FROM SOMMER'S DESK...

I'm so pleased to have my friend Sommer here from Paper Anniversary Co. be sure to check out her awesome blog!To share her experience at Alt Summit with us. I met Sommer years ago through our mutual good friends Hi V + R!, and she and I instantly bonded over our love of all things creative, blogging- and much more. Sommer has an amazing knack for putting creativity on paper, and I thought she would be the perfect person to share some of the secrets she learned from Alt...

A BIG Thank you to Keely for having me over today to share my experience at the recent Altitude Design Summit. I couldn’t be more delighted to be here!

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The girl in the photo above - that would be yours truly – the girl behind Paper. Not my most flattering photo; however, I feel its worth sharing. It’s a snapshot of me listening (quite intently I might add) to my girls Alix and Dottie fromModern Kiddo. When I met Dottie the evening before in the Alt Lounge – we share a love for vintage eyewear - she encouraged me to attend her round table the next morning, and I did.

These ‘kiddos’ hosted a discussion entitled “Happiness is a better blog: Simple marketing & PR tips to benefit your blog” focusing on the importance finding and communicating your unique blog style. They also provided a well-crafted outline featuring fabulous advertisements such as this one…

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As you can see, this wasn’t your typical round table and Altitude Design Summit (Alt) was your typical conference either. Many of my fellow Alt attendees have referred to the Summit as a blogger summer camp. I couldn’t think of a better descriptor myself. We worked, we played, and we bonded. In the end, we left better prepared to face a new year.

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Here are a few things I took away from ‘camp’:

·      A better insight into how I can create a true sense of community with my blog

·      Options and alternatives for advertising on your blog

·      An unofficial guide to ethics and etiquette from the modern Emily Posts Emily, Grace, and Joy

·      Tips for hosting a successful event (to build your offline community) such as selecting “Invitations that Shine” according to party planner extraordinaire Jordan Ferney

·      Print is not dead! Whew! There is a basic human nostalgia toward print leaving room for digital and print to coexist symbiotically…perfect examples Rue and Anthology

But, the best thing I took away from Alt (much like summer camp) was the new friendships. I met some wonderfully kind and talented women who I look forward to learning from and collaborating with in the future. And, in the process I realized, the key to being a better blogger: be true to yourself and kind to others.