By: CeCe Marie
Over the past several months, panel discussions have blossomed through out the city of Chicago, popping up back to back. With these events turning into a trending topic, it has become challenging to separate one panel from the next. Ciara Jibri is girl boss who has a variety of talents that allow her to shift roles from being a publicist, to an event coordinator to a creative director. With her flexibility and creative insight, Jibri successfully launched her networking platform HAUS OF MIMOSA in October 2017. She continued to ride the wave of her success by closing out the year with her second installment of her networking platform, which she called HAUS OF WHISKEY. With her first installment Jibri catered to the women demographic, while she focused more on the men for HAUS OF WHISKEY.
The event was held at Gallery Thirty5 on December 15th. The topic for the panel discussion was Love In Progress, which included an in-depth conversation around love, lust, and creativity. Unlimited Mimosas, Whiskey and small bites were served as the tea was spilled on love. Tarot card readings where provided by Jasmine Barber and there was a film viewing of Love & Progress, created and directed by filmmaker Briana Clearly.
To get the inside scoop on the HAUS OF WHISKEY event and what it took to pull off the networking social, read my Q&A below with Jibri.
1. What was the vision for your second installment of HAUS OF MIMOSA?
My goal for the second installment for HAUS OF WHISKEY was really similar to my first installment, to connect entrepreneurs from all walks of life but with this event I made sure I catered a bit to men this time around. My vision was about love, lust + creativity. We have so many women empowerment events which I love of course, but our men need to stick together as well. I provided the whiskey and gave access to my guests to purchase some dope finds from Bum Threads, which is a brand lead by a male pro-thrifter named BJ.
2. What did you learn from your first installment of HAUS OF MIMOSA, which helped you to be more prepared this time around?
The first installment taught me how to manage my time with the panel and I also learned the most important part of all, how much liquor to purchase HAHA!
3. How did you select the panelist for the event?
I hand-picked my panelists according to their relationship and business statuses. I was looking for a single female and male, a married entrepreneur and someone who has been through a public breakup.
4. What were some key points that the panelist talked about that you enjoyed?
The key point that the panelists discussed was about prioritizing love and their business/brand, I feel that was a very crucial topic that alot of creatives struggle with balancing.
5. How did you promote the event and ticket sales?
I promoted HAUS OF WHISKEY on all social media platforms, I pitched the event to a few bloggers as well and I also was featured on radio station to do some promo for the event, which was pretty cool.
6. How much time did you spend planning the event? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome?
I planned the event in two months. There was a few challenges with promotion this time around because majority of my panelists were not super active social media users so it lacked a few marketing points, but overall the event was a total success!
7. When can we expect at the next event? What else does HAUS OF MIMOSA have for us to look forward to?
The 3rd installment to HAUS OF MIMOSA will be in late March, it will be a huge luxury fashion networking social. I’m super excited about this event! As for the future, I will be hosting pop-up events and participating in a few collabs with the HOM brand this upcoming year.
8. Any 2018 goals for your Brand? Any dream person you would like to be a guest on your panel?
I plan on traveling with the HOM brand for 2018, bringing this networking social to more cities outside of Chicago. My dream person to have on panel would have to be… ehhh, maybe myself. I know that sounds crazy. I am a super shy person when it comes to public speaking and I would love to conquer that fear.
Follow Jibri and HAUS OF MIMOSA to stay updated on their upcoming events. #SheWorkin
Twitter:
@CiaraJibri
@HAUSofMimosaa
Instagram:
@ciarajibri
@hausofmimosa
Website: