Being four bloggers who have our roots firmly in the parent blogging world, before we branched out into travel blogging, we were all regulars at the events run by BritMums. Set up to support and work with the parenting bloggers, BritMums has created a real community, and it’s one that Penny, Helen, Katie and Alison are all grateful to be a part of. Last June, we won the Travel award at the Brilliance In Blogging Awards, run by BritMums, and we can truly say that it helped put us on the map (pardon the pun) in the travel blogging world. Having only been going for seven months when we won, it felt like confirmation that we could take on the world (oops, another pun).

In fact, it was at BritMums Live 2014 that Space In Your Case was born. Penny, Helen and Alison had already discussed working together on a family travel blog, and during a travel blogging session at the conference, Alison was DMing Katie from across the table, asking her if she’d like to be a part of it.

Here, we explain why the BritMums community has been so important to us…

Helen

“My very first conference as a blogger was BritMums. I knew no-one, hadn’t arranged to meet anyone, and didn’t stay for evening drinks. I agonised for ages over what to wear, then got there early so I could choose an empty table, rather than having to ask people if I could sit with them. By the time the day was over, I knew people, I was invited to all sorts of drinks meet-ups, and had so many ideas for my blog. That was 5 years ago, and now not only is my own blog such a source of pride, but I have our amazing travel blog too, with a bunch of very cool women I’d never have met without BritMums.”

Penny

“I remember sitting at the first Britmums, listening to people talk about the doors blogging had opened: writing, travel, creativity, friendship, income and most of all having a voice. BritMums and its community took me under the wing, nurtured me and helped me grow, 4 years later the Financial Times were interviewing me about my blogs at BritMums. Over the years the BritMums community has been an amazing source of inspiration and support, and paved the way for many exciting collaborations with brands and bloggers, Space In Your Case being one of them. It’s always wonderful to meet up and see how far the community has travelled, literally and metaphorically each year.”

Katie

“On a whim, I decided to book a ticket to BritMums Live when my blog was only a few months old. I was so incredibly nervous but by the end of the day I had made some firm friends and come away feeling so incredibly inspired. I haven’t missed a conference since. I honestly think if I hadn’t attended I would still be blogging now, it was almost like seeing that there were actual people at the end of my computer made it all seem more real and exciting. It’s an amazing support and an amazing group of people to be part of.”

Alison

“Blogging can feel like quite a solitary activity – for a lot of the time, it’s just you, your ideas and your computer. So conferences are such an important part of being a blogger – to be able to connect with like-minded creatives, swap ideas, inspire each other and come away feeling ready to tackle the world. In fact, without BritMums Live, that conversation between us and Katie wouldn’t have happened and Space In Your Case would be very different. So I’m massively grateful to BritMums for creating our community.”

Space In Your Case has been shortlisted for a Brilliance In Blogging Award again this year, and we would be so grateful to receive your vote. You can do that here, and it only takes a couple of minutes! Voting ends at midnight on Wednesday 18th May 2016. Thank you!