Speaking in the City + NYC Restaurant Favorites

A city that can make me feel small while some of my largest dreams continue to occur is a city that has a direct line to my soul. This is New York City for me. My heart dances a little louder here. This is not a gentle place, it is direct, owes you nothing but when you continue to show up for it - it can give you everything you need and more. I’ve loved in this city, inked my first book deal in this city, have been rejected in this city but one of my favorite things to do here - is to be open to all its inspiration. There are those of us who come here to shop and then there are those of us who hunt down the staple James Beard Award winning neighborhood spots avoiding the tourist trap at all costs. If you know me well, I am skipping the dressing room and I am bellied up to a corner table in a casual culinary gem. My work schedule hardly sleeps here so this narrowed down list is a good one for those pressed on time that won’t overwhelm you.

It was such an honor to be invited back to speak at three different events. Below, are behind the scenes and I hope you take the time feel the palpable humanity that comes across from each gallery. This is about community and I am forever grateful to have your support.

First, I want to thank everyone who took time out of their day to gather in community and celebrate The New Southern Style book. I am passionate about being a resource for you. How do I do this? I structure the evening with a thirty minute talk covering The Power of Photography: How to Leverage Your Lens ®, purpose driven branding tips and then I open up the floor to a significant Q+A session (with a book signing to follow). I have traveled all over the country giving this talk and the Q+A sessions are always my favorite. This is time spent getting to know you, listening to your fears, championing your wins, answering any question you have and ultimately creating a space to grow together.

It was such an honor to partner with Schwartz Design Showroom and Tracey of Found PR. We kicked off the first event at Schwartz Design Showroom’s newest location at The Fulton Street Design Center. Alexis Varbero is the fearless leader behind her family business and to be in the company of brave women who continue to take risks is truly a gift that keeps on giving. I value the spirit of women like Tracey and Alexis, because at the end of the day they want to see those around them thrive and succeed. The energy was palpable this particular week and I appreciate you for continuing to give my book wings to fly.

SCHWARTZ DESIGN SHOWROOM | FULTON STREET DESIGN CENTER IN EDISON, NJ

SCHWARTZ DESIGN SHOWROOM | STAMFORD, CT

THE NEW SOUTHERN BOOK SIGNING MODERATED BY JENNY MOLLEN | H|G WEST VILLAGE, NYC

The rain was pouring and so was love on this particular morning in the West Village. Jenny was in the midst of her own book tour with Dictator Lunches so for her to offer to moderate my intimate gathering was beyond selfless and very generous. I appreciate the author community. I feel like we have compassion for one another because writing books is hard and it’s not supposed to be easy. It takes grit, being stubborn (hi, we’ve met), constantly advocating for our own dreams along each others. A special thank you to Nicole from Blitzer & Co and Hudson Grace. This was a signing that had been moved from San Francisco, Marin County, the Hamptons to the perfect West Village spot.

Here’s the dish:

1. L’artusi is the big sister to B’artusi - the pastas are excellent and the Lasagna Bolognese Bianco at B’artusi are what literal dreams are made of.

2. Barbuto - Chef Jonathan Waxman came highly recommend by Jenny Mollen and his restaurant didn’t dissapoint. Ben and I walked in and were seated right away. We warmed up with the largest piece of fresh focaccia and an absolute must is the Insalata di Cavolo (Kale Salad). I had beautiful mussels and fresh pasta - I could eat this every day.

3. Via Carota - One of my absolute favorite west village spots and the toughest reservations to secure. My tip is to go during an off hour and try your luck as a walk in. Ben and I were inbetween meetings and this happened to be a very late lunch for us around 3pm est. Must try: Insalata Verde, Fritti, Meatballs (SO GOOD), Cacio Pepe - honestly everything on this menu.

4. Brindle Room - An East village gem that my cousin Jeremy Spector owns. This establishment has been on every top ten burger list imaginable and although the burger certainly lives up to the hype, his menu has so much more. He’s creative, fuses new flavors and is perfect for a candle lit date night spot. Also, a big congratulations for his recent win on Guy’s Grocery Games.

5. Sadelle’s - Housemade bagels and the perfect spot for brunch.

6. Maman - I like to start my morning’s here with a black coffee, fresh croissant with a little rustic warmth.

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Happy Book Birthday!!! The New Southern Turns ONE with White's Mercantile

When my book baby turns ONE, we throw a birthday party for The New Southern Style!!! Why? Because, it was a labor of love with a timeless message. Writing your first book is no small feat. There were moments I thought I wasn't going to cross the finish line. There were times I wanted to give up and then there were circumstances completely out of my control. However, believing in a message that is so much greater than myself continues to be the creative fuel helping me accomplish my goals. I also wrote this book for my younger self because I know it serves as an expansive blueprint for anyone venturing on a path less traveled. The foundation of The New Southern is to humanize our differences through the lens of creativity along with the three following pillars:

1. The pages in this book are going to hold your hand through life pivots.

2. My words will inspire your own creative courage.

3. This is a project that will encourage you to be your own agent of change for your family and community. 

The book's birthday is September 22. This year, it fell on the same day we were celebrating National Business Women's Day. This was kismet in my opinion because our success is sweetest when we stand shoulder to shoulder with other women taking risks, using fear as a tool, and fusing our gifts with our communities. White’s Mercantile hosted a beautiful night and to honor the women in our community, I selected eight female founders to join the birthday bash for a lot party celebration.

