Avenue magazine held its first Made in Alberta Conference and Awards Celebration on September 20, 2019. Attendees spent the day learning from local entrepreneurs, retail experts, strategists and more at the conference, which was held at SAIT. Afterwards, the awards celebration recognized the winners and runners-up of the Made in Alberta Awards, which were revealed in Avenue‘s September issue and online earlier in the month. The event was a way to celebrate and draw inspiration from the talented producers in this province.
In case you missed it, here’s a look at what attendees experienced at the conference and awards celebration.
Conference attendees heard from local entrepreneurs, retail experts, strategists and more in SAIT’s Heritage Hall.
Mike Morrison, creator of Mike’s Bloggity Blog, was the conference host.
Critical Mass strategists Megan Sirockman (left) and Kelsey Chudiak (right) shared some effective tools for small producers to create customer journey maps and personas.
Sara Samson, senior editor at WestJet Magazine and contributing editor for the Made in Alberta Awards, spoke with Adam Martin, General Manager of Community Natural Foods (second from right), Lindsay Botha, Specialty Leasing Manager at Kingsway Mall (second from left) and Brianne Martin, Specialty Leasing Manager at Southcentre Mall (far left), about getting local products into retail locations.
Shelley Arnusch, senior editor at Avenue, sat down with Laura Incognito (pictured), founder and owner of Little Tucker, to talk about lessons from a local “overnight” success.
Alberta has an abundance of resources to help entrepreneurs. Louisa Ferrel of True Buch and True Incubator (left), Shona Reilly of the Trade Accelerator Program (second from left) and Rick Tofani of SAIT (second from right) sat down with writer Jessica Barrett (right) to share how people can access them.
Avenue Calgary’s Editor-in-Chief Käthe Lemon (right) sat down with Anne Sellmer (far left) of Cochu Chocolatier, David Farran (second from left) of Eau Claire Distillery and Stephanie Kochorek (second from right) of Daughter Creative to discuss what awards mean for business owners. The crowd even got to sample Sellmer’s award-winning chocolates and bonbons during the panel discussion.
After the conference, guests came together to celebrate the winners and runners-up at the awards celebration.
The welcome cocktail featured Eau Claire Distillery’s Prickly Pear EquineOx, a winning product from the Made in Alberta Awards.
Erin Brooke Burns and Karla Takasaki of Stash + Story, whose baby book was a finalist in the games and leisure category.
The team behind Mast Hair, which won the beauty category, at the awards ceremony.
Avenue’s Editor-in-Chief Käthe Lemon kicked off the awards ceremony.
All the Made in Alberta Awards winners received a trophy that was constructed of wood. They were made and engraved right here in Alberta.
Nearly 5,000 people voted in the Readers’ Choice contest, and in the end, Ellinor Stenroos of EVStenroos won for her Bird’s Nest Ring.
Randy Jespersen and Geoff Kramer, the team behind Olive Skateboards + Snowboards, accept the award for winner of the games and leisure category and overall winner of the Made in Alberta Awards.
The winners of the first Made in Alberta Awards.
The runners-up of the first Made in Alberta Awards.
