Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Horton.
Hi Stacey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I fell in love with Salt Lake City on a bicycle, riding from class at the U to my restaurant shifts downtown. I was born and raised here, but that’s when the city really became mine.
My first job out of school was as a design assistant for a locally founded international bridal designer. Later I wanted to do more with my storytelling background, so I moved into marketing, and I’ve worked in marketing with locally founded fashion, footwear, and beauty brands ever since. Fun fact: that first job is where “Stazz” was born. With two other Staceys in the office, I became “Stazzey,” or “Stazz” for short, and it stuck.
Then came the plot twist: this past summer, I was laid off. I’m a single mom with a mortgage and a seven-year-old, so it was challenging, but I knew if there was ever a time to build something, it was now.
I wanted to put my talents and energy toward something that truly inspired me: my love of downtown SLC. So I set out to support my favorite places, friends, and communities, like my pottery studio, my musician friends, vinyl listening clubs, DJs, local artists, and the markets and venues that give them a space to share their work.
Four months in, SLC Stazz is a growing Instagram page where I share all of these amazing events. I’m gaining about 50 new followers a week, and my views keep climbing, all from local Utahns. I focus on arts, music, and spots downtown or close enough to bike to. What sets me apart from other creators in the local events space? I know this city like the back of my hand, I’m an elder millennial and a single mom, and I’m an extrovert who’s constantly in the mix physically showing up and digitally promoting my fellow creatives.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly, the biggest challenge has been keeping up! Balancing the page with being a single mom and sourcing accurate event information creates lots of late nights. But overall it’s been so much smoother than I expected, and it’s opened up so many doors. I’ve made amazing new friends, connected with people creating events all over the city, and even run into old friends at events they found through my page. I’ve started helping with marketing for local ceramic studio, Iron Desert Arts and requests for collabs and original content keep trickling in. I love being able to take some of the promotion pressure off local creatives, get to events early to create a little fomo and point the community toward unique spaces where they can connect.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve had the pleasure of working in super creative spaces where I get to blend creativity and production skills to build compelling brand stories and campaigns for locally founded brands.
What I’m most proud of is taking my professional marketing skills that I’ve honed over the past 14 years and using them to build SLC Stazz during one of the most challenging seasons of my life. In just four months it’s grown a real local audience, and I’m hearing from local businesses, artists and curators that it’s making a real impact in their communities and events.
What sets me apart is the combination of 14 years in marketing and a life spent in the arts. I’m a potter, a singer, and a seamstress, so when I tell the stories of local artists, I’m not just promoting them, I live in the city and I live in the creative headspace of an artist. I know what it takes to pour yourself into your craft and then put it out into the world.
What’s next?
Looking ahead, I’ll keep promoting the events that make this city special. I’m also developing programs with the Sugar House community to promote Iron Desert Arts, and I’m cooking up ideas to bring the arts connections I’m making to downtown Salt Lake. Stay tuned!
Pricing:
- First Collab post is free!
- subsequent collab posts are $50
- Event round-up features are free if it fits in with the schedule
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/slcstazz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slcstazz
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-horton-801/
