Wilsonart Winners

By Melanie Blodgett. Photography done for Marie Claire.

We learned something this last couple of weeks, you guys are great story tellers. We loved reading all the entries to the Wilsonart contest about your kitchen countertop mishaps and successes and are happy to announce the two grand prize winners today.

Congratulations Tanya Ponce, you're the very lucky winner of an Alt Summit ticket and complete countertop makeover from Wilsonart! And congratulations Haeley Giambalvo, you'll be receiving a full pass to Alt SLC.

Working With Sponsors: Managing Expectations

By Sara Urquhart. Photography by Maggie VH.

 In any sponsor relationship, you need to manage expectations. This is true for the very first boutique ad you set up, or the first Esty shop that gives you product in exchange for a post, or for a big name sponsor that is giving you a lot of money. The amount involved doesn’t matter—you always have to manage expectations.

Sponsors aren’t expecting you to be a Fortune 500 company. They’re looking for real people and real conversations about their brand; so, consider your social media outlets as real strengths. Do you have a newsletter where you can feature them? A strong presence on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram?

A good relationship begins with a good conversation. Ask a lot of questions. Here are the questions I always begin with:

• Tell me about your brand?
• What are your goals for the year?
• How do you measure success?
• How involved would you like to be with the project?

Tailor your pitch around what you can do best and what your sponsor needs. Are they looking for Facebook likes? Brand recognition? Sponsored posts? Twitter followers? You have to know!

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Evaluating Your Brand

By Victoria Hudgins. Photography by Woodnote.

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday filled with feast and rest. I noticed this post on Nathan William's blog and thought it was a wonderful sentiment to consider as we step back to evaluate our work this holiday season.

"Because we're all so busy in our day-to-day, it can be difficult to stop, take a step back, and really evaluate where we want our brand to go. But take the time to do so. Figure out what makes you different, how you can be strategically authentic, and use it to build a stronger brand and connect with customers on a deeper level. It's not enough to simply sell a great product anymore; you also need to provide a great experience. Your customers need to associate you with something way larger than just the dishwasher they bought from you if you want to develop a sense of loyalty." - Lisa Barone

Basic Rules of Punctuation

By guest contributor PJ Feinstein. Photography ByAmanda.

Commas and colons and dashes—oh my! The rules of punctuation may be confusing at times, but they are important to learn. Punctuation exists to help readers, and incorrectly using punctuation can make your blog post difficult to understand. Even a misplaced comma can change the meaning of what you have written: Let’s eat Grandma! vs. Let’s eat, Grandma!

As you write, keep in mind these basic rules of punctuation. (Don’t worry, you won’t be tested afterwards!)

A Comma

• Before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet) connecting two or more independent clauses that could stand alone as separate sentences: I prefer mint chocolate chip ice cream, but my husband loves cookies and cream. 
• After an introductory clause or phrase: When the door opened, my dog was sitting there to greet me.
• Between all items in a series: Don’t forget to pack your bathing suit, a towel, and sunscreen. 
• Between coordinating adjectives (adjectives that can be joined with an and or can be rearranged): She is a trustworthy, generous, sincere friend.

A Semicolon

• Between two independent clauses not combined with a coordinating conjunction: It was my first visiting the beach; I’ll never forget the feeling of sand between my toes.

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Kollabora Alt Summit Challenge Winners

By Melanie Blodgett.

The challenge was set, the crafts were made, and now we're ready to announce the three selected winners who will be teaching Design Camps at Alt SLC.

A big congratulations to Rachel Faucett who created this fabric basket, Ashley Rose who created this geometric necklace, and Marigold Haske who created this yo-yo necklace! We can't wait to get creating with you in January.