A Place To Stay

Still looking for a place to stay during Alt? We're here to help. 

We have found some rooms at two locations.

The Hyatt Summerville Suites is shiny and new. There are plenty of rooms for Alt attendees.  This hotel is located in the south end of the valley which is a little bit of a trek but luckily they will provide you a free ride to the Trax Station which will deliver you right outside the summit.

Roadway Inn is closer to the party.  It is two blocks way and it will save you some pennys.

For other hotel options all over the Salt Lake Valley, checkout the Visit Salt Lake site.  Click the "Book Online Now" widget in the left hand column to check out lodging options (updated daily!) available at various price points and locations. Keep in mind any Sandy property is only a Trax ride away.  And any airport property is an easy 12 minute cab ride away.

But don't wait.  There are limited spots available and you don't want to be left out in the cold!

*image via Kristine May



The Fun Continues!

It's true. The sessions officially end on Friday. But the fun definitely continues on Saturday! We've got four fabulous options for you to choose from:

1- Sundance Excursion with Honda

Honda Honda, the official ALT Summit transportation sponsor, is bringing a fleet of their sleekly designed 4WD Accord Crosstours to transport you to and from Park City -- the heart of Sundance happenings. Walk the charming Main Street of Park City's historic town center, scope out the movie stars or visit the "Honda Power of Dreams Experience” on Main Street (near the Egyptian Theater). While at the "Honda Power of Dreams Experience,” check out a model of the HondaJet®, ride the Honda motorcycle training simulator, and catch a show with ASIMO™, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot. If movies are what you crave, see the latest short film in the Honda DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE documentary series, “The Undying Dream.”  Open 10—5 daily through Jan. 26, with ASIMO™ shows hourly.

Limited spots available, sign up at the registration table.

2- City Photo Tour
Lead by world famous photographer — and Utah local — Justin Hackworth. He'll help you find the best photo opps in town. Gorgeous buildings. Great angles. You'll shoot the perfect images to show off on your Flickr stream when you brag about getting to attend Alt. Meet in the Grand America lobby at 10:00 am (Justin will be the one with the camera — wink) and wear comfortable walking shoes.

3- Ski Day at Solitude Ski Resort
Spend the day at gorgeous Solitude Ski Resort in the Big Cottonwood Canyon mountains. A short, 20 minute drive from the Grand America. Complimentary ski passes will be in your gift bags. But even if you're not a skier, Solitude is a fantastic place to spend a winter day. Ice skating, shopping, hot cocoa — you'll love the Swiss-inspired village. Rides to the resort are available (limited number of transportation spots, reserve yours at the Alt Summit registration check-in table when you arrive at the conference). Meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00 am.

4- Thrift Store Tour
Stylish Liz Stanley will take you to her favorite thrifting spots in Salt Lake City. Vintage, consignment and straight-up second hand shops. Liz knows all the don't miss spots. Plan on joining the fun? Let Liz know so she can arrange the perfect outing (lizstan@gmail.com). 

In addition to these updates, there are lots more to see on the schedule page - so go check it out! 

{Image Sources: Park City, Ski Utah}

Design Camp: Save Your Spot Today!

Still reeling over the Mondo and Seth Aaron announcement? (I know!). Well here's more Very Important Information.

We've Got Design Camp details to share and we think you'll go pretty ga-ga over the options. What's Design Camp, you ask? This year, we've added in some practical courses that feel sort of summer camp-ish, in the best way possible. And we're calling them Design Camp. These classes will be longer than typical conference sessions, so you'll have time to get your hands on a project and really learn a new skill. But spots are first come first served. So reserve yours today! Take a peek at the courses:

A) SEWING
Taught by domestic goddess, Susan Petersen, the Sewing Class will consist of 4 different stations. Learn to crochet a granny square, freezer paper stencil, sew a throw pillow or make a leather i-phone case. Come learn a new skill, perfect an old one or make new friends.

-Crochet, stencil and leather stations capped at 10 people per hour.
-Sewing capped at 6 people per hour.
-To reserve your spot, please contact Susan Petersen at suezpetersen@gmail.com 

B) SCREENPRINTING
Have you ever wanted to silkscreen your own designer t-shirts and fabrics? Here's your chance. This beginner Screenprinting Course will thoroughly show the crafty design junkie how it's done. Screenprinting seems complicated to the uninitiated, but the amazing Andy Kane will completely demystify the process. A happy high-five to Provo Craft for sponsoring this session.

