Welcome to our Champion the Creators interview series with influencers of all niches to highlight their journeys, share their insights and inspire! Today we are talking all about influencing with Alex of Sassy Confetti.
Meet Alex Stewart, the founder of the Sassy Confetti website and Instagram account, with more than 31K followers. She’s a body-positivity, fashion and lifestyle influencer who embraces frivolity and fun. Her Instagram feed highlights Chicago’s food, drink and events scene, along with her vibrant outfits and sassy, confident attitude. On her podcast, Swipe Fat, she and her co-host Nicci Nunez share their takes on dating as plus-size women.
Alex’s Sassy Confetti platform involves a website, social media accounts, podcast, and an e-commerce store selling lifestyle and fashion items.
“I’m the owner and founder of Sassy Confetti. I have a website, Instagram and TikTok. I started it as a foodie account, and it’s blossomed into really everything about myself. I like to say that I’m about fashion, food and a little frivolity.”
Like many people during the early stages of the pandemic, Alex found herself looking for creative outlets during her extra free time.
“During the pandemic, I had a lot more time, because there weren’t events to go to for social media and blogging. So I decided to get a little creative. I started a podcast and an e-commerce store and that all started to snowball.
At a certain point, her side gigs were taking more time and earning more money than her full-time job, inspiring her to leap into entrepreneurship.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I’m working just as many hours for my real job as I am for this job. And it was just too much. At one point I was making just as much as I was at my full-time job. So I thought maybe this is the time to just take the leap. And I did. And I’m glad I did. Sometimes it’s scary, but for the most part, it’s great.”
@.sassyconfetti criteria includes seat options, music levels and snacks available 😉 #chicagotiktok #chicagobars #chicagococktails #chicagobarscene #over30club #chicagotok
♬ Cool Kids (our sped up version) - Echosmith
One of her most successful platforms is her podcast with co-host Nicci Nunez, which looks at the experiences of plus-sized women while dating.
“I have a podcast called Swipe Fat. It’s about dating as plus-size women in Chicago. My co-host, Nicci, and I host it together. We always say, ‘Dating is hard for everyone, but it’s a little bit harder if you’re fat.’ We have a lot of guests that are other influencers or dating coaches. So it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been interesting. It’s like a whole other world. And it’s much more focused on fat positivity.”
The feedback they have received on the show has been positive.
“When we started the podcast, there were a lot of podcasts about being plus-size or about dieting culture, and stuff like that, but nothing about dating specific. I think many women were like, ‘Oh, OK, this is nice because I don’t have a ton of plus-size friends to talk about this stuff with.’ So it’s been nice to know that we’re helping people.”
The hosts saw an opportunity to host community-building events to bring together Swipe Fat listeners.
“For Swipe Fat, we’ve been doing events around Chicago. You can meet other plus-size friends and talk about those topics I mentioned earlier (such as dating) because I think that the disconnect sometimes is feeling really alone and you don’t have someone to talk with.”
With so many projects going on at once, I asked Alex if she ever experienced burnout.
“I get a lot of energy from other people. So for me it usually makes me feel better. And for the most part, I actually feel like my body positivity journey started on Instagram because people were so uplifting and I found such a great community.”
“I think for me, for the most part, my community’s so great that it’s more uplifting than not.”
Alex has many tips to offer aspiring content creators.
“I always say consistency is key and I think that is one of the main reasons that I was successful. Perfectionism will kill you in this game. And you have to not care that some of your content just won’t do well.”
“You have to be consistent with your content, so plan out your content for the week. Even if something doesn’t do well tomorrow, it might do well the next day. You never know. So it’s just about being consistent. If you’re a creator, you need to be posting something every day on Instagram for an in-feed post, whether that’s a Reel or an in-feed post, and then Stories.”
“Don’t do what you think you have to do, do what you want to do.”
Her goals include continuing to build her community and trying new creative projects.
“I’d love to start a line of clothing. I want to branch out more into clothes in general on Sassy Confetti. I’d love to partner with some brands on collections and things like that. I think just growing more at this point is sort of where I need to focus.”
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
Marette Flora is IZEA’s Content Manager. She writes and edits content about influencer marketing and all the latest #TeamIZEA happenings. When she is not at work, she can be found writing her personal blog, crafting personalized gifts or exploring Chicago where she lives with her husband, two daughters, dog and plants.
