Babes in the City — Joy Sullivan on What Makes Creative Babes So Special
A couple of summers ago, I stumbled across an event for creative women. It was an intimate, lovely experience of ladies piling into a living room to hear a featured Top Notch Babe share her story. That evening, I learned that Creative Babes is a community of rad women committed to supporting and empowering each other. Everyone belonged. It was the kind of place I was asked who I was before what I did for a living. By the end of the night, I was convinced of two undeniable things.
1. I’d stumbled across something radical.
2. I knew it’d change my life.
The word got out and momentum was unstoppable. Now, two years later, Creative Babes just hosted a launch party for their epic new website.
Last night, the Wonder Jam was packed full of babes mingling, drinking bourbon, and exploring Creative Babe’s new digital platform. The whole situation was dreamy.
There were treats from incredible sponsors, a Stranger Things selfie station, and a trivia competition. The room swooned with good vibes.
“Creative Babes is the kind of event you can go to and make twenty new best friends.” Long-time Babe enthusiast, Beth Boring said to me.
And it’s true. Socially, Creative Babes has been unbelievable. I’ve come away with some of the most remarkable friendships of my life. Around town, I bump into babes I recognize from CB events, workshops and their social media presence. Every time I recognize a fellow babe, we start a conversation. It’s like secret code for being awesome.
Professionally, it’s also been downright empowering. It’s been a network of women who support each other’s creative endeavors and seek to foster growth. I’ve gotten a leg up in multiple professional arenas simply as a result of connecting with women who share CB’s expansive message of positivity.
Frankly, we’ve got each other’s back.
“This was the community I didn’t even realize I needed. It’s magical.” Another rad babe, Alexis Nelson, commented.
I couldn’t agree more. That magic comes from a lot of things. It comes from co-founders, Megan Leigh Barnard and Hillary Buchanan and their supportive vision of collaboration.
In fact, Creative Babes even has an official mantra that eschews competition and invites community. This fosters a safe space for women to be themselves, create dialogue, and blossom. In today’s social and professional settings, that’s rare and authentic.
It’s the unicorn of social networking.
Last night’s launch party was the first event that men were invited to attend. As a Creative Babe myself, that was exciting to see because while Creative Babes was created to promote community between women, it’s becoming a model for how we can do human relationship better.
How we can connect and build with each other authentically. How we can promote positive, collaborative partnerships in professional and personal spheres. How we can all channel our own inner Creative Babe.
You can check out Creative Babe’s new site and follow their email for up-to-date babe dates. They have upcoming weaving, writing and yoga events on their calendar.
Joy is an educator and poet living in Columbus, Ohio. Currently, she serves as the artist-in-residence with the Pages program and as a Museum Education Fellow for the Wexner Center for the Arts and facilitates local writing workshops and poetry presentations. With a masters in Poetry from Miami University, her academic work reflects an interest in gender studies, social justice, community development, and creative education.
Featured Photo by Hilary Buchanan, Article Photos by Steph Streb
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