Hipster Paradise

I am a fan of the music festival, that's for sure, and the Coachella Music Festival last weekend in Indio, California looked cooler than any music fest I've seen in a while. Art, music, PRINCE! Wish I coulda been there! Read more HERE.

I often wonder how a company plans a multi-day festival; lining up musicians, VIP's, sponsors, staging, lighting, bathrooms, food, drink, security, ticketing, parking.... geesh, I'm giving up just thinking about it. I bet the year goes by really fast for those planners.

photos: BizBash

For the backup dancer in all of us

Moment of Silence

Two employees from Stage Presence Equipment Rentals, a division of OtherBrother Entertainment, were electrocuted on Wednesday while putting up a tent in McClellanville. Others were also injured.

Read more HERE & HERE, my heartfelt condolences go out to everyone who knew the gentlemen, this is a very real threat in our industry.

Want a job?

While we're not hiring yet, we are always looking for qualified and eager interns... but if you're looking for a job that will boost your event experience and get you headed in the right direction, here are some listings I've found:

Boone Hall Special Events Planner- Looking for an experienced event planner that can plan festivals, parties, and concert series ranging from 500-12,000 guests. It is a fun yet challenging position for those who enjoy this field.

Tiger Lily Florist- Floral Designer. Rare opening for premium event and wedding designer. FT, benefits, commission, parking, great staff and extraordinary events. 2 yrs prof. Floral design exp required! Tiger Lily 723-2808

Duvall Catering & Event Design- Multiple openings, it looks like.

Francis Marion Hotel- Catering Sales & Conv. Mgr Sales

South Carolina Aquarium- Special Event Host- This position is a support position to assist the Special Events Manager with the implementation of the special events product. This primary duty of this position is to service and supervise our in-house and paid evening events.

Yay!

Woohoo! The parasol chandelier looked amazing! More photos to come, I'm taking the rest of the day OFF; the last 72 hours have been mentally and physically draining.... more tomorrow.

Rollin' on Water

I love this concept, similar to a Bubble Boy, but it's a girl, and form of entertainment! These photos are from American Acrobats, a Southern California-based performance entertainment company.

Personally, I think this would be a cool party element, maybe in the pool at the Pavilion Bar on top of the Market Pavilion Hotel with that killer view of the city. Or in one of the lakes at Magnolia (watch out for gators!) or Middleton Place.

Weekend Wrap-up

There's so much to post about for the upcoming weekend, but I didn't want all my latest posts to be just about upcoming events, so quickly, there's Kulture Klash 2 this Saturday night at 10 Storehouse Row in Noisette. For those in the dark, Kulture Klash is an event for artists by artists (well, by ART Magazine); a mixed media event with live art demonstrations--visual, performing, etc.

This should be a really good time, it's only $10 at the door. I heard the last one in November was was a great time, I had an event--same with this time, can't go, but I'll look for some pics! Peep a vid from the first Kulture Klash by Charleston'sMostUnique.com.

Speaking of North Charleston, check out the 2008 Charleston County Earth Day Festival, also this Saturday from 11am-3pm, in Park Circle. This event will be a waste-free event, everything will be recycled or composted, can you imagine?!?!

photos: Charleston City Paper blog, Get Inspired Charleston blog

Come One, Come All.... Women!

Click for larger invitation. Any women interested in learning more about or joining, please feel free to RSVP and bring guests.

Join us at Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant's beautiful Old Village and take in the most spectacular view of the city!
This event is for all current members, members who wish to renew, and all women who are interested in learning more and becoming members of Women Making a Difference. We hope to surpass our 2007 campaign total of over $118,000, but we need your help! This year's membership campaign ends June 30, 2008. Please arrive with your completed membership form so we can celebrate each new member. We will also have forms available that night. Click here to download the form: [click]

Some photos of last year's Spring Fling:

photos: Ida Becker

Sweet

Check out this site UsedEventStuff.com that was recently created.

"New York-based event designer James François-Pijuan launched the Web site Used Event Stuff to help unload decor items he didn’t have space to store. It works sort of like a Craigslist for the event community, where planners, designers, producers, and other vendors post listings to unload excess decor items or technical equipment, or even to find event workers. Posting items for sale costs $5 for one month; free items do not require payment to post. François-Pijuan hopes not only to help himself and others clear out clutter and make room for new inventory but also to foster creative reuse and help cut down on waste within the industry." —Mark Mavrigian

Table Escape

Oooh, surfing my blogosphere today I came across some beautiful photos of a simple yet creative table runner on The Bride's Cafe. Beautiful strands of colorful ribbon look like they have been placed just so, not too done, but definitely thought out. Possibly inspired by the Bride's colorful satin sash?

Here are some more nice little tablescapes I found surfing through the rest of The Bride's Cafe.

Burlap runners and mason jars, rustic and vintage, could be used at a place like the Cotton Dock.

Above, don't know about those stools, but, hey, whatever works!

Spring hath sprung, above.

Photos: via The Bride's Cafe

Ready for a Japanese Honeymoon

My friend and client, Allison, is getting married in a few weeks, and about a year and a half ago I told her I would build her a chandelier for her reception. A sizeable sculpture of hand-painted Japanese parasols will theme her wedding around the couple's purple and blue palette, and their honeymoon in Japan.

We only got around to attaching 4 parasols together for the prototype, but I will ultimately try to do this with 6 for some more volume... and to make more of a circle than a square. Fun! This will hang in the middle of the tent in the Gibbes courtyard, glowing above the cake and a bit near eye-level.

My friend Sara is helping me with her artistic eye, and knack for attaching things, from hand made snow globes to... parasol chandeliers!

My logic for experimenting with such a fun project was the fact that tents cost so much to rent, throw a standard liner on top of that, and you're down at least a couple thousand bucks. For about $100 I think this will be much more visually pleasing and unique than a plain, white, "wedding-y" liner; or only paper lanterns, which I'll also use in moderation.

Photos: Christina Bailey et moi

New Kid on the Blog

I didn't go to the Bridal Couture Show last Saturday, something came up at the last minute. Just remembered that I said I would post about it, but I don't really have anything!

Anyway, I'm uber-excited to have found a new blog by NY based event and wedding designer Michelle Rago. Looks like she just started it in February and it already has some great eye candy.

I especially like it because she shows a lot of the "behind-the-scenes" moments that you don't ever really hear about, but all planners know how many hours it actually takes (grrrr!). Speaking of behind the scenes, I'm bringing my camera along today to document the building of the parasol chandelier for my next wedding on April 19.

Photos: Michelle Rago Ltd.

Out Draping a Tent

... with friends, be back tomorrow.

photos: BizBash

Is it just me...

Or is this new Gmail feature a little disturbing?!?! Click for larger image above. And Here for more ridiculous trickery... I hope.

Landscape of a party

Yay, Social Event Design is going back to the Gibbes! We are planning the exhibition opening party for Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art, Chief Curator Angela Mack's premier exhibition which "considers plantation images in the context of the history of landscape painting while addressing their impact, both real and perceived, on race relations in the United States." I'm very excited to see this all put together, Angela has been very passionate about every detail, and she's even written a book!

N-e-wey, last night, trying to fall asleep these ideas ran through my head... making it that much harder to actually sleep, these are some decor ideas I thought about :

Taking cues from Alice Ravenel Huger Smith's beautiful watercolor works, I can bring in color and texture. Mix in rustic touches, like burlap and wooden benches, with shiny satin ribbon and mint julep cups... and there you go!

More party info soon.

Photos: Stephen Duvall Decor, Ooh! Events, Flickr