lot of my renovations featured products from Pottery Barn and if I couldn't get them I found something as close as possible here.

My husband wasn't impressed last night when he received the credit card statement for my expenditure during his recent trip to Europe, but I thought, hang on I'm here minding the kids on my own for three weeks I think a bit of a splash out on Pottery Barn is a fair trade! And the shipping is so cheap at the moment! It seemed unreasonable not to buy it!

Here's the crowd who assembled this morning at the home of the fabulous Tracy Baker, the owner of Baker Brand PR. Her gorgeous terrace in Paddington was recently featured in House & Garden magazine, and my turquoise necklace neatly matched Tracy's gorgeous pops of colour throughout the house.

Front Row - From left, Corrie (RetroMummy), me, Jen (Interiors Addict), Fi (My Mummy Daze)

Back Row - Candace (Baker PR), Tracy (Baker PR), Sonia (Life, Love & Hiccups), Lisa (Life as We Know It), JJ (84th & 3rd), Chantal (Baker PR)

I met with the lovely Candace from Baker Brand last October when she invited me to be involved and was thrilled to be able to meet the other bloggers who are also on board. Some I already knew, and some I had met online, but a few were new to me. We are a mix of mummy bloggers, foodie bloggers and design bloggers. It never ceases to amaze me how many bloggers there are out there doing great things and with huge followings. I don't often get a chance to meet other bloggers so it's always wonderful to put faces to the names of girls you know so well on social media and to share your blogging experiences and knowledge. Ok and a bit of goss too!

We were given a preview of some of the Easter products currently available, which can be shipped to Australia too.

Cute little bunny slippers.

We were given a delicious breakfast of pancakes made using mixes from the Williams-Sonoma range of products. Apparently they have an amazing range of gluten free products too. That big brown blob in the pancake chick below is actually a choc-chip!

How divine is this little guy!

Despite the glamour and style of the event, nothing beats a decent takeaway coffee!

Tracy's daughters made the cute bunny cookies using these sweet sprinkles from WS.

I feel a bit naff doing a selfie but found this fab navy dress at DJs yesterday and this gorgeous beaded necklace, a steal at $29.95! Felt like I had to wear my corporate colours! Don't look too closely at my mess closet please.

Came home with a bunch of the latest catalogues, so hoping I get a few hours to myself to read them on the weekend. Ha, not bloody likely!

Pottery Barn Teen will be opening soon as well. And the first West Elm store will be opening in Melbourne later this year.

Of course we all received lovely gift bags and mine included this intriguing DIY Cheese Kit from Williams-Sonoma's Agrarian brand. I looove mozzarella so will have to give this a crack on the weekend.

The kids will be thrilled that their weekend pancakes will appear in these gorgeous Easter inspired shapes. 

As with all the WSI stores, monogramming will be available in Australia as it is in the US. Plus you will be able to order any of the products that are available in the US stores, if you can't find it in the Sydney store. They will ship it for you at a small extra cost. How unreal is that!

The stores are on track to open Thursday May 2 in Bondi Junction. The company is currently recruiting a huge number of staff from sale associates, to social media, tech staff, managers, interior stylists and the list goes on. I'll post about this next week when I get the info. So if you want to be part of the WSI brand, you can be - just watch this space! The company is doing all the recruiting itself. They are very hands on.

The head honchos from the US are coming out to supervise and manage the opening, to train the staff (it's a 6 week course for a sales associate and it is considered a career path, not just a casual part time job) and to make sure the brand is represented as authentically here as it would be in the US. If only the sales staff could have American accents!

And thank you everyone for your kind, supportive and encouraging comments following my last post. I hope I didn't come across as miserable or unfulfilled, but I do miss the rewards and satisfaction of a paying creative outlet. I just have to find a way of turning what is currently an "elaborate hobby" as my husband calls blogging, into some kind of paying job! Then everyone will be happy. 

Have a great weekend!