DesignDawgs

Polls Close Tuesday at Midnight!

2012-01-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season. Election season that is! Not just in politics, but in the special events industry.

And we are thrilled to have been named a finalist in one of the industry's top awards -- the 2012 Event Solutions magazine Spotlight Awards.

AOO Events is one of only five event companies in the country up for Event Company of the Year!

Polls close tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 31, at midnight Pacific time!

The finalists were chosen by the Event Solutions magazine Advisory Board, a group of high-powered professionals from all areas of the industry.
We thank the board for making us a finalist.
Now we need you to help make AOO Events a winner!

Below is a sample of the work that we designed and produced in 2011 that made us a finalist.
Please take a look through.
At the end of this post you will find a logo that is a link to the voting site.

UPMC
This year, our longtime client, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, named its annual fund-raising event "Celebrate a Future Without Cancer" and challenged us by asking for a color palette of hot jewel tones. We successfully turned up the heat both with the event design and the entertainment, the one-and-only Gladys Knight!

100th ANNIVERSARY OF NAVAL AVIATION
This event took us above and below the deck of the U.S.S. Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego. The evening began with a presentation and a fireworks show. It continued down below in an all-metal hangar bay which we transformed in six hours into this gorgeous environment! Heartfelt videos by Brett Culp and a performance by Kenny Loggins made this one of the year's most memorable events for us.

DREAM FOUNDATION
The jewel in our crown this year was the Dream Foundation event featuring the designer Salvatore Ferragamo. At the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara we produced a runway show, oversaw the build-out of the runway itself as well as the design of the room which was notable for the bold use of red against a designer-white background.

Thank you for voting and helping to make us Event Company of the Year!

Please click on the logo below to go to the voting site.

Polls close at midnight on Tuesday, January 31, pacific time.

GUEST BLOG by Leslee Bell

2012-01-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

I met Leslee while attending an event in Canada. I was taken with her approach to design. When I asked her to contribute a blog on design trends, she didn't hesitate. As you can see, she just starts right out of the gate delivering inspiration! She will be one of the designdawgs on stage with me in Tampa at The Special Event. Hope to see you there!
David Merrell
Creative Director, AOO Events, Lead designdawg

On Trend...2012

By Leslee Bell

We are seeing lots of changes in 2012 especially in the formal dining arena. Gone are the days of stuffy dinners (unless it is a a state dinner with all the protocol). More events are using contemporary formats in seating, combining tall tables with comfortable bar-height stools, or rectangular tables with table-height sofas. More requests for three-quarter table seating are coming in with rounds so no one has their back to the main attraction. Tables are designed as serpentines, rectangles, squares and even clover leaves in combinations to create interest in the room.

Lounge, lounge, lounge! It's in again and not going anywhere. Staged at various heights with stairs from one level to another and tiered for impact.

Various looks in furnishings, texture, different media in upholstery from leather and suede to chenille and tapestry. It's about weaves and patterns. Carpets with the sass of Zebra, geometric patterns in bold colors or soft textural earth tones let the furniture be the drama.

The color for 2012 is stunningly bold -- Tangerine Tango. The color for 2011 was Honeysuckle which is a saucy fuchsia pink. Now these two colors are being paired with celadon green or purple for "attitude palettes" and soft corals and creams for a more subdued palette with rave reviews.

A secondary popular palette is the aquatic blue colors from marine to azure and from teal to turquoise, paired with greens. Think peacock feathers for inspiration.

Themes are out but looks and names that have great freedom for design like the inspiration board for blue mystique (the client's corporate color is blue) give great latitude in design.

Black and white will be strong as an anchor palette and the base for the hot colors to use as their canvas for impact. Red, orange, fuchsia and yellow are the splashes most used with it this year.

Metallics in furniture and settings to gaudy to stylish are having rebirth. From soft;y draped fabrics, lames and leather to rigid metals -- gold, silver , pewter, bronze and copper ... all will soar in 2012.

Lighting is the most important tool in the designer's arsenal. A good lighting director is paramount. They bring depth, texture and drama to a room and change the look of the space over and over, breathing life into the event.

A designer can create a fabulous room but without the magic of lighting it can be flat with little dimension. Lighting sets the mood and tells an ever-changing story.

