A Few Things | January 29

Personal updates, links, and recommendations.

Personal Update

I’m about six weeks out from Alt Summit, and preparations for the conference are filling up most of my time these days. (For those who may not know, I run a conference for creatives and entrepreneurs called Alt Summit.)

This upcoming conference in March will mark 15 years of Alt Summit, and 19 conferences during those 15 years (some years we held more than one conference!). I was looking at some photos from the earliest events, and thinking about the amazing people that I’ve crossed paths with via Alt Summit and feeling really grateful.

Something personally frustrating for me about Alt Summit, is that I’ve never been able to work on it full time — I’ve always needed to keep up Design Mom, write books, work on renovations, etc., at the same time, in order to make a living. In 2018, I took some big risks and started putting more of my time into Alt Summit, so that I could really grow the event and make it my primary job. And it was working — we saw huge growth in March 2019 and March 2020 events — we grew from 500 attendees in 2018, to 2000 attendees in 2020.

I told our small team that I wanted to make Alt Summit the SXSW for women — a huge event with 30,000+ attendees, showcasing the best businesses, and books, and art being created by women. We started including art installations and film screenings and fashion shows to our already extensive programming. It was really amazing.

But of course, immediately after the March 2020 conference, all in-person events went on pause for about 3 years. And when we started Alt Summit up again, it has been almost like building from scratch.

I’m very proud of what Alt Summit is, but still I wonder: What would it be like now, if I had ever been able to put my heart and soul into it full-time? Do I still have the drive to build my vision of a SXSW for women? Lots for me to think about.

Still A Few Tickets Left!
Speaking of Alt Summit, there are about 25 tickets left and we’re projected to sell out by mid-February. If you’ve ever thought about coming, definitely grab a ticket before they’re gone!

Come to Alt Summit and enjoy gorgeous sunny days in iconic Palm Springs (March 17th to 20th) at the end of a long winter, where you can meet smart and creative peers, get complimentary headshots, speak one-on-one with experts, and connect with potential brand partners. The schedule is packed with valuable workshops, classes, meet-ups, parties, and so many brilliant ideas. I hope to see you there! Tickets here.

Still A Few Sponsorships Left!
I should also mention, there are excellent sponsorship opportunities still available. Host a workshop or a private dinner. Pop up a booth and demonstrate your product for attendees. Do a patio takeover for one-on-one meetings. Connect with creators and influencers. Give a TED-style talk and share your inspirational story. Or join a panel. Email sponsorships@altitudesummit.com for more information — sponsorship packages start at $10k.

(For smaller brands we host a Gifting Party — but those spots are mostly full. If you feel like you have something compelling to gift attendees, feel free to email sponsorships@altitudesummit.com and we’ll see if we can fit you in.)

In The News

-From The Engineer — Japanese researchers have used biomimicry to recreate the process by which spiders spin their silk. It's stronger than steel by unit weight.

-From The Cut — A beautiful article about Cecile Richards, who was diagnosed with a glioblastoma six months ago.

-From The Editorial Board — The public isn’t ‘skeptical’ of Biden’s strong economic performance — just Republicans. A good explainer of how right wing propaganda has warped polling results and created a false narrative.

-From Financial Times — A new global gender divide is emerging. Young women are becoming more progressive, young men are becoming more conservative. Chatter about this has been all over Twitter (see this thread).

Related, an article on why we are seeing this ideological divergence among young men and women in many countries but not in others.

What I’m Reading/Watching/Listening To

Have you heard of The Artful Dodger? It’s a new series on Disney+. It takes place in Australia, and features characters from the novel, Oliver Twist — including Fagan and Jack Dawkins, who has left England behind and become a surgeon.

We heard about the series from our friend Denise Sineux (we rented the farmhouse from her when we first moved to France over a decade ago). Denise is a TV and film producer and worked on this series — and we saw her mention it on social media.

Outside of Denise’s mention, we had never heard of it — I’m not sure it’s been promoted much at all — so we didn’t know what to expect going in, but we were hooked right away. There are lots of familiar actors (fun to see Lupin again), and cute references to famous phrases from Dickens. (Lots of blood and guts in the surgery scenes as well — I had to look away.)

Shopping

I'm working with Exponent to promote the launch of their new Exponent Beauty Power System. What makes Exponent different? They ensure peak potency of their products, because you mix them fresh as you need them. They offer 3 systems:

BRIGHTENING BOOST VITAMIN C POWER SYSTEM
Unlike pre-mixed skincare, their ultra brightening 10% L-Ascorbic Acid is preserved in its most potent powder state until activated for significant clinical results — $98.

FIRMING FILTER COQ10 POWER SYSTEM
Firming and reinvigorating 0.5% CoQ10. Treats Collagen production, fine lines, wrinkles, dullness, and photoaging — $98.

TIME REWIND RETINOL POWER SYSTEM
Age-defying 0.25% retinol. Treats fine lines. wrinkles, uneven texture and breakouts — $98.

Also good to know: Exponent is a certified B-Corp — which means they meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Learn more on their site — and see their products in use, and what it’s like to mix them yourself.

Current Projects

Last week, the French Edition of Ejaculate Responsibly came out. I had a terrific time promoting it — including making some cute videos with my kids and with my dear friend Caroline. Here’s one where I show off my French skills. Hahaha. You can find more videos in my Instagram Reels.

And now, this week, the German Edition comes out! Find it in stores this Wednesday, February 1st.

Speaking of German and Germany, our kids have a school break at the end of February, and we were thinking it would be fun to take a roadtrip to Germany and spend a few days exploring a town there — we haven’t decided which one. And that got me thinking: Maybe it would be cool to do a book event in Germany.

We did a book event in Amsterdam last spring, also during a family trip, and it was super super fun, so I want to explore this idea and I have a few questions for anyone reading here who is based in Germany:

-Do you think a book event in Germany could be successful even though I don’t speak German? In your opinion, is a month of planning too little time for something like this?

-We are still undecided on what city in Germany we would like to visit — what city would be best for a book event (and also fun for a short family vacation)?

-If it does seem like a good idea, are you someone who could help me put this event together? I can promote the heck out of it, but I would need someone to secure a location/bookstore and arrange for a conversation partner. 

Feel free to email me or comment below with answers or thoughts — I totally understand if it’s not a good idea or it’s too late, but since we haven’t made our official travel plans yet, it seemed worth exploring.

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That’s all for now. I hope you have a lovely week. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind. And FYI: I’m working on a newsletter for paid subscribers about Mental Health & Menopause — hoping to send this week.

kisses,
Gabrielle