Mandy Lehman wears many hats. She is the founder and owner of MANMAN Studios, a skilled graphic and interior designer, and a photographer. And she’s an event planner who throws one hell of a party.
As a freelancer, Mandy regularly seeks fresh inspiration and new connections with new potential clients and collaborators. But as a creative person, the concept of networking feels stale and unappealing.
So four years ago, Mandy combined her event planning skills and creative problem solving to come up with a solution. She created Socials, a series of themed events that are part party and part photo shoot. Socials was Mandy’s answer to the nightmare of networking.
“I don't let anybody say the word networking,” she notes. “Because I think that automatically takes you to, like, a boring, focused space.”
Instead of boring and dry, Socials provide casual, fun settings where creative entrepreneurs and small businesses can come together and mingle, and leave with photos of themselves or their products. People can—and do—connect for future collaborations, but the focus isn’t on selling yourself. Instead, these events are more about showcasing vendors and creatives in one big collaboration of a party.
“The premise of the whole party is you have to give something of yourself to be in it,” Mandy says.
Every Socials is free for the vendors and creatives who contribute. This always includes photographers, models, drink and food vendors, and things like hair stylists, makeup artists, and clothing vendors. Photographers and models get to showcase their skills and meet new people by working with vendors and attendees during the photo shoot. Vendors—which are always small businesses—get 20 photos of their product with models in exchange for offering their wares for free for the night
“All these people are coming together to make it happen,” Mandy says. “We're all benefiting each other.”
Mandy says she’s careful to book each event with different skill levels. It’s one of the many ways that the Socials events provide much needed resources for the freelance and small business community. Those with less experience get a chance to practice and learn, people have the opportunity to network without it feeling network-y, and small businesses get accessible, professional photography. The result is a space that connects like-minded people who are interested in collaborating and lifting each other up.
“My favorite thing about it is seeing other people stay connected outside of the event and turn into friends,” Mandy says. “We all recommend each other all the time for jobs.”
Socials are usually capped at 40 people, made up mostly of the creative contributors and small vendors. Anyone who is not able to contribute to the party, but wants to attend (think copywriters or graphic designers) can purchase a ticket. That money goes towards paying for the party.
Every Socials has a theme, chosen and developed by Mandy. The theme encompasses everything from food and drink to suggested wardrobe. Mandy says people love the themes, and Mandy says the themed photo shoots help bring people out of their shells. But they also help keep her interested in the work and help her avoid burnout.
“Having a theme was actually to make it fun for me,” she says, “because I'm doing everything for free.”
Once the theme is chosen, Mandy connects everyone involved in a group chat so they can begin coordinating and planning. The parties last 2-3 hours, but with setup and teardown the event is an all-day affair for the team. People often stay in touch after the events, either professionally or as friends.
“You get to hang out with somebody in a very chill, fun environment, and get to know them without any pressure,” Mandy says. “Then people just either stay connected because they liked each other from that, or they don't. [...] It’s crazy how if you just stay open to things and are kind to people it does pay back tenfold.”
The next Socials is Fruity Fête on June 8. You can keep up with all upcoming events on their Instagram @socialsbymanman.
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