Words cannot begin to describe the experience of being a part of the event planning team that brought forth TEDxAustin on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the KLRU/ACL Studios in Austin, Texas.

Pictures (incredible ones so far from event photographer: Kirk Tuck) give you a sneak peek inside the magic behind the massive studio doors of Studio 6-A:

(Ruby Jane, 15 year old fiddler performs at TEDxAustin)


(Mark McKinnon, TEDxAustin speaker, shares his life one bead at a time)

Sticky notes give you a hint at the spark of creativity busting at the seams of the attendees who participated in the day (created by Austin Kleon):

And other blog posts give you the insight of how the ripple effect can truly work:

• Jon L’s reflections and notes on TEDxAustin
• Eugene Sepulveda’s TEDx reflections
• Uber.la: TEDx Austin: Aftermath of a HUGE EVENT: Playing Big Forever After!
• NetImpact: Big Ideas at Inaugural TEDxAustin
• Kirk Tuck: Things I learned photographing a TEDx conference
• Uber.la: Notes from TEDxAustin: Scribblings and Sparks in the Dark
• Mark Rolston’s Future of Computing Presentation on SlideShare
• Uber.la: What’s Next for TED? How Do We Get Even *More* Open?

The Simplifiers were brought onto the event planning team early on...back in July 2009...back when Owner, Mary Baird-Wilcock was still of one person and not carrying another one inside.  We were thrilled to be a part of the left brain aspects: logistics planning, budgets, spreadsheets and timelines and equally enjoyed conjuring up a handful of the right brain details: event design/experience, the red guitar on-stage, performer suggestions, the "Who Am I" cards on the tables and a crowd-favorite: the TEDtini....a red top shelf mexican martini with a twist!

So, what's next for TEDxAustin?  I say this is ONLY THE BEGINNING...if you liked what you experienced on Saturday, maybe consider becoming a fan of The Simplifiers here or follow us on Twitter.  Also, stay tuned to the TEDxAustin FB page and website...in the coming weeks, we'll post all of the TED talks from TEDxAustin, so you can share these with the world.

The best piece of advice we took away from TEDxAustin came from speaker, Carrie Contey, Phd.:

"Make the pause a priority in your life."

So friends (new and old) of The Simplifiers: 
...pause....process....and then CONNECT! 

...this will be our credo and promise to you, as event planners in 2010...


The Simplifiers are Austin's top event planning and personal concierge firm, offering full service event planning for corporate events, weddings, social events and beyond. Events are so much more than throwing a linen on a table...it's about connecting people that change the world.  We help create that space for connection. For more information, visit www.thesimplifiers.com or call 512-695-7744.

(written by Mary Baird-Wilcock, member of the TEDxAustin event planning committee and Owner/Senior Event Planner of The Simplifiers)