hello everyone!
I’m back from my trip to NYC and Brooklyn. my time there was full and busy to say the least. I feel like my eyes, heart, and mind have had a sumptuous feast.
I attended the Altitude Summit conference, hosted at the Martha Stewart HQ. My goodness. Everything about that event was well thought out, informative, and completely beautiful!
We heard from two incredible keynote speakers, Garance Doré and Grace Bonney of Design Sponge as well as several other inspirational people with amazing stories. I left each session with a full mind and with my creativity soaring!
I won’t share allll of my notes with you (that would be absurd…) but I did notice some common threads in the talks.
Here are the top 20 things I learned from Alt NYC:
7. find out what you love, what you are uniquely gifted in, and go after it.
8. gain as much knowledge and skill as possible.
9. share knowledge freely.
10. live generously, but know your value.
11. build trust and treasure it.
12. don’t be afraid of change.
13, ask people for their story and share your graciously.
14. there are unexpected collaborations and friendships to be found when you are open to them.
15. Be willing to invest in yourself before investing in things.
16. live genuinely and humbly, but expect great things of yourself.
17. Martha Stewart is as lovely in person as on the magazine covers.
18. iPhones are a total life saver for a directionally challenged girl who also forgot her big fat camera at home.
19. the Americano Hotel is unbearably exciting and perfect for indoor camping with new/old friends.
20. think “yes” before you think “no”. You can do more than you might anticipate.
So, you ask, was the trip to NYC worth it? With all the hassle, the arrangements, the flights, the money, all of the people affected…? Yes. Yes. Yes. I walked away feeling grateful, excited, inspired, full, happy, and ready to get busy!
July is going to be an exciting place around here! Get your creative juices flowing, because there are several projects coming up that I think you’re going to totally love – and you can join me in them!
‘Til next time!
PS. I would love to thank Justin Hackworth for being such a rock star photographer and for sharing these photographs so freely with us! And for Atly, for making it happen!
beautifulhelloblog.com 
Great post! Thanks Emily. Caitlyn x
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Sounds like a great trip and some inspirational quotes too. Go girl!
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Lovely to meet you at Alt. I love the quotes you picked out. Grace and Valentine were two of my favourites. So much information!
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It was so great to meet you too! I’m still kind of on an AltNYC high…. so much goodness and passion!
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glad to hear you had a beautiful trip to new York city Emily and really enjoyed reading everything about it! love that you shared with us 20 things that you learned 🙂
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Thank you very much for sharing ! It is really a great post ! Love it
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Love it! Have to keep this energy going. Finding my community was part of my reason for going to Alt. I’ve added you all to my Bloglovin’ to keep up with everyone. Hope you get back to NYC soon – let me know if you do!
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I would LOVE to make it back to NYC. We may be back this fall. Can’t stay away for too long.
AltNYC was the first place (outside of church) that felt as warm, connected, inspiring as I hoped or imagined. It’s a very passionate, giving community.
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Reblogged this on Sophie Mayer's blog and commented:
This is20 things all creatives should keep in mind!
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All of this is good, girl. So many great points that you brought to mind. Love, love. Pinned! xo, MJ
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Awesome post and so inspiring! Thanks for sharing your insights
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Great post! Thank you for sharing! I live in NYC and was so sad I didn’t get to go. I found out about it too late… but next time you better believe I will be there 😉
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So excited that you were able to attend! Thank you for sharing your take-aways from the event, can’t wait to see what you do with the knowledge and inspiration you gained! As I contemplate moving into full time freelance work + blogging, #20 truly hit home for me. Thanks for the boost this morning!
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Thank you Lesley! You can do it! I know it’s scary to be allll on your own, making your own way, but you can do it. You have so much passion and determination.
I’m excited to see what you do!
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Thank you so much for sharing, I wish I could have been there – but very happy to read your post. Very uplifting.
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Good for you!! What a wonderful time, indeed.
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Oh, that looks like fun. Thanks for sharing what you learned. All points well taken, but I love #8, 10, and 12.
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Loved your comments. I’m heading to the conference in San Francisco and can’t wait. Beautiful blog!
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Just found your blog and I love it. Thanks for sharing all your thoughts, beauty, and creativity. They’re helping me go after #7 🙂
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