Alt NYC 2013 :: One Story at a Time :: Some Details

Business card wall.
Image by Justin Hackworth. Atly-sponsored.

I learned about Alt through reading blogs and seeing pictures on Instagram. It seemed that attending Alt was a great place to learn about blogging and also a great place to interact with amazing bloggers.  As I read stories about Alt, one thing that really stood out was showcasing your blog with a unique business card!

The business card exchange that takes place at Alt is fun and inspiring and one that requires creativity. Participants go all out to make a great first impression. Some people give a card with goodies/swag, some make a unique card out of clever materials, and some just have a stand-out design.

I wasn't sure what to do and so I chose to go with a fairly standard business card that was sewing focused. For a unique twist, I decided to wear a handmade dress. My hope was to talk about my sewing blog and then talk about my handmade dress. I thought it would be a great conversation starter but once I was at Alt, I wasn't bold enough to say anything about my handmade dress. I was feeling shy and little overwhelmed. As a help, maybe I should have worn a tag or pin that said "Ask me about my dress!". For my next Alt conference, I will be more assertive!

Business Card

One side of my business card has an illustration that resembles a swatch of fabric with a selvage edge and contains Sew You Studio information. The other side has my email and blog information. The top is finished with pinking shears.

Dress

The dress I made is the Staple Dress pattern by April Rhodes. I had made this dress a couple of weeks before Alt and since it was just waiting to be worn, I decided it was a good choice for Alt.

That's me in the center taking a photo of Martha Stewart, along with everyone else!
Image by Justin Hackworth. 

New situations can be filled with emotion and worry. I certainly was unsure about it all but must say that the day went very well. I was happy to have business cards and my dress was very comfortable for this whole day event.

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Alt NYC 2013 :: One Story at a Time :: The Alt NYC Conference

Photo by Justin Hackworth. Sponsored by Atly.

It was my intention to write this story about my trip to NYC much earlier than now. However, it's been a busy summer. Since my last post, I've written a class for Atly entitled SEWING 101, have hosted a French exchange student, have done some family travel, and have been enjoying time with my family doing the fun things of summer. So, let me get back to my NYC stories. . .

In mid-June, I headed east to NYC to the one-day Altitude Summit Conference where I knew I was going to learn great things about blogging. I've had a blog for 8 years but I wanted to attend Alt as a "newbie"--someone who was there to learn about the best practices for starting and running a blog. I wanted to learn why I might want to consider having more than just a hobby blog for myself or my sewing business.

I learned great tips and advice from all of the presenters/speakers who have taken blogging and social media to great levels. Their insight was invaluable for me as I consider my next steps in the blogging world.

PRESENTERS
These are some lessons I learned from the different presenters/panels.
1. Grace Bonney

Change is okay. Adapt and embrace change because your business (blog/brand) and the Internet are continually evolving.
It's important to be yourself as you change (especially with social media) and don't let others who are doing things similar to you slow you down; you will do what you do uniquely your way.

2. American Made
(Moderator: Pilar Guzman, Martha Stewart Editor in Chief)
(3 panelists: Kathleen King, Bob McClure, Stephanie Housley)

Kathleen: Remove emotion, not passion, to be able to move forward.
Bob: Get out of your own way.
Stephanie: You don't control what you're given, you control what you've got.

3. What the Coolest Brands are Doing with Social Media (Tracey Stewart/Moomah; Jennifer Rubio/Warby Parker; John Jannuzzi/Lucky)

Think about the EXPERIENCE you are giving your followers.
Be YOURSELF on social media!

4. 9x5: A panel of 9 people who each spoke for 5 minutes on a variety of business-related topics.

Panelists of the 9x5 standing along the wall. Photo by Justin Hackworth.

Todd Gibson - Have a vision and follow your mission.
Isabel Kallman - Quality: Strive to do quality work (and live a quality life) by doing what is important without urgency.

5. Garance Doré:

Branch out, but stay on the same tree.
Make meaningful and real relationships instead of just networking.
Make things fit your lifestyle.


