Blog

Alt Summit in Palm Springs

Alt Summit in Palm Springs

As our time in Palm Springs comes to a close I am reflecting back on all we have seen and learned this last week at Alt Summit. Alt Summit is mainly a women’s entrepreneurial/bloggers conference that caught our attention a few years back after Tina took some online Alt courses. For the last several years it has been held in Salt Lake city but this year they changed it up and it was held in
Palm Springs. The premise of the conference is to bring women together to support and network and connect about their businesses and share their experiences, particularly in the online medium.   This is our third time attending Alt Summit and each time we have many take aways that inspire and guide us into the next year.

The first year was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Being new to the blogging world and to social media it was a whirlwind. It was a new language these people were speaking!   I am an introvert by nature so being in such a big group of people is actually quite stressful for me but it also stretches me beyond my norm, and expands my world, which can only be a good thing. I thought this year, now that I know a little more about social media and about blogging that I might feel less out of my comfort zone and more at home but it was still a s-t-r-e-t-c-h! Thankfully it does get a bit easier each time.

Playing with the flamingos! Gifts from Alaska Air.

Last year we met two beautiful women who we have kept in touch with all year. We have read each others’ blogs and “liked” each others’ Instagrams and have gotten to learn more about each others lives while connecting online and off. You can check them out- Paige Lewin of Tess and Ted, a designer from Boston and Mithra Ballesteros of Finder Not Keeper from Milwaukee.

Paige with Todd Oldham

Mithra happy with her Mid Century Modern ride

Enjoying our Prosecco, compliments of Alaska Air

Mithra searches for the perfect vintage items to curate collections and sells them online. Both of them have very inspirational blogs as well. It was soooo great to meet up with them this year and feel like we have known them forever. We definitely got to know other people as well and enjoyed many great conversations with some wonderful women from around the globe. We even met a woman from Vancouver, a graphic designer named Petra Kaksonen. Petra is originally from Finland and moved to Vancouver 17 years ago. She has JUST left her desk job and came to ALT as she is ready to start her own business.

Teagan, Tina and Petra ‘photo-boothing’ it

ALT is incredibly inspiring and ignites a new passion for what we do when we can discuss and brain storm and ask questions and share with other women who are leading a creative life.

Wearing Mumus for the opening pool party

The conference has many keynote speakers, workshops, round table discussions and panels for three days. You can choose which topic fits best with what you are needing as we are all at different levels with our business. Some topics are for beginners who need to know where to even start when branching out with a new business while other topics are for people who have been in business for a while and would like to go to the next level. The speakers are all excellent and by the end of the day, no matter what classes we have attended our minds are feeling pulled in many directions. It can be exhausting to learn all these new ideas but it is always exhilarating!

Here we are with Christiane Lemieux, founder of Dwell Studio

Photo Op at the Ace Hotel

Our closing key note speaker was Todd Oldham. It was encouraging and uplifting to listen to this interview. What a humble and yet passionate man. One thing he said which really struck me is he said he “lives in his creativity”. The question was, “What do you do if you get a creative block?” His answer was that he doesn’t get blocked as he lives in the creativity.! It really struck me. I had never really heard creativity being spoken about in that way before. He is enjoying an illustrious career but was very down to earth and approachable.

Design Mom, Gabrielle Stanley Blair introducing our keynote speaker, Todd Oldham

ALT is over for this year. We now have a couple of days to digest all we have learned, debrief and figure out how we will take this new information and apply it to our business and enjoy some warmer weather.

Thank you ALT SUMMIT for another great experience!