Well, well, well, we think it is pretty safe to say that Semi-Permanent in Auckland was nothing short of epic. With tote bags worn as a badge of honour and people lining up outside the doors like a bunch of six year old’s who want to sit next to the birthday kid, there is no question that this was the event to be there, or be square.

And the eagerness is easy to understand when you look at the list of speakers who came along to the two day design conference. We know, it is super cliché to say it but there was truly something for everyone.

The BizDojo team were lucky enough to be there in full force and everyone took away their own ‘slice’ of inspiration from the SP ‘cake’ - if you will.

Pepper, our community assistant from Wellington, enjoyed Semi-Permanent because of the variety of people presenting (and maybe also because she got to have two days away from Wellington’s autumn weather). But she only had to go one hour into the conference to find her favourite speaker – Sandra Dieckmann.

“She had a really engaging, fun presentation and her art was absolutely gorgeous which spoke volumes about who she was as a person.”

Pepper also valued the different perspectives on art, business and creativity and feels she has gained a better sense of how to approach her own art-making, and creative business as a whole (watch this space – Pepper, a potential speaker for a future SP?).

One of the BizDojo’s three musketeers, Phil Williams, was a little disappointed when the Digital Kitchen didn’t offer up appetisers, but was pretty chuffed when Matthew Mulder uttered the words ‘we’d rather be curious than right’ - which Phil thinks is the foundation of innovation in one short, smart sentence.

For our print production manager Jessica, Daan Lucas from Random in Amsterdam was the best of the bunch.

“He provided such a beautiful example of how you can combine multiple disciplines to create beautiful and creative advertising. Also, I like the emphasis Random put on R&D, experimenting for the love of it and seeing where their ideas can lead them.”

It was Jessica’s first time at Semi-Permanent and she was totally blown away by the quality of speakers and the energy and passion they all have for their work.

So, you’re jealous right. That you didn’t go. But don’t panic, keep calm and put Wellington in your diary for October. The actual date hasn’t been announced yet, but Semi-Permanent will be back in the capital later this year. Keep an eye on the website; www.semipermanent.com