Alt Design Summit

gracebonney.jpg

Grace Bonney, Design*Sponge

Grace Bonney is the founder of Design*Sponge, a daily blog dedicated to all things "home". In addition to daily blogging for her own site, Grace is the author of the best-selling book Design*Sponge at Home and the forthcomingDesign*Sponge by Hand (Artisan Books). When she's not blogging she's hosting a weekly radio show, After the Jump, and hosting community lunches in Brooklyn for women running their own creative businesses.

garance.jpg

Garance Doré

With a unique blend of photos, videos, illustrations and writings, Garance Doré has established a distinctive point of view and close relationship with her readers through her blog, garancedore.fr. Doré has creatively collaborated with clients including Chloé, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co, Max Mara, Kate Spade, MAC, GAP, and Club Monaco and is regularly featured on lists of the most influential women in fashion. Originally from Corsica, Garance now resides in New York City.

pilar guzman - lonny shoot photo 2 - copy.jpg

As Editor-in-Chief of Martha Stewart Living, Pilar Guzmán is responsible for the iconic lifestyle magazine’s editorial direction.  Prior to Living, she co-founded the parenting website Momfilter.com, was founding Editor-In-Chief of Cookie, senior editor at Real Simple and executive editor of One. She is also the author of Time for Dinner. In 2008, she was named one of Crain's "Top 40 Under 40" and the New York Post included her on its list of "New York's 50 Most Powerful Women."  She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons. 

headshot2.jpeg

John Jannuzzi, Lucky

John Jannuzzi is a contributing digital editor at Lucky in New York City where he works on web strategy, social media and content. Prior to that, he developed and maintained all social media channels and identities for kate spade new york and other luxury retailers. Outside of work, he tweets without hesitation and can usually be found on tumblr where he writes about fashion, music and bulldogs.

ginnywolfe.jpg

Ginny Wolfe, ONE

With more than three decades of experience in media and public affairs, Ginny Wolfe joined ONE – a group of folks who are determined to help end the absurdity of extreme poverty and preventable disease - in March 2010 as the Senior Director, US Communications where she led a team of communication staff to ensure that the organization’s priorities and initiatives gained traction in the public eye. She now leads a new team as Senior Director of Strategic Relationships.

jenny komenda headshotcrop.jpg

Jenny Komenda, Little Green Notebook

Jenny Komenda is a New York City based interior designer and blogger. Her daily posts on Little Green Notebook feature Jenny's DIY projects, client work, and bits of her family life as she and her family renovate their Brooklyn brownstone. Jenny's work has been recognized by editors at Elle Decor, Better Homes and Gardens, HGTV, House and Home, Lonny, House Beautiful and Vogue, among others.

gabrielleblair.jpg

Gabrielle Blair, Design Mom

Gabrielle Blair's site, Design Mom, was named a Website of the Year by Time Magazine. The site has also been recognized as a top parenting blog by The Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart, Real Simple and Parents Magazine. Gabrielle has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Woman's Day and Ladies Home Journal. Gabrielle is a founder of Kirtsy, a popular inspiration site for women, and also a founder of Alt Summit.

traceystewart.jpg

Tracey Stewart, Moomah

Tracey Stewart is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Moomah the Magazine- an online resource for parents looking for creative ideas for relaxing, connecting, teaching, and raising children, all on very little sleep. Tracey is also the Vice President of The Portrait Project, a non-profit that connects children around the world through art. She volunteers as a design consultant for numerous non-profits, and resides in NYC with her husband, two children and three dogs.

toddgibson.jpg

Todd Gibson, Liesl + Co

Todd Gibson is managing partner of Liesl + Co., makers of the Oliver + S, Lisette, and Straight Stitch Society brands of sewing patterns and fabric. Prior to joining his wife, designer Liesl Gibson, at Liesl + Co., Todd worked for over a decade as a management consultant and as a member of a strategic planning and analysis team at a global investment bank.

bb headshot.jpg

Vané Broussard, Brooklyn Bride

Vané Broussard is a full time interior designer and founder/editor at Brooklyn Bride, the first bridal blog to focus on modern weddings.  She's been featured on media outlets such as the New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, The Knot, and Brooklyn Magazine.  She currently lives (where else?) in Brooklyn with her husband.

dannyandmara.jpg

Mara Kofoed, A BLOG ABOUT LOVE

Mara Kofoed founded A BLOG ABOUT LOVE just over a year ago to help people face their challenges with life, love & relationships. She receives emails daily from all over the world from people saying that she’s helping them change their lives. She learned through her own divorce & 8 years of infertility that it was possible to still be happy, despite undesirable circumstances.  She tries to help other people to do the same. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband Danny. 