I envisioned a special “sit and sign” area for us to gather and for me to sign the book. I wanted this space to be approachable and inviting for new and old friends. This was an area for me to express my gratitude to the incredible women who have helped give this book wings to fly. One of my favorite companies, Mayker Events helped bring this vision to life. Their fearless leader, Megan Proby is a fellow design enthusiast and working with her team to celebrate the book was such a gift and I look forward to many more events together!

Side note, we had all the weather angels on our side this late afternoon. Nashville had gone through a six day rain out and I almost cancelled this event the day before. This would have officially put me in a padded room. I listened to my intuition (I am also stubborn) and I think we collectively willed the sun to finally shed light on our community celebration.

A tremendous thank you to White’s Mercantile for hosting such a beautiful evening and a special shout out to all the vendors who showed up to celebrate a night of The New Southern Community.

• Amelia's Flower Truck was converted to “Filler is the new floral” from PG 227 of the book.

• Apple & Oak - Allison is a dear friend and developed the first rug truck in the country. Her store is complete eye candy!

• Give A Damn Wine - Clare Lundy and Janie Busbee are Helping babies access basic needs in the COMMUNITY and They have a heart of gold!

• Happenstance Whiskey - Paige is fearless with her Female founded and blended whiskey company Xx

• mayker - Beautiful tools for beautiful spaces with an incredible team!

• The Saguaro Shack Tamale Truck - Marisa is a Doll and has given new life to her family’s tamale recipes

• Southern Squares Petit Fours - susan is a magician when it comes to custom petit fours perfect for all occasions

• Spark Collection - a true welded experience. I love my bracelet and sign up to get on their pop up schedule.

Additional gratitude goes to Clare Lundy for helping organize this event. To Randi Morrison and her mother Gina for setting up the beautiful sheers and lending a helping hand! To David Allison with Interiorscape Designs for bringing in stunning trees and plants to anchor my sit and sign - He was incredibly easy to work with and I highly RECOMMEND. Thank you!

A Mini Film For YOU!!! (and How To Launch A Book in a Pandemic)

Video: Josh + Keturah Bishop, A Window In a Tunnel

If 2020 has taught us anything, it has been a lesson on hope, community, creative courage, and compassion. With all the pain we felt with lives and jobs lost, racial uprisings, tornadoes, bombings, and trauma — I still found small moments of hope. I believe it is important to celebrate and communicate what we accomplished this year during what felt like an impossible time. 

What were these moments for you? What did your moments of joy look like?

For me, I published a book in the middle of a global pandemic. I documented this for you since we were unable to physically be together, but remained connected regardless of a canceled book tour. I want this minidocumentary to serve as an expansive reminder of how resilient we are. Save it and refer back to it when you, yourself need to be reminded of your innate gifts and the community you have around you. I will look back at this moment in time with pride and resilience, and have it serve me as a wellspring of courage for future moments. How we take up space and the change we want to see in the world starts with us and comes from within.

Looking back, I wrote this book for this specific time in history. It is disguised as a design book but it is actually so much more. My images, my words, our conversations are meant to challenge old beliefs. This is a book grounded in cultural change, where we humanize and honor our differences through the lens of creativity. This book is for you, and I hope it inspires more creative courage, more hope, and more community in your own life. 

A special thank you to my team that believed in me and worked hard to support this vision and project. Enjoy, and let this video serve as a connection point to the community we’re building together!

For the holidays, I am offering signed and personalized copies of THE NEW SOUTHERN STYLE that may be purchased through our local Nashville book store, Parnassus Books. They ship nationally and this is the perfect gift that will reconnect you to your creative power and cultivate the strength of community. This is a gift that keeps giving.

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Alyssa’s debut Coffee Table book, The New Southern, Out now via Abrams!

The New Southern Style Book is OUT NOW!

Dear Creative Soul, 

Creativity connects. It connects us to our heart, it connects us to one another, and ultimately, it connects us to our community. I want to personally thank you for being on this journey with me. I cherish you and your support; together, we can launch something special into the world that embodies love and acceptance. While writing and photographing The New Southern Style, I traveled to more than 30 homes all over the country to have conversations with creatives from different backgrounds. If only I knew then how relevant these sacred moments would be to the world we are experiencing today. Some of the questions I ask in the interviews are meant to challenge old beliefs and get us to start thinking about how we can create a kinder, more empathetic world. By starting these conversations with one another, we can be our own agents of change.

This is a project I poured my heart into, and it became so much larger than myself. This project is about you. It is about celebrating our differences and finding solidarity through creativity in a region of the country where the past can still be felt. Please let these pages be a respite from your day. Let our conversations spark your own curiosity, and let the energy from this book be an additional layer of warmth to your surfaces. My goal is for this book to inspire you to dream even bigger, to further expand into your truth, and to embrace the shadows to show the world your brightest light. Welcome to the movement.  

Your support for this project means the world to me. I ask you to please keep the energy moving and share what inspires you most about the book on your channels and with your creative community.

The New Southern Style (Virtual) Book Tour…

Happening NOW! Tune in to participate in all the amazing workshops, giveaways and livestreams that are rolling out over the next several weeks. A few of these events are TICKETED so make sure to reserve your spot now at the links below.

Hope to see you there! 

Subscribe for updates, announcements & book tour locations!

Alyssa’s debut Coffee Table book, The New Southern, Releases September 2020 via Abrams