Jamali Garden... .com

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, I saw Dave Matthews Band at the Joe, which was awesome... no fireworks, though. Sad.

Anywho, during my day trip to New York I stopped by Jamali Garden Supplies, or jamaligarden.com, which has so many great event supplies. It was a tiny, skinny shop on West 28th in the flower district. Check out the website, great stuff at reasonable prices... shipping's a pain, though!

YAY! I'M BACK!

After a couple weeks of re-organizing (my liiife!), and doing some spring...er, summer, cleaning, I'm back to blogging! This post is about an awesome website I found called BurkeDecor.com.

Not only is it chock full of reasonably priced home decor goodies, I've found some great event goods as well. Up top, a set of 5 hand blown glass vases for only $50... scatter these with votives on a long dinner table, or give each guest their own bud vase at each table setting. Just above, a neat looking pendant lamp (a bit like sheets of toilet paper, but whatevs), after seeing so many drum shades, this stands out. And below, VERY unexpected but chic serving tray. I would use this to group candles and vases on in the middle of a table so the graphic isn't overwhelming, but still very interesting!

photos: burkedecor.com

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

Baroque-back

A room in the Hermitage Museum

Russia... a very mysterious place to me, but luckily my brother-in-law is very knowledgeable in this area. He lived and studied there for a while and gave me a few tips that would help me design an event that evokes Imperial Russia, but would allow room for a contemporary twist. For example, there was a heavy baroque influence in the architecture and design of the Russian city of St. Petersburg and we've all seen the many baroque-inspired whimsical design elements in decor that can have a huge visual impact on a party.

I chose red and black because I love how they feel a little bit enigmatic (like the KGB or something) when paired together. I found these red lucite candelabras, above, at everythingart.com and they provide quite a striking silhouette.




Left is a big, bold patterned linen made by Isle Design.

Below is a yummy mirror that would look Очень (very) cool with an Aleksandr Pushkin poem or quote written on the glass since literature is such a huge part of the culture.

"The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths."

or if you're feelin' sassy,

"Иллюзия которая возвеличивает нас, для нас дороже, чем десять тысяч истин"

And because in a perfect event planning world, we would be able to rent any and all types of chairs for a reasonable price, so here are some fantasy chair rentals, first in red from etsy.com (friggin' $1,800).

In black from a really neat antique reproduction website.

Finally, some other essential elements of this theortical Russian soiree would be, of course, vodka and caviar. To feel like a Tsarina yourself, serve up a Black Russian with Stolichnaya Elit, and make some caviar moons, if for no other reason than to say you did.

On the VIP list: "The Russian" Lord of the Dance, Mikhail Baryshnikov

Cool Holiday Centerpiece

I was surfing through my friend Paul's photos at CharlestonPictureCompany.com and came across the recent Blackbaud Holiday Party at Charleston Place. The centerpieces were so fun and festive! I don't know who planned the party or did these centerpieces, but Feliz Navidad!!!

UPDATE: I found out the fabulous McRae Smith from Blackbaud planned the party and conceptualized the ornamental pieces, bravo!

Photo: CharlestonPictureCompany.com

April Showers

My girl Allison's wedding is in April and her east meets west theme is coming along nicely. I pitched an idea about oragami invitations, how cute would that be? I think it can totally be done in a way where it doesn't look like a 3rd grader's art project-gone-awry. Thick, weathered paper, beautiful graphics and fonts and delivered in an interesting oragami pattern or simple paper crane.... or something that can be folded flat to send in an envelope... we'll see about this one.

For Allison's wedding I'm building my first large-scale lighting design, see my two concepts below. I think we're going with #2, forgive the 3rd grader's art project-gone-awry, but parasols in a beautiful Japanese pattern, above, bringing in her blues and purples will look stunning like this because you will be able to see all the architectural ribbing on the inside. So excited, thought I'd share.

above is a cluster of parasols with a bulb inside to illuminate.

I think we're going to try this, above, with 8 parasols attached in a

large circle and a bulb in the middle somewhere.

Do you see what I see?

Mirror strands, like the ones above will sparkle behind the stage

The Gibbes Ready, Jet-Set, Go! Gala is next Saturday, December 8. I'm starting to get all cloudy in my head because of all the last-minute details! I thought it would be a good mental exercise to post my design so I can see what it seems like all together.

The gala theme is retro air travel, hence "Ready, Jet-Set, Go!" and some items included in the live auction will be "The International" - a trip for 4 to a luxury golf resort in Ireland, "The Weekender"- tickets for 2 anywhere in the country and fine Gucci luggage to go with it, and "The Mogul"- a getaway to Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Ireland above and a diva-licious necklace from Geiss & Sons below

So, in the spirit of aeronautics I am focusing on making these jet-set guests feel like it's the best plane ride they've ever been on (not hard to do, if you're not really on a plane, right?). Here is a small sample of my design ideas.

Tiger Lily will create a few different versions of the arrangement above, to look like clouds

Groupings of two different shades of blue pintuck linen will add interest

got these customized wing pins made for staff to wear and guests to have fun with

There's a lot more--like flying through the clouds, the VIP Sky Lounge area, the all-white dance floor, furniture arrangements to mimic airport waiting areas, Vintage Velvet, etc. but I feel so much better now that I can see all of this together. Maybe I'll do the rest next post. What do you think?

photos: BizBash, Tiger Lily Florist, BBJ, istockphoto

One night in Paris

No, not the sleezy video of Paris Hilton's vajayjay... I'm planning a wedding where the guests will be transported, via decor and ambiance, to a romantic, electric, sexy night in La Ville-lumière. Our color palette is a swanky black, white and pink and the setting is the Rice Mill. Here are some of the photos that have caught my eye thus far!

The cake in blue and brown will probably be replicated in black and pink or white, tres parisienne, non?

Photos: the Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Party Rentals Ltd., OtherBrother Ent.