Overall, the themes stressed adapting to change, being yourself, being focused.

What does this all mean for me and how will I choose to apply it?
I learned so much at Alt and the experience of this conference left me energized and motivated to go make a fabulous blog! I've spent many days brainstorming ideas for my next steps. It's important for me to keep things simple and stay focused in order to put what I learned into practice.

What I've decided to do is keep it simple. I have updated my website for Sew You Studio and it will include a blog. The website will give details about sewing classes and the blog will focus on sewing-related topics--tips & tricks, tutorials, and sew & tell. I'll continue to write blog posts on Dia's Days because I enjoy keeping a record of my days in the garden, cooking, and crafting--even if I don't get to it on a consistent or frequent basis! I'm happy with my new direction and I hope you will follow along here on Dia's Days or join me to do some sewing at Sew You Studio!


HIGHLIGHTS:
I thoroughly enjoyed Alt. It was a nice getaway for me and I always welcome learning how to do new things. I made new friends and I look forward to collaborating with them and developing our friendships! Let me share some photos that highlight my day at the Alt NYC conference.
(The following photos were taken by me or the Atly-sponsored photographer, Justin Hackworth.)

Entering our conference room at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Breakfast and crafts.
Photo by Justin Hackworth.

The first couple of hours were set up so that the participants could eat, mingle, and create. I couldn't have been in a more ideal place for all of it. Some of the editors that work for Martha were there and were even helping out with the craft activities. I was a bit star struck.

A couple of craft stations: cross stitch and bath salts.
(Do you recognize Jodi Levine on the right!!!)

I sat in the front row and it was great seat for being able to pay full attention. It was nice to get to see Martha so close up when she walked in to greet us too!

Photo by Justin Hackworth.

We received a lot of swag and the food and snacks were all delicious!

Photo by Justin Hackworth.

To top off the day, we were invited to a cocktail party right there in the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia headquarters! We walked into a beautifully decorated party room and got the chance to get some fresh air on the roof deck. It was a great way to end the day!

At the end of the day this spontaneous photo was taken of me in front of the sunset--photo by Jenn. It's my favorite! It think it shows exactly how I felt the whole day being at Alt NYC!

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Alt NYC 2013 :: One Story at a Time :: Atly Sponsor Dinner

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I attended Alt NYC. I'm finally feeling grounded enough to recap and share my amazing experience! There are lots of stories to tell and I hope that for the sake of remembering this inspiring event I can tell them all as they deserve to be told. I'll start with Day 1: the sponsor dinner with Atly.

DINNER: The night before the Alt conference I attended a small group dinner sponsored by Atly. Dinner was at the delicious Spanish tapas restaurant Tía Pol in Chelsea. (It was so good I went back later in the week with my husband!)

Atly is a new online learning site devoted to teaching and learning hobbies and skills. The goal is to learn, improve, inspire. I'm excited to be signed up as an instructor and I look forward to teaching a variety of sewing classes along with other topics that will inspire you to create and bring joy to your life. As a person who loves to learn, I'm also excited to be an Atly student.

EXPERIENCE: I chose to attend the Atly dinner because it seemed to be a perfect fit for what I do: teach! The people I met from Atly (including the founder, Adam Ashton) were so delightful, as were the guests. Our conversations were about getting to know one another, telling our travel experiences to NYC, and a lot of sharing and support for blogging! Thanks ladies for all the love!

Visit their sites and prepare to be inspired!

Amy Christie - This Heart of Mine Blog
Elizabeth Stilwell - The Note Passer
Whitney English
Ellen Mattesi - Juvenile Hall Design
Jen Carreiro - Something Turquoise
Jen Kim - Jen Kim Creative
Jenny Chung - Axis 41
Brooke, who works for/with Atly

If you were at the Atly dinner and we didn't meet, sorry! Please leave a comment with a link to your site so I can learn all about you!

A great big THANK YOU to:
Atly
Clyde Bags
Lifestyle Crafts
Declan 
for the very generous gifts at the sponsor dinner! The gifts made me feel so special and were such a pleasant surprise! We each received a beautiful satchel filled with goodies! Wow!