Branding is out and imprinting is in. Imprinting impacts all your senses, is experiential and therefore far more impactful. Smell is the sense that is most affected by imprinting. Capitalize on it.
Repurposing is very "in." Metaphorically speaking, the client wants to keep the car but will change out the wheels for impact when budgets are modest.

Food stylings are nouveau from being suspended from truss to deep frozen and nitrogen tossed a la minute to being served on clothespins, cooked at a tabletop or planted in seedling gardens. It is as much about the presentation as it is the fabulous foods.

Hors d'oeuvres are served in parchment or edible pastry cones, endive leaves, edible spoons, shot glasses or even with clothes pins.

Popcorn is an adult party food with various flavored salts as toppers paired with local beers or wines. Poutine and flavorful toppings replace the old potato martini bar.

Candy stations are not only for the young, but the young at heart. Unique cocktail are always a crowd pleaser. Create a signature one.

About Leslee Bell

Leslee Bell founded Decor and More in 1989. She pioneered a new style of design and has been rewarded for her efforts. In 2005 she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Special Events Spirit Awards and in 2006, Decor and More was the most awarded company during the ISES Esprit Awards.

Decor and More

Speaking Of...

2012-01-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a mini preview of my next two speaking engagements.
The first one is next week at The Special Event in Tampa!

We're doing a Designdawgs IV: Insights and Inspirations. I will be speaking on and hosting a lively discussion of design trends brought to you by my fellow hip dawgs and cool cats...

People such as ...

Marley Majcher
Marley, aka The Party Goddess, wrote a great guest post on designdawgs last week discussing her design process. She'll go into this more at our seminar.

Leslee Bell
Leslee is the founder of Decor and More in Canada. Her philosophy of holistic, experiential design was ahead of its time -- and continues to be -- when she began the company in 1989. You'll find out more about her on Thursday when she is our Guest on designdawgs. Watch for it. Lots of eye candy!

Ken Kristofferson
Ken is the president of POP Kollaborative in Calgary, and he'll be guest blogging on designdawgs in February.

Then in February, I'm at The Event Solutions Idea Factory in Las Vegas speaking on Designing for the New Normal (economy that is). While the events industry is doing so much better in 2012, we are working in a very different economic climate. As such, our designs have had to change. Find out more about how to integrate environmental elements as opposed to total transformation, allocating budgets and space to make the most of what you have, and more!

At Event Solutions, we'll find out if AOO Events is the winner of Event Company of the Year!

We need your vote to win! Voting ends January 31.

See this blog post to view the events that make us Event Company of the Year

Please click HERE to vote!

Thank you!

GUEST BLOG by Marley Majcher

2012-01-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

Marley is a long time friend. I've watched in awe as she has continued to hone her brand expand into books, webinars, seminars and more and her image become well-known on TV, the internet and radio. She's a dynamo and her post here is as lively and unique as she is. Her ideas on design set my own imagination in motion. Enjoy!
David Merrell
Creative Director, AOO Events, lead designdawg

The Process of Design

By Marley Majcher

To me, good design and the process of creativity and generating amazing ideas often feels like catching butterflies: Elusive. Worth the time in the end for the splendor and satisfaction of what ends up in the net, but try and force the issue or move too swiftly and you end up, well, with nothing. This only seems to encourage "trying harder" which does only one thing - drives the cagey beauty away. Often when we stop chasing and even walk away from whatever we're trying to obtain, we manifest exactly what we want. Such is my process of design.

Event design, like any other form of artistic expression, is in the eye of the beholder, no question, but there are certain things visual artists can do to nurture their aesthetic sense. After so many years of trying to get "better" at designing and laying out the events that The Party Goddess! team is a part of, I finally realized that there are many components that come into play. Mastering anything whether it's design, tennis or even business involves similar repetitive processes.

In my opinion, good art is about exposure - traveling to far away places, taking photos of things that are seemingly unrelated to design: Patterns of sunlight through a gate on a sidewalk in Paris that become the inspiration for an invitation (or bar backdrop or gobo), propaganda crudely pasted to gritty construction plywood off the Westside Highway in New York or jam-packed store windows of Henri Bendel at Christmastime.

