Last week I traveled to Baltimore for a Design Conference — many of you know already, but graphic design and creative direction is what I spend my time 9–5 doing each day! I hesitated to put up a recap this week because it wasn’t really vacation-type of travel, but I really had a lovely time there and I think Baltimore could be a cool city to hit for someone that wants to take an accessible weekend trip but is on the fence about where to go.
I’ll note what I loved about our trip below!
I traveled up with 2 other designers from Charlotte. We are on the board of a national organization called AIGA (the professional association for design) that has 70+ local chapters across the country. I am president of the Charlotte chapter and all of us on the board volunteer our time to bring design value into our communities.
We stayed at the Lord Baltimore Hotel which is a cool old historic hotel (although the rooms are more modern).
It was right around the corner from the Washington Monument and Mt. Vernon place, which was pretty cool!
Most of our days were spent seeing presentations…
Like learning about the future of design in 2025!
Of course, National Donut Day was not to be missed!
At night, we had fun 😀 The first party was at The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) which was filled with visionary art by untrained artists. It was kind of bizarre, but cool—if you don’t go for an official tour, at least go check out the sites around the building, which is an attraction in itself.
There was another party at Little Havana, which was charming, down by the waterfront.
We spent a lot of time in Fell’s Point which is also by the waterfront. There may or may not have been a few dance parties that went down here!
The next day I HAD to skip out on a session to get some crabs with our Charlotte crew. We heard LP Steamer’s was good and it did not disappoint! Y’all, these crabs were SO GOOD I would literally fly back up there just to eat crabs. That good.
I also took a few minutes to check out the absolutely stunning George Peabody Library aka the “cathedral of books!” The atrium here soars 61 feet high to a latticed skylight of frosted heavy glass, surrounded by five tiers of ornamental black cast-iron balconies and gold-scalloped columns containing stacks and stacks of books.
Last but not least—Federal Hill Park. One of the most historic parks in all of Baltimore, it provides the most fantastic vistas of the Inner Harbor and downtown Baltimore!
On my way out of town I was able to swing by R House — the best food hall in Baltimore. This is the result of ten chefs who decided to come together rather than go at it alone. Multiple types of delicious food including a cafe and ice-cream station, seating for 350, and a swanky bar in the middle of it all.
Hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend!
Cheers!
xx — BB
Awesome pics – looks like a cool job and a cool trip!
Thanks Dee! Such a cool and charming city!