After hopping on a flight out to Salt Lake City for the Alt Design Summit conference, I honesty had no idea what to expect. Computer geeks? Divas? Down right nerds? The anticipation kept me awake the entire flight out there.
I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to see that these anonymous people from the “blogosphere” were actually the most normal, genuine and personable people I have ever encountered. Not to mention incredibly stylish and fashion-forward!
Although I met some pretty exquisite people, a few certainly stood out…and so do their blogs {check them out y’all!}:
Courtesy of Justin Hackworth
–The Girls with Glasses {these fun girls changed their glasses everyday of the conference, and threw down one heck of a party with Pinhole Press on Friday night themed in the fabulous land of “bonjour”!}
Courtesy of Justin Hackworth
–Oh Happy Day! {I have to admit that Jordan Ferney was just as cute in person as the personality on her blog! Styled in floral dresses and a delicate updo, the day she lectured in a workshop even inspired me to move to Paris like she did for a bit!}
–Paper Mama {I had the pleasure of sitting with this vibrant mama at lunch the last day and was totally taken with her passion for anything paper and creative but also with her upbeat & colorful style!}
Alt was primarily a conference for all of us to come together, learn from each other {all the top notch bloggers spoke!}, connect with industry professionals {everyone from HP to Blurb to Rue La La to top wedding photographers were there}, and most importantly get inspired.
The most inspiring speeches came during our lunch hour, where the creme de la creme industry leaders spoke about their road to success. My favorites?
Courtesy of Justin Hackworth
-Ben Silberman, founder of Pinterest: Just from watching Ben speak you can tell that he has flat got the brains, the talent and the drive to be successful…in any industry. But the unlikely story of how Pinterest came to be was as equally intriguing as seeing first hand how genuine and kind Ben was…even after having so much success. He is a prime example of someone who hasn’t changed just because he became the “coolest kid on the block”!
-Editor-in-Chiefs of WSJ Magazine {Deborah Needleman}, Apt Therapy {Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan}, Martha Stewart Living {Pilar Guzman}: This incredible panel discussed “The Relationship Between Traditional & New Media”, and their thoughts on what the future holds for the journalism industry was both thought provoking and optimistic.
–The Happiness Project: The exceptional author, Gretchen Rubin talked to us about her best-selling book and her views on creating and maintaining happiness in your life. I was glued to her positive attitude as she spoke to us, and took away her motivational quotes like “love thyself” and “never stray from a goal” as well as simple suggestions like incorporating comforting smells into your life, making your bed daily and learning to love being yourself. I plan on writing fun post-it notes with all her quotes scribbled on them to remind me each day on how to maintain a positive attitude!
I never anticipated how many interesting people I would encounter and all the new genius ideas I would take away for Bonjour + Hola from the Alt Design Summit. This wonderful experience was so inspiring to me that I’ve decided to share the highlights with you all this week. Walk into Thoughts. Walk out with Ideas.
2 Comments