It's also the constant awareness of shapes, colors, filtered light, color schemes that aren't supposed to work together (but do), that ultimately allow great design ideas to flow on demand. Because that actually is the point: On demand is not really "on demand" at all; the ultimate "design" is the result of lots and lots of pre-work. Over the years I've developed a few strategies that work for me every time:

An environment that nurtures my creative spirit. Seems obvious, but I still overlook it sometimes. To do great work, my brain space must be nurtured and protected and encouraged to produce. For me that means an organized environment free of lots of clutter and distractions (things unrelated to what I'm working on) and annoyances (a Post-It about a customer who wants to challenge a line item on an invoice.) Incense makes a big difference. So does comfortable, luxurious clothing and rich hand lotion. Music to inspire (crazy upbeat to crank out something edgy and out of the box) or soothing to create a cozy atmosphere to lull my guests into a relaxed state of mind also helps. No clue why the Lollia hand cream does it, but then again I can't figure out why most of my problems are best solved over reapplying numerous coats of lip gloss either.

A strong foundation. A lifetime (or recent focus) on going to museums to see TRULY great artists, galleries, photo exhibits and classes about "the right way" to do things. Do I think you need to visit the Guggenheim weekly and stick solely to matches on the color wheel? Of course not. However, the confidence of knowing that I've left no stone unturned when it comes to improving my work gives me an extra boost.

Shifts. Shifts of any kind are super important to the creative process, especially when one gets stuck. When I need to come up with something particularly spectacular, I mix up everything from the way I drive to work, what I eat for lunch, how I wear my hair, where (and when) I do my exercise. Depending on how stuck and how pressed I am determines how many adaptations to the routine are necessary. Shifting precludes my brain from going on auto-pilot and by default forces me to see new things I had never noticed before.

Caffeine. This is intrinsically tied to my environment and shifts. I often do my best work in coffee shops with a strong cappuccino made with whole milk. Why? No idea. The compact environment seems to force me to focus on the task at hand, stay off the phone and the whole milk feels like such a departure from my nonfat, dressing-on-the-side-lifestyle that I guess I'm just giddy enough to produce.

Inspiration. You've got to have a fall-back. If the caffeine doesn't work and your Masters in Fine Art is still failing you, you've got to have a pre-determined go to list to get that jumpstart your drained batteries need. I have certain blogs (Design Dawgs of course!), books, sections of the bookstore and special lists of international magazines to get me going. Love British Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Dwell, Wallpaper, WedLuxe and whatever catches my eye at the newsstand when it's time to create.

A team who "gets" you. You must, in advance, way before you ever need it, have people around you with whom you can bounce ideas off, who get your vision and can shake you from your "default." The default for me is that space I always go back to when I get lazy, tired and uninspired. It's the flower arrangement I tend to revert to when I've just got nothing. It's the buffet layout I go with when the thought of something new is exhausting. Your go to inspiration gurus should be the ones who can help you get out of the inevitable rut, give you new ideas, know what you already gravitate towards and are great at provoking a twist, a turn or something to take your ordinary to extraordinary.

Space. Room to breathe. Peace. I don't know about any of you, but when I'm pushed, I just can't perform. I'm not suggesting that deadlines and coming in under the wire don't create a certain sense of motivation, I'm just saying that if I don't have a couple of pieces mentioned above already in place, my creativity is pretty much, well, toast. Sure, I can come up with ideas on a dime, that's what live TV teaches you if you want to do it more than once, but I'm talking about setting yourself up to succeed long term without a trip to rehab in the process.

Accept the fact that you and every one of us gets tired, burned out and uninspired at some point (many points.) If you know that going in, you'll be much better prepared to jumpstart your creativity at exactly the right time. And whatever you do, make sure to come up with a list of creative saps and avoid them like the plague (think lack of sleep, hunger, distraction and agitation). Inspired design (and catching elusive creatures) involves a certain set of go to strategies, patience and an awful lot of practice.

Marley Majcher

Marley Majcher is the owner of celebrity-based event planning company, The Party Goddess! and is the author of But Are You Making Any Money? She has appeared on every major TV network including Bravo, E!, HGTV, ABC, NBC, CBS, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Us Weekly, People and Entrepreneur.

Find out more about Marley by clicking HERE!

News from AOO!

