Karla’s European Vacation: Attending Codegarden 2022

Business “vacations” are never really vacations — after all, vacations typically involve some kind of rest. Our CEO, Karla Santi, recently traveled to Denmark to attend Umbraco’s Codegarden and, while she came back without a voice and a definite lack of sleep, she said it was worth every minute.

Hear it from her:

I was recently invited to attend Umbraco Codegarden in Odense, Denmark — as both an attendee and as the North American juror for the prestigious Umbraco Awards. As someone who loves to travel, it was an honor to be present for the awards, which are held annually in tandem with the conference.

But it was no walk in the park: jury work was difficult. There were hundreds of entries worthy of recognition, and we were impressed by the winners (obviously) and the outstanding work submitted by the talented Umbraco community.

Although the awards were my main reason for attending Codegarden, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how great the rest of the conference was. From high-fives to confetti cannons, the event celebrated not only the Umbraco product, but also the people and partners who make it work. The sense of community within Umbraco — the “friendly CMS — is strong, and they lived out this friendliness throughout the event.

On a personal level, I appreciated getting to know the people behind Umbraco. I finally got to meet our North American Partner Manager, Jake Compton, in person and also made some new friends from Manchester and Africa (meet Alexandra and Matt!). 

What’s more, the Umbraco HQ leadership team and staff made me — and Blend — feel like we are a real part of the Umbraco team. During Partner Day — an exclusive Codegarden partner event held at an art gallery in Odense — partners were given a sneak peek at the product roadmap, the updated vision for the company, and a keynote presented by the former Prime Minister of Denmark. And, as one of the few partners in North America, Blend got the red carpet treatment: including so much confetti and champagne.

With the conference wrapping up, I hopped on a train to Copenhagen to explore the capital of Denmark and the "happiest city in the world." Known for its cycling community and historic canals, Copenhagen did not disappoint. I also learned that there is a lack of air conditioning, which helped justify a bit of gelato.

I want to give a huge thanks to Umbraco HQ for supporting a community of diverse professionals — and for putting on quite the show. It was a privilege to be a guest at Codegarden and visit Denmark, which felt like home — and not just because I'm Scandinavian.

Here's to many successful events!

Our History with Umbraco

Blend has been implementing Umbraco sites for over a decade. We are currently a Gold Partner, and as of this week are the first North American partner for UMarketingSuite.

Over the past few years, Blend has increased our involvement with the Umbraco community. It comes at the right time, as Umbraco is focusing on expanding its presence into the Americas. In fact, this is a bit of a tradition for Blend: we have a long history of introducing European platforms and solutions to our clients, from being the first North American partner for Episerver (now Optimizely) to doing our part in introducing ezPublish (now Ibiza) into North America.