-Class capped at 20 people.
-To reserve your spot, please contact Andy Kane at andy@sparkascreen.com

C) ADOBE PHOTOSHOP & ILLUSTRATOR
The clever and wise Alma Loveland will be teaching a crash course in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Learn when to use Photoshop and when to use Illustrator — programs the pros use for improving photography and creating design. You'll use key methods to manipulate photos so that your content will look its best, and create and format web graphics such as buttons and ads.

-Class capped at 25 people
-Please bring personal laptop with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop installed on it (30-day free trials are available for download at Adobe.com).  
-To reserve your spot, please contact Alma Loveland at alma@ollibird.com

D) TABLETOP PHOTOGRAPHY
Since Tabletop Photography was the most requested course, there will be two different sessions offered. Learn favorite pro tips and tricks on getting great tabletop shots. Won't it be nice to have photos that aren't blurry and crooked? Better photography will give your blog a major upgrade. Taught by everyone's favorite photographers: Blue Lily and Nicole Hill.

-Classes capped at 20 people per teacher
-Please bring personal DSLR camera with lens. 
-To reserve your spot, please contact Nicole Hill at nicolechill@gmail.com
-To reserve your spot, please contact Wendy and Tyler at bluelilyphoto@gmail.com

E) CALLIGRAPHY
Put your pen to paper with confidence and style in Melissa Esplin's fabulous Calligraphy Class. Whether you want to address your own wedding invitations or just make your handwriting look less like a 5th grader's scribble, this class will be a perfect fit for you. Another friendly shout out to Provo Craft (link) for providing the materials for this session.

-Class capped at 20 people. 
-To reserve your spot, please contact Melissa Esplin at islyblog@gmail.com

F) DESIGN BOARDS
Looking to get inspired? Than why not take advantage of an age old strategy and make an Inspiration Board? Design boards, inspiration boards, art boards -- they go by many names, and have many different purposes, and there's a definite skill in putting together a really great one. Your talented teachers, Kathryn Storke, Allison Czarnecki and Tammy Weadock, will take you through the creation of your very own design board and get you psyched for your next big project. A big thanks to WilsonArt for supplying the materials for this course.

-Class capped at 25 people.
-To reserve your spot, please contact Allison Czarnecki allison@petitelefant.com

Which class do you think will be your favorite? So hard to choose! Sign up as soon as possible to make sure you get the spot(s) you want. Of course, if your plans change while you're at the conference, and you can no longer use your reserved space, the teacher will open it up to other attendees. Just let the teacher know. 

HUGE News (and a Contest)

It's January. Which means the countdown has begun. Only 12 days till Alt Summit arrives! We can hardly wait. And we have big things to discuss with you. Very important things. Things you will definitely want to know. For example:

We are jumping up and down with excitement as we announce that HP, one of our amazing sponsors, is bringing Seth Aaron and Mondo Guerra to Alt Summit. (OMG!!!) Seth Aaron and Mondo will be joining us as part of the HP Keynote Panel on Thursday. And it must be said: they are pretty much the raddest Project Runway alums ever. 

Are you as excited as we are? Of course you are. So let's celebrate with a little contest:

Tell everyone you know that Mondo and Seth Aaron will be at Alt Summit, and you could win a luxe ski vacation to Salt Lake City! That's right. Three days of skiing for two at one of Utah's world famous resorts. Plus 3 nights at one of Salt Lake's finest hotels. It's the perfect winter getaway.

Blog it, Tweet it, Facebook it, make a sign and wave it around on the corner. Do whatever you can to spread the word about our exciting news, then leave a comment below and let us know how you helped get the word out. The winner will be announced at Alt Summit. Good luck!

It just keeps getting better!

We're excited to let you know that on Wednesday night we've teamed up with the best restaurants in Salt Lake City to host Alt attendees in small groups of five to ten. We'll have sign-ups in the next couple of weeks but be prepared, it's first come, first serve so plan with your buddies and sign-up together -- or plan to meet a new buddy at dinner. And did we mention that the meal will be complementary? The Summit just keeps on getting better. 

 

At Alt 2011 we're so happy to introduce Design Camp. We've acquired an additional room where we can offer more classes (don't worry, we won't be cutting into the number of panels offered). We're bringing in some of the best teachers for Design Camp who will be covering topics like sewing, calligraphy, making moodboards, tabletop photogaphy and how to master Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Won't it be fun to walk away with something tangible you've created? Maybe it will be deemed hang-on-the-fridge worthy. 

 

Lastly, we'd like to introduce Smock Paper as our newest sponsor. Smock offers a variety of beautiful, letterpress stationery printed on luxury bamboo paper. Perfect for everything from a special birthday greeting to your customized wedding goods. 

 

 

Image by Christeen Quezon