GUEST BLOG by Youngsong Martin

About Youngsong:

Eight years ago Youngsong Martin began Wildflower Linens. At that time, a shift was occurring in how we perceive and experience event design. Young’s linens, infused with looks hot from the runway thanks to her fashion design background, were right in keeping with what was happening. During those eight years which fell in the wake of 9/11 and then the collapse of the economy, event design has become more restrained, less focused on props and themes, more on color, texture and layers in much the same way that fashion and interior design are. Because of this, we rely so much more on linens (and chair covers) to lay the foundation – or table setting – on which we can build our designs.
-- David Merrell

Young Wisdom
By Youngsong Martin

I’ve called this Guest Blog “Young Wisdom,” but in all honesty this year has left me feeling older and wiser. It’s not been easy for any of us. Motivation and creativity have dropped among almost everyone I know. But one thing happened to me this year that lightened my outlook and helped me gain some perspective – I was asked to travel to Korea to consult with some event professionals there.

When you are traveling, you are in a different state. You see another world, but you also see your world more clearly and the opportunities within it. I would return with a tired body, but a mind refreshed and ready to take some chances.

For instance, I chose to open a fourth showroom in Costa Mesa in the belief that reaching out is better than closing inward. We also collaborated more than ever with different designers on various events, fundraisers (I’m a big believer that marketing dollars do well when applied to donations), and photo shoots.

So, in addition to the travel this year, collaboration with others has helped me stay fresh, engaged and excited about possibilities. Design is both intellectual and visual and the designers I’ve worked with talk in creative shorthand. Some of my favorite collaborations have incorporated many of the trends in today’s events – texture, layering, ethnic vibes, color, non-traditional use of style. Some of these trends are …

ETHNIC VIBES

Wedding design has totally changed away from tradition and towards personal expression. This is happening even with ethnic weddings. And just as we all cross the globe more than ever, so do design trends. The vibrant colors of India and Morocco, embellished by tassels, rhinestones and metallic thread, is lush and exciting.

EARTH BOUND
Not only is green a huge color right now, but earth tones in general are playing an important role in conveying the trend toward eco-friendly consciousness. Blue is also becoming important. It’s an optimistically friendly sky blue as you can see in this photo! In this photo, our line of Russian Linen, a naturally dyed hemp cloth in blue and ivory, is used.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

With Julia Child making French food popular again, I predict that the more we have French food on the table, the more we’ll see French style on the tabletop. Black, white and red are a classic Parisian look while yellow and blue are perfect for the casual elegance of Provence. But here, we put our own spin on what we find “French” with the lush, candy colors from the era of Marie Antoinette – regal and over-the-top.

MOVEMENT

I have been using a lot of elements that evoke movement lately in my designs such as strips of curly chiffon shown here. The “Curly Willow” began as a chair cover with strips of two and three tones of chiffon and has been expanded to include linen as well. Other examples of these 3-D or “animated” linen pieces include flourishes such as rosettes and lily pads to linen and ruffles that stand straight up, anchored by lines of rhinestone.

While there is so much more I could say about linens (they inspire me, I could go on and on, but I don’t want to wear out my welcome with the designdawgs! Thank you Dave and all the dawgs, for letting me be a guest at the beautiful “table” you’ve set with your blog!


Youngsong Martin
When she began Wildflower Linen in 2001, owner Youngsong Martin created a new standard for tabletop and event design. A former fashion designer, Young infused her rental table linen and chair covers collections with rich colors, textures and patterns. She played with unique materials and even shapes to dress tables and chairs in looks as sexy and in vogue as those created for runway models. Ultimately, Young and Wildflower Linen have made table design haute.

young@wildflowerlinens.com
http://www.wildflowerlinens.com/

Not Your Mama's Pipe and Drape!

Dramatic drapery at the Athlete of the Year award is a lot of look for the money! By using a classic gray Austrian drape from Grosh, and hitting it with LED lighting which allows for color changes we were able to effectively update a traditional look. We also went with an acrylic podium so it would blend into the drape set. All the signage was put on acrylic too for the same effect.

A close up of the podium and podium floral. We were going for a 1920's feeling and a calla lily is a classic flower that would have been used back then, but it probably would have been white. The variegated orange is a nice twist that is readily available thanks to modern day growers!

