The great big party that is Alt Summit

This past winter, Audrey (French Knot Studios) attended Alt Summit, a conference for bloggers out in SLC, and came home raving about it.  I fell in love with all the amazing creative cards she brought home and the incredible swag.  I also desperately wanted to be a part of the Alt Tribe – the group of besties she made while there.  That on top of 3 days of learning and connecting with other creative professionals – I knew I had to go.  We got our chance sooner than we expected as Alt Summit decided to open up a summer event on top of the always sold out winter one.  I bought my ticket right away!

In the months leading up to the event, Tiny Prints – the wonderful stationary company that we all know and love (or at least should!) reached out to us to collaborate with them during Alt.  The very first night, each sponsor was responsible for hosting a dinner to welcome Alt attendees, offer a intimate setting for getting to know yous and a bonus opportunity to connect with a major national brand.  Thanks to Tiny Prints, we were assured seats at their dinner & were able to showcase our talents – Audrey styled the dinner perfectly and I of course took pictures!  We enjoyed an intimate, delicious French meal at The Paris surrounded by lovely pink florals & lots of beautiful Tiny Prints designs – Audrey used the invite below as her inspiration and decorated the table with lots of pinks, grays, golds and polkadots!

We each received a swag bag full of thoughtful gifts from Tiny Prints including this fab ipad case – thank you Tiny Prints!One of the most fun parts of Alt is swapping business cards and there’s definitely an unspoken contest to see who brings the coolest cards.  One of my clear favorites was this sparkly gold card from Maison Confiserie et Boutique announcing their launch of Sucré – a cotton candy catering service – a sampling of their delicious homemade cotton candy was attached! I mean hello, feed me sweats and you are my favorite.Just a few of the amazing women I met:

Sam Pierson – an adorable & very talented photographer in SLC

Alix Adams of A Ruffled Life

Reachel Bagley of Cardigan Empire – fashion consultant

Trisha Antonsen of Wayfair

Briton of Rad Mom Cool Kid

Sarah Deragon of Portraits to the People

Each day of Alt is filled with discussions, roundtables & other fab learning experiences as well as some pretty major key speakers – we got to hear from Oh Joy, who recently launched her line at Target and the mother of all things creative – Martha Stewart herself.

The conference takes place each year at The Grand America in downtown SLC and my oh my how fancy I felt staying there.  What a beautifully luxe hotel that was the perfect mix of extravagance & hipness.  Bing was one of the sponsors and they provided the coolest lounge ever – perfectly decorated & laden with inspirational message & fun activities.Photographers & beautiful backdrops were available to update your headshot.The second evening we treated to a block party complete with food trucks, a grafitti artist & break dancers.The intense majestic mountains took my breath away each time I saw them peak out amongst the city buildings – how great to live in a city where this is your daily backdrop! The evening light made them candy colored.Alt throws a huge party the very last night as a farewell to all the attendees- they took advantage of the summer weather to throw an outside garden party and The Grand America’s interior courtyard proved to be the perfect spot.  Vibrant colors danced in the wind & lawn games & bicycles were provided for fun.Another unspoken rule at Alt is that fashion is key.  Or at least its a good opportunity to bring along some more creative outfits – which is kind of my favorite.  Audrey made us our signature flower crowns so that we would stand out in a crowd and I wore this custom Blue Sparrow Bridal tulle skirt from our styled shoot at the Salt Flats along with the Agnes & Dora leggings I scored during Alt.  The more ridiculous the better in my book.Again, we had the honor of working with Tiny Prints for this party – Audrey styled their adorable “photobooth” backdrop and I took photos!  Audrey fashioned paper flowers from their stationary, clever girl, and also made some handheld props for the photos.Here we are with the Tiny Prints team – love these ladies!This is beautiful Melissa Esplin – an insanely talented calligrapher, hip hop dancer and all around rockstar – the girl even makes her own clothes!Meet the Alt Tribe – Simply Troy, Emmily of Charming Details, French Knot Studios, Jess of From Rain to Shine and Jeannette Ring of Ringmaster for the Most Fabulous Circus.

I’m so super excited about the connections I made at Alt – so many sweet talented ladies (and a few guys :) and I look forward to following all of them and collaborating with them in the future!

Link to gallery of photos: http://izzyhudginsphotography.shootproof.com/altsummit

Here are a few other amazing blogs + shops to check out:

Lulu the Baker

Antisparkle – motivational tshirts & accessories

The Clutch Guide – the girl’s guide to everything essential

Cyndie Spiegel – lifestyle mentor + fashion business consultant

Robbi & Matthew – picture books & letterpress

Dear Miss Modern & Deluxe Modern Design – blog templates, graphic design, branding, social media, etc.

Hideous Dreadful Stinky – crafts

Tinsel & Twine – event styling in Brooklyn, NY

Yellow Bungalow Shop – handmade lovelies

Confetti Sunshine

Girl Loves Glam – fashion + lifestyle

Something Detailed – custom wedding stationary

Thrift Me Pretty

A Girl Named PJ

Rue Rococo

Handmade Mood – recipes + DIY’s

The Bannerie & Shoes Off Please – custom handmade garlands

Chatbooks – print your instagram photos!

A Thousand Threads – a gorgeous girl with a gorgeous blog – DC area

Courtney Khail – watercolor artist & stationary designer