2012-01-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

AOO Events has been named a finalist in the 2012 Event Solutions Magazine Spotlight Awards for Event Company of the Year!
The awards are the event industry's Oscars.
The finalists were chosen by the Event Solutions Advisory Board, a group of high-powered professionals from all areas of the industry.

We thank the board for making us a finalist.
Now it's your turn to make AOO Events a winner!

Below are a few of the events we designed and produced in 2011 to get us to this point. Check them out and then click on the Spotlight logo at the end of this post to vote.

UPMC
This year, our longtime client, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, named its annual fund-raising event "Celebrate a Future Without Cancer" and challenged us by asking for a color palette of hot jewel tones. We successfully turned up the heat both with the event design and the entertainment, the one-and-only Gladys Knight!

100th ANNIVERSARY OF NAVAL AVIATION

This event took us above and below the deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier stationed in San Diego. The evening began with a presentation and a fireworks show. It continued down below in an all-metal hangar bay which we transformed in six hours into this gorgeous environment! Heartfelt videos by Brett Culp and a performance by Kenny Loggins made this one of the year's most memorable events for us.

DREAM FOUNDATION
The jewel in our crown this year was the Dream Foundation event featuring the designer Salvatore Ferragamo. Held at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara we produced a runway show, overseeing the build out of the runway, and the design of the room which was notable for the bold use of red against a designer-white background.

THANK YOU FOR VOTING AND MAKING US
EVENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR!

Please CLICK HERE to go to the voting ballot

A Place at the Table for the New Year

2011-12-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

A little before the holiday break, SITE SoCal hosted a tabletop competition at La Costa Resort and Spa in San Diego County. AOO Events partnered with PRA Orange County and the luxury ocean view resort, Terranea in Palos Verdes to create this tabletop design with linen, napkins and sheer chiavari chair covers by Wildflower Linen. The team effort was totally successful for many reasons, not the least of which was that we won the competition!

Although that was nice, it certainly wasn't just about that. Everything we do ... in this industry, in business and our personal lives ... is not about solo victories or achievements. It's about the creative process we go through together and the partnerships and alliances that make us successful, whole and happy.

These past few years have not been without their twists and turns, but we are all still here and still passionate about what we do. As the industry goes through this latest incarnation, and we with it, it's still all about delivering the client's message. As we find new ways to do so, we grow and evolve becoming stronger on the one hand, and more flexible and resilient on the other. Just as anything new, change might feel strange at the beginning, but after 20 years in business, and surviving several recessions, I am here to tell you that with every adaptation, AOO Events has moved to another, higher level.

On this week before the New Year, I am setting a place at my "table" for all that I am thankful for and all that is to come in 2012. The message is in the bottle, and the only way to find out what it says is to pop the cork and welcome in the New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
From all of us
designdawgs and cool cats at AOO Events!

GUEST BLOG by Barbara Dick

2011-12-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

Several of my speaking engagements have taken me to Canada recently putting me in touch with the event professionals there. So it was that I was talking about design last week with Barbara Dick about the launch event for a new capital campaign called "Boundless." I loved the word, but more than that I loved how the design of the event supported it. She sent me some information and photos to share here. Enjoy!
David Merrell Creative Director AOO Events, Lead Designdawg

BOUNDLESS
By Barbara Dick

This event, the kickoff for the capital campaign for the University of Toronto, took its cues from the campaign's theme, Boundless.

The underlying message was that the university is interested in exploring the boundless possibilities of the university and its community for global leadership and societal impact. Ultimately our campaign is about preparing global citizens and meeting global challenges; channeling the immense power and talent of our community to imagine a brighter future for Canada and the world.

The event drew 1,000 donors, alumni and volunteer leaders, senior university leaders, student ambassadors and musicians. We worked with Mediaco on the design and production of this beautiful event. Because of the lengthy history of the university which was established in 1827, they created a look that combined the traditional and modern; a mesh of the familiar with the delight of the unexpected.

The visual messaging for Boundless came from projections on the suspended banners in the reception tent, step and repeats (pictured above) and screen projections.

Four stages featured rotating performance from different faculty of musical ensembles.

Lighting was a major design component in the Convocation Hall during a presentation ceremony culminating in the presentation to all the guests of a diploma with a "Doctorate in Boundless Opportunity."

