hi, i'm Ali
Photographer, boy mom, dog mom, chocolate-lover, reader, and wife to a busy maker. I'm the voice you hear and read at Life Outside the Shop. From new project how-to's and DIY home updates to the ins-and-outs of building a family & multiple businesses, Life Outside the Shop shares what is really looks like to figure it out as you go.
May 23, 2021
The most recent Sam Macy Designs youtube video shares 9 tips for a successful art show. These are things we learned through trial, error, and a lot of question asking! We get it, if you’re an artist trying to book your first show it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. We suggest starting […]
March 8, 2021
Looking for some Shelburne Farms art? Sam Macy Designs is launching its FIRST official collection on March 23rd, 2021 featuring one of Vermont’s most popular places. Collections are inspired by iconic locations, landscapes, and themes so Shelburne Farms was an obvious first choice for us as born-and-bred Vermonters. Here is a sneak peek at what […]
January 27, 2021
I totally get it… using Instagram to grow your business can feel overwhelming. You feel like you’re screaming into the void and getting little-to-no engagement. But, it doesn’t have to feel like this! Here are some Instagram hacks to decrease the dread. Pre-blogging and working to grow Sam Macy Designs, I loved Instagram. It was […]
January 19, 2021
Ask and you shall receive, everyone;) After sharing more about the bookcase Sam built me for my birthday, I got a lot of questions about what books were takin’ up the shelves, my all-time favs, and my 2021 TBR list Maybe I’ll start doing a book review post once every 3 months? A little “here’s […]
January 13, 2021
Building a business is hard and we’re not trying to pretend it isn’t. We’re figuring it out as we go over here but we’ve definitely learned a few things in the process;) Here are our Top 5 Beginner Business Building Tips from 2020! We don’t have it all figured out… …and we’re not pretending that […]
October 7, 2020
I almost started this post with, “this is long overdue” but I don’t think that is actually true. First, Life Outside the Shop hasn’t been around for long so “overdue” doesn’t really exist yet. Next, loss feels almost impossible to verbalize when you’re in the thick of it. And, writing things down feels vulnerable, permanent, […]
August 25, 2020
Welcome to Life Outside the Shop – the blog accompaniment to Sam Macy Designs and a way for us to share the adventures we get up to when Sam isn’t head-down in his scroll saw. Sam and I always have our best ideas (or, what we think are our “best” ideas – you’ll have to […]