bobmcclure.jpeg

Bob McClure, McClure's Pickles

Bob McClure grew up outside of Detroit, MI and lived in Brooklyn NY for over a decade. While he was in Brooklyn and his brother Joe, in Detroit, they started McClure's Pickles using their great grandmothers recipe. Bob's career prior to the pickle business, among many miscellaneous odd jobs was as a commercial actor appearing in spots for Visa, Staples, Quiznos, The History Channel and web tv shows, The Burg and All's Faire.

kathleen king.jpg

Kathleen King, Tate’s Bake Shop

Kathleen King began baking when she was eleven years old, selling small batches of her crisp, buttery chocolate chip cookies at North Sea Farm. In 1980, Kathleen opened her first bake shop where she developed a full line of traditional baked goods. Today Kathleen sells over 1 million cookies a week in gourmet retail stores across the country and through her thriving ecommerce site, www.tatesbakeshop.com. Kathleen has published four cookbooks, most recently, Baking For Friends.

jenkoss.jpg

Jen Koss, BRIKA

Jen Koss is the Co-founder and Builder of Business of BRIKA. She is a Juilliard-trained cellist and graduate of Harvard University, Oxford University, and Harvard Business School.  She is a former management consultant and most recently a private equity investment professional in the consumer/ retail sector in Toronto. Jen has been married to her husband, Johann Koss, since 2009 and they have two young children, Aksel (2.5) and Annabelle (1).

nate and salli in tulum.jpg

Nate Padavick & Salli Swindell, They Draw & Cook & They Draw & Travel

Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell are a brother/sister design and illustration team and the founders of They Draw & Cook and They Draw & Travel, the largest online collections of illustrated recipes and maps from artists around the world. Salli lives in Hudson, OH with her family and their 5 cats and Nate lives in Bennington, VT with his boyfriend and their 6 bicycles. Salli and Nate manage their business via over-caffeinated video chats and constant positive reinforcement.

keenan_500.jpg

Keenan, Days

Keenan is the cofounder and creative director of Wander, a beautiful way to share and experience the world and Days a new visual diary. Not only a great designer, Keenan is a wonderful writer and has a strong perspective on what it means to be a designer working today. He shares his thoughts on his blog Field Study, speaks, and is a cofounder of The Designer’s Debate Club, an event that gathers designers around a certain topic and encourages dialogue in a formal (although wonderfully non-formal) way.

sara paul.jpg

Sara Paul, Blue Q

Sara Paul heads up the Social Media and Online Marketing (also being the in-house graphic designer) for Blue Q, a company where “Maybe You Touched Your Genitals Hand Sanitizer” is their #1 product. Situated in an old player piano factory in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, Blue Q designs, manufactures and sells everything from recycled bags to lavatory mists to gum that are slathered with surprising copy, great design and love. Just like Sara.

stephanie housley.jpeg

Stephanie Housley, Coral & Tusk

Coral & Tusk was founded in 2007 by RISD-trained textile designer Stephanie Housley together with her husband Chris Lacinak. A descendant of a long line of Appalachian women skilled in various forms of handcraft, Stephanie Housley’s illustrative process preserves her family legacy while using cutting edge machine production techniques. This process grants Coral & Tusk the freedom to introduce their signature home and gift products to a wider audience. 

rosspw-photo.jpg

Ross Popoff-Walker

Ross Popoff-Walker has worked as a product designer and user experience consultant for over ten years. He's redesigned large .com sites, crafted mobile apps for brands big and small, and consulted and freelanced for startups of all stages. He even helped build some video games about rock music way back when. Living in NYC now, he is focused on helping small software teams shape and execute big scale consumer facing ideas.

isabel_headshot-2[1].jpg

Isabel Kallman, Alpha Mom

Isabel Kallman is the founder and chief at Alpha Mom, an online parenting website. Isabel and Alpha Mom have been featured and recognized by leading national media such as USA Today, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Forbes. Isabel grew up in Carroll Gardens when it had the nation’s highest ratio of pizza parlor per POP. She currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and ten-year-old son. 

valentinefreeman.jpg

Valentine Freeman, Ace Hotel

Valentine Freeman is Creative Editor in Chief for Ace Hotel and Atelier Ace. She directs brand voice, content, curation and special projects. She lives in Portland and New York with her girlfriend, a genie and a blind cat.