ALT Summit (w/ Martha Stewart) in Utah

Last summer I attended my first Alt Summit in San Francisco. I had so much fun!! And considering that the after party was hosted at the Pinterest Headquarters, I figured it would be pretty hard to beat. How can you top that?

But, this year’s Alt definitely beat out San Francisco’s.

The week consisted of macarons, airplanes, new friends, a ton of new knowledge, everything pretty, and Martha Stewart – pretty cool, right? And to top it all off, I was invited to talk about something that I am so passionate about.

I had the chance to speak on a panel with Megan Gilger of The Fresh Exchange, Natalie Bowman of Microsoft & Bing, and Trisha Antonsen of Wayfair about how blogs and brands work together. It’s a topic that I feel so strongly about, and believe it deserves a whole blog post within itself, which is why you can find a recap of my presentation here.

I cannot stress it enough – “Your dream job does not exist, you must create it.” It’s all about infusing your passion and personality together to create something wonderful.

Now, for the fun stuff! Check out the photos detailing my time at Alt Summit SLC. I had such a blast!

One of my top highlights was meeting Martha. Best Friends For Frosting has had a partnership with her this past year and her team has been a dream to work with – confetti, paint, and pom poms – it has been so much fun!

Martha shared her story at Alt, and it was a good one. One of her keys to success is that she has always valued quality graphic design and high-quality photos.

I bumped into Joy while getting my hair done quite early by New York’s very own Rubi Jones.  I was beyond excited to hear her story, because not only did she “build something out of nothing,” but she is so relatable and her success story is bliss.  Another prime example of “your dream job does not exist, YOU must create it.”

I stayed at the Grand America Hotel for 4 days, and they had the cutest French bakery downstairs. Obviously, I was a regular. The girls’ uniforms were the cutest black and white polka dot dresses.

One night, I ate macarons and watched MTV in bed.  I was definitely feeling like a classy version of my 16-year-old self.

Here’s a shot of our panel including Megan Gilger of The Fresh Exchange, Natalie Bowman of Microsoft & Bing, myself, and Trisha Antonsen of Wayfair.  Wayfair & Bing had 3 people from the audience pitch them live on the spot and each of them scored backyard parties. Can’t wait to see!  P.S. Have you checked out the entire recap of my presentation on how blogs and brands work together.

Susan of Freshly Picked was another genius that I was excited to hang with.  She is a true example of blending her personality behind her brand in all the right ways.

The Alison Show & Bing do it again!

Credits:

All photos taken with Melissa’s iPhone, minus images #1 & #2 by Justin Hackworth Photography.