The overview of the Crystal Ballroom at Millenium Biltmore Hotel where the event was held. It’s famous for being the ballroom that was first used for the Governor’s Ball at the Oscars. In the halls you can see the most amazing shots of this ballroom back in the twenties. This ballroom is very classic in its styling as you can see from this picture. Our job was to mix the contemporary sports image of Gatorade and it’s Athlete of the Year franchise with this very formal ballroom.

And because the opulence of this room can be a design "distraction" we lessened it with selective visual lighting, making sections of the room darker and re-coloring the remainder with pinspots focused only on the tops of the table. It's a neat little trick interior designers have used for years --direct the eye where you want it to go and on what you want it to see.

Bringing Interior Design to Events

Fancy new restaurant? Guess again!

In order to create a seamless event at a world-class site such as the Scripps Seaside Forum, we custom designed a look that easily could have been an existing venue. Through the use of lighting, custom made furniture, floral and architectural elements we created the ambience of a first class restaurant and achieved our goal. Part interior design, part event design and a lot of thought created this wonderful environment for our client.

The draping, the lighting, the tables and chairs all looked like they were designed to be a part of event space. The outdoor cement benches attached to the building were incorporated into lounge settings through the use of coordinating furniture, pillows, fabrics and accessories.

Even the centerpieces were created to look like they were designed for the building -- they were a natural design of deep mahogany wood, tumbled ocean rocks, sustainable succulents and organic orange calla lilies.

Bars and tables were built with zebra wood that matched the building’s design and texture. By meeting with the architect to understand the design philosophy and history behind the creation of the structure, we were able to execute the design to the specifics of the space for a true environmental setting.

And this is the view the diners / event attendees had as the sun set! Don't you wish it really was a restaurant??

LET THE VOTING BEGIN!

Voting has begun for the first-ever event industry blog awards!

We've been nominated for Best Eye Candy, a blog that offers the reader design inspiration and looks good while doing it!

Voting ends at 5 p.m. EST September 21, 2009.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Floral Design That Goes From Day to Night

This is one (actually two) of my favorite floral designs we've done lately. They were created for the recent event we designed at The Scripps Seaside Forum. What I liked about them so much, besides their beauty, was the fact that they were unmistakably part of the same event and incorporated the same elements but in ways appropriate for their settings.

The floral pieces that were created for al fresco cocktails before dinner were more casual (if a floral design could be called casual!) thanks to the addition of wooden cubes and the whimsy of the succulents. One can completely imagine those burnt orange lilies and sun-bleached driftwood coming together like this in nature.

At night, the dining tables featured custom enterpieces that incorporated the same elements -- driftwood and miniature cala lilies, but the entire look was given a dramatic "up-do" with the addition of a glass vase and a dramatic sweep of stems.

For me, the way these two looks harmonized with the ocean setting and their own very function at the event comes close to perfection.

Tail Wagging News!

This morning the nominees for the 2009 Eventprofs Blog Awards were announced and we were thrilled to discover that AOO Events' Designdawgs blog had been nominated for Best Blog in the Eye Candy category. This category honors blogs that offer design inspiration, and look good doing it.

These are the first-ever blog awards for industry blogs and we are so proud to be a nominee. Voting instructions will follow and voting will open up next week, September 14.

In the meantime, click here on ready2spark to check out all the other amazing nominees. Congratulations to all and a big thank you to Lara McCulloch and the #eventprofs for creating this award.

A New Location at Scripps

The Scripps Seaside Forum is a great new location in La Jolla right in the heart of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

As you can see, with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, it doesn't need much in the way of decor. But what it does need is some carefully placed and well-thought-out elements that personalize the event for the client.

For example, to customize the site andmake it exclusive for a recent evening program, we added just a few pieces that enclosed the patio area to make it look like the terrace of a fine dining establishment. We also incorporated elements that were upscale, yet didn't go over the top, a big trend in today's corproate events.

And here is what we did...


A view from the ocean looking in. The lounge was added, as was the outside dining area. And yet, both look like they are right at home in this venue.

The interior looking out.

In all, a stunning new location. More on the design details of this event next week!