WELCOME
2024 Annual Symposium
“Making Connections“
This year the academy will focus on making connections in the bridal industry.
As a bridal alterations specialist, I feel that making and nurturing friendships, and relationships with people within our industry is vital to our success.
These people and businesses can be a huge supporting network for you. And you can return the favor to them. You don’t have to go it alone.
I want to encourage you to mentally think of your career from a place of abundance and generosity, and not a place of scarcity or competition.
We will be “Making Connections” this week with some amazing videos and book chapters.
These videos and book chapters will be available all week. As you watch the videos and read the books, write down any questions you have for the expert guest panelists at the live webinars on January 6th. There is a form below for you to fill out to submit questions for the live webinar.
Don’t miss out on the special coupons at the bottom of this page.
Enjoy!
Sponsors
Videos
Praise for Brenda Labolt
NYC’s Finest French Lace Supplier
Brenda LaBolt tells the behind the scenes connections
Mosiac/Seasons of Life with Mimi Jackson
Making Connections with Mimi Jackson
Connectiong With Kylene Hall
True Story – Blazer Shoulders
Blazer Shoulder Back story
Connecting to Brenda Breitnmoser
Adrienne Gonzales connecting with other seamstresses
Adrienne Gonzales connecting with bridal shops
Do’s and Don’ts with Terry Vaca
Academy Student Connection with Bridal Shops
Book Chapters
“The Most Important Dress a Womn Will Ever Wear” by Dee Dee Anderson
Chapter: Work Situations
Ebook
Audiobook
‘Six Lies Told To The Modern Business Woman’ By Brenda LaBolt
Ebook
Audiobook
Live Webinars
We have some amazing guest panelists this year who really set a good example on connecting with others in the bridal industry and with general sewing and designing. I think these live webinars will be a great opportunity for us to hear from different perspectives on making connections with others in our industry.
Sponsors
Expert Guest Panelist
Barbie Berg
Designer
Barbie Berg is the Designer and Creative Director for Barbie Anne Bridal. She never dreamed that her lifelong obsession for dresses would evolve into a dream career.
After spending over a decade in the corporate accounting field, Barbie took a leap of faith in 2012 and moved to Utah where she became the Creative Director for LatterDayBride. In 2016, she became the Creative Director of Modest by Mon Cheri, where she created and marketed what became the country’s best selling modest collection.
In 2020 she took another leap of faith and partnered with a factory to start her own line, The Modest Bridal Collection by Barbie. In this short amount of time it has become one of the best selling Modest Bridal collections in the world.
Barbie loves bridal design, traveling all over the world and saying hello to every dog she meets.
Deepika Prakash
Pattern Review Founder
Fabrics or Patterns, she can’t decide which one she likes more so Deepika keeps a stash of both handy. She founded PatternReview.com 20 years ago when she was trying to figure out why that Burda blouse pattern didn’t look like the pattern cover and she didn’t have any friends to talk sewing with. Today, the site is home to more than half a million members worldwide. When she is not working on PatternReview, she likes to hike, walk and connect with nature. Over the years Deepika has published several articles in sewing magazines like Threads, Stitch and Sew News. You may have also seen her talk about her favorite knit garments on Its Sew Easy TV Show. She loves to travel and seek out fabric stores. But the thing she looks forward to the most, is connecting with other sewists and hearing about their sewing journey. In 2018 Deepika was the keynote speaker at American Sewing Guild’s 40th anniversary conference in Las Vegas which was attended by 700 people. You can find a recording here.
Deepika has also been featured on several sewing podcasts. Check them out below: View those here.
Terry Vaca
Owner of Petals & Promises
Kylene Hall
Bridal Shop Stylist & Seamstress
Kylene is a Master Bridal Stylist and the in-house Seamstress at Grayce Bridal & Formal in Bangor, Maine. An Anderson Academy Graduate, Kylene got her start sewing at a young age when her mother, grandmother, and elderly next door neighbor took an interest in teaching her everything they knew. Kylene didn’t consider bridal alterations as a realistic career option until she started working as a Bridal Stylist a little over three years ago, when the founder of Grayce offered to front the cost of formal bridal training after Kylene stepped in to do an emergency alteration for a bride on the day of her wedding.
Grayce Bridal & Formal prides itself on being 100% women owned, with a mission to serve, celebrate, and empower women. Grayce Bridal is more than just a bridal shop, It’s a place where every shape, size, and color is celebrated authentically. Breaking into the bridal industry in this environment heavily shaped Kylene’s own personal values when it came to the type of service, honesty, and genuine love she tries to show every bride she meets. It also gives her a unique perspective on how important the communication is between a bridal store and seamstress, to ensure a positive experience from ‘I Said Yes’ to ‘I Do’.
Adrienne Gonzales
Master Seamstress
Adrienne is a seamstress located in Arizona. She has experience in standard alterations, production sewing, pattern making & prototyping She’s currently focusing in bridal specializing in beadwork & design changes. She has a BSD Architecture & Environmental Design, ASU hands on apprenticeship in standard alterations and bridal 2 years.
Brenda Breitnmoser
Master Sewing and Design Professional
Brenda is a bridal dress designer and alteration specialist from British
Columbia. She has been a professional in her field for over 40 years.
She has done everything from working on furs to wedding gowns. She
loves to work on garments that are a challenge to alter and having the
client leave with a smile. Brenda is a graduate of the Master of Sewing
& Design Professional Certification by the Association of Sewing &
Design Professionals.
Mimi jackson
Sewing, Design, and Networking/ Referral Service
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