10 Things You Might Have Missed During Tenth Month in Bend, Oregon
Bend Leaves Photo by Pete Alport
Well, that was fun.
October in Bend is always an adventure. We hope you enjoyed Tenth Month and had the chance to attend a few conferences, hit a few trails, knock back a few beers and revel in the creativity of our quirky mountain town. Feeling like you might have missed out on a few moments of awesome? It’s all good. We’ve got the rundown of events to take the edge off your FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out… it’s totally a thing).
1. All things equal
Maggie Renzi led a dynamic conversation about filmmaking and gender equality at the "Film Fatales: Women in Film" panel discussion during the BendFilm Festival. Advocacy, policy and a renewed commitment to nurturing future talent were a few of the topics explored with candor and passion.
2. That one time, in 1979….
Indie film icon John Sayles and producing partner Maggie Renzi presented their groundbreaking 1979 first feature film "Return of the Secaucus 7" and discussed the hurdles of making a first feature and how it impacted their future careers. Their presentation kicked off BendFilm's "First Features" program showcasing renowned independent filmmakers, screening the first films that catapulted their careers. Afterwards they host a panel discussion with filmmakers presenting their first feature films at BendFilm Festival.
3. For the love of design
What goes into making a first book? According to Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co, “lots and lots of hours.” When he was working 19 hour days to get his new book, Pretty Much Everything, out into the world, he sometimes drove back and forth from home to studio in his underwear. Draplin entertained the Swivel Conference audience with tales of meaningful design as well as a few wild stories, like the time he received actual death threats because of the logo he did for www.recovery.org, an Obama administration project.
Photo by Cody Rheault RouxPhoto.com
4. Draw more stuff
Dave Gray’s Visual Thinking keynote and the three hour workshop on day 2 led by Dave’s team member, Nina Narelle, were one of the highlights of the Swivel Digital + Creative Design Conference. Dave, founder of XPLANE, a management consultant and author of three books, taught the crowd how to use pictures and drawings to stimulate the mind. Why drawing? According to Gray, you draw:
for yourself, to see the world from a new perspective
to think better
to imagine things you wouldn’t normally think of
to align. Words tend to divide, pictures tend to unite.
to show
Head over to the Swivel blog for more highlights -- and marketing tips -- from the conference.
Photo by Cody Rheault RouxPhoto.com
5. Check out these numbers
This year’s Bend Venture Conference funded a total of 12 companies, the most ever in its 13 years. Almost $4MM was awarded… $3,918,000 to be exact. That’s a lot of moolah going out into the world to support the goals and growth of business dreamers and doers. BVC is one of the top angel conferences in the country, bringing together investors, companies and their supporters.
6. It pays to network
Bend Venture Conference intern Stephen Sehgal was offered an opportunity to serve on the grad investment fund at University of Oregon as a result of his involvement with BVC. This is a great example of the impact of business networking.
7. Getting social
Bend Venture Conference’s social impact category introduced a round of for-profit companies located in Oregon with a social or environmental mission built into their business model, each vying for investment money. This year’s Social Impact winners were Sudara, OpConnect and Hemex Health. New for 2016, the Social Impact Track of Bend Venture Conference brought the original BVC investors back. It also allowed conference newcomers to get a taste of the conference for only $45, with nearly 300 in audience attendance.
8. We need to talk
This year’s Bend Design Conference gathered attendees together for a little bit of convo and a whole lotta inspo. Following the first day of speakers, Mash Up conversations included moments with John C Jay at Hot Box Betty, screen printing at the Liberty HUB with Greenline Press, painting with Victor Saad and April Soetarman at Crow's Feet Commons, and tree weaving at The Dogwood with Ashley Shaffer and Ann Friedman.
Hosted Conversations, scheduled and facilitated by attendees interested in collaboration, creativity and design, happened simultaneously at Joolz, The Drake, 10 Below, Barrio and The Wild Rose. Topics covered animation, citizen design, digital and user experiences, human-centered design and designing for hyper-engaged communities.
9. Failure is an option
Failure is part of what makes us human. The trick is to NOT become paralyzed by it. More than sixty Failure Certificates were awarded to participants of the "Come Fail With Us" workshop led by Joshua Berger and Niko Courtelis from PLAZM during the Bend Design Conference. It was a rousing lesson about using failure as inspiration for living a more creative life.
10. What about…
Did you see that stunning sunset on October 7th? How about that piece of local art hanging in Tin Pan Alley? Or that most perfect IPA crafted with love a few weeks ago at one of Bend’s breweries? No? That’s okay. While each Bend sunset, piece of art and pint of beer is unique, there’s plenty more where that came from. Keep exploring. You’ll find inspiration everywhere in Bend.
October, it’s been swell. Thanks for all of the inspiration. See you next year for Tenth Month!
Photo of Megan Phallon’s custom painting inspired by Tenth Month that one lucky Tenth Month attendee won!