My new Clyde iPad Satchel will certainly keep me organized. I'm serious! It has the perfect pockets and holders for electronics, planners, pens, and cards. The letterpress cards/envelopes, paper goods, and pens from Lifestyle Crafts will keep me creative. I've been checking out their website to figure out how to letterpress at home! My iPhone and iPad will now be smudge-free with the best cleaning cloth around from Declan.

So, that was my first event and I think I floated on air all the way back to my hotel from the wonderfulness of it all! Next up is the recap of the Alt Summit Conference NYC!

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Volunteer Sewing (School Uniforms)

Skirts & jumpers for the Julia Greeley Academy.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a lovely lady who found me through my sewing instruction business, Sew You Studio. She called requesting my assistance in finding experienced sewers who could volunteer their time to sew uniforms for a new school in town, the Julia Greeley Academy. This is JGA's first year and the community is coming together to do its best to have a successful start for a successful future.

I wished I could tell her that I had a whole troop of women at her service, but since I don't, I did the next best thing. . . I told her that I would request the use of the sewing classroom at Fancy Tiger Crafts as a part of their Feel Good Friday Community Program. Feel Good Fridays are days set aside for use of the sewing classroom at no cost specifically for non-profit organizations in need of a sewing space, sewing machines, and sewing tools. Fancy Tiger was very kind in accepting my request and scheduled us to sew uniforms on Friday, August 31st.

We spread the word as best as we could and in the end only had three volunteers plus two women representing the school. We all worked hard but learning something new takes time and so we only worked on 3 skirts (without zippers) and a jumper. It's a start but there is plenty more to make!

It was an evening of learning and helping and here is a little of what went on at Fancy Tiger Crafts Feel Good Friday for Julia Greeley Academy:

Ms. L and Ms. D.

One of the ladies from the school, Ms. L, was the very talented pattern designer for the skirts and jumper. I am very impressed with her skills. She learned to sew from her mother and is an amazing designer; she made her own daughter's designer wedding dress! Ms. L drafted and graded the uniform patterns on her own. She is so gentle and wise and I wish I could sit with her for a day to learn her approach and techniques for garment sewing!

Ms. D cutting patterns.

The other lady from the school who joined us, Ms. D, has zero experience sewing but was very helpful in cutting out patterns. She has an engineering background so she was an ideal person to put behind the shears (or rotary cutter)! She was careful in preserving fabric and attentive to details. Ms. D is also the one who contacted me about finding volunteers and as I've gotten to know her I'm so impressed with her resourcefulness, thoughtfulness, and organization.

A volunteer who stopped by to help is a friend of mine, Mercedes. She's been sewing since her childhood and I'm so glad she made it especially since she has a baby. Her time away from him is limited and so it was very kind of her to leave him for a few hours to help. She worked on a jumper.

Pink learning how to construct the skirt.

A second volunteer joined us for the last 20 minutes of our evening and would you believe that she completed a skirt in 20 minutes! Seriously, she did! Her sewing skills are focused on making handbags that she sells on Etsy.

Claudia learning from Ms. L.

The last volunteer was me. I worked on the waistband of one skirt and put together a second skirt. I enjoyed learning from Ms. L and am truly inspired to give garment sewing another try--if only time will allow it!!!

The Julia Greeley Academy can still use a lot of help. If you live in the Denver Metro Area, have intermediate sewing skills, and are interested in helping to sew uniforms, please contact me by leaving a comment on this blog post with your contact information or by email, 303claudia@gmail.com. The sharing of your time and talent is a priceless gift and so greatly appreciated!

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Sew You Studio

Sew You Studio is my sewing instruction business that I started a few years ago and then put aside as I was given the opportunity to teach at the wonderful Fancy Tiger Crafts store. I've decided to start SewYou Studio again to offer a different set of classes than what might be offered at Fancy Tiger. My focus will be teaching children and moms. So if you know someone who wants to learn to sew or wants to make a few fun projects all while developing their sewing skills, please send them my way. I'd love to work with them!

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