Barbara Dick
Barbara is Assistant Vice President, Alumni Relations, at the University of Toronto, Canada's largest university. With more than 500,000 alumni, the University of Toronto spans three campuses and boasts one of the country's most successful advancement operations.

Barbara is a graduate of the University of Toronto with more than 20 years experience in the arts and higher education. As AVP, Alumni Relations, she provides central leadership for alumni relations within the de-centralized University of Toronto environment. She, along with colleagues in more than 25 divisions, works to foster alumni engagement in support of the university's mission and goals.

For more on the capital campaign featured here, please go to http://boundless.utoronto.ca/

Keeping the Hollywood Theme Fresh

2011-12-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

This client had seen the best of Los Angeles, from Olvera Street downtown to Venice Beach. The one place left that was perfect for a closing night dinner was old Hollywood! In this city, this theme never wears out its welcome for out-of-town groups. It's especially good if you can hold it at a studio venue as this event was.

The event began with a red carpet entrance at Sony Studios. The excitement was high as faux paparazzi lined the carpet and a Joan Rivers look-alike interviewed guests as they were photographed in front of a branded step-and-repeat wall.

As the guests continued into the party and down Main Street, they grabbed a drink and watched old Hollywood movies that were being projected onto the building walls.

A harp and guitar jazz duo sat atop a riser so guests could see them throughout the cocktail party. At a given point, "Joan Rivers" announced dinner and two stilt walkers dressed in top hats and tails escorted guests to Sony's Cohn Park where dinner was set up.

Dinner tables were placed throughout the park and also surrounding an Art Deco stage.

Two long bars were set up with Hollywood elements.

The Art Deco stage

After dinner, the band, NRG, performed and guests could take a guided tour of Sony Studios.

Small touches of elegance go a long way.

The Hollywood theme is timeless and enduring.
To me, the nicest thing about it is that it allows us as designers to bring the dream alive in a new way each time to an always appreciative crowd!

The team
Decor and Executive Production: AOO Events, Kelly Stein, Producer
Photography: Jahon Pilichowski, AOO Events
Venue: Sony Studios
Lighting: Images by Lighting
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Catering: Wolfgang Puck Catering
Linens: BBJ Linens
Reception Entertainment: Karla Ross Productions, Dee Dee Hanson
Joan Rivers look alike. JazHarp Records, Dinner Band: NRG

GUEST BLOG by Ann Turner

2011-12-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

When Ann Turner, editor of Event Solutions magazine, asked me if she could be a guest blogger, the word "yes" was out of my mouth before she could finish asking. I love this piece that focuses on two great designers you may not have heard of ... yet. Their edgy work inspired Ann to share it. It definitely inspires me. I hope it will do the same for you!
Dave Merrell
Creative Director of AOO Events, and lead designdawg

Star Search
By Ann Turner

One of the cool things about my job is discovering new or unsung design talent. Maybe it's the mother in me, or the teacher I used to be, but there's nothing quite as satisfying as helping one of these well-deserved stars make it to the national stage.

And I have the perfect pulpit to do this. As editor of Event Solutions magazine, hundreds, even thousands, of photos of spectacular work cross my desk each year. Some get a smile or a nod, but a few make me actually sit up and reach for the phone because I must have more. And I must have it now.

That's what happened when I was putting together the latest edition of Event Solutions, which focuses on trends and people who are breaking the boundaries of traditional design. I found some amazing talent, artists who may be making news in their own part of the world, but who deserve a special spotlight from the industry at large.

I'd like to introduce you to two of them. From the West Coast, meet Natasha Lisitsa of Waterlily Pond Floral and Event Design Studio in San Francisco.

A floral chandelier by Lisitsa.

Photo by Arrowood Photography

Lisitsa has expanded her floral design business to encompass complete event design for weddings, corporate and other social events. Waterlily Pond also specializes in large-scale organic installation for private clients, building lobbies, hotels and other businesses.

Waterlily Pond created this 1,000-pound "Fantastical" creation that was suspended at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The organic forms were built from 2,500 feet of vibrantly colored bamboo fashioned into interlocked 3-D pyramids and embellished with giant, 5-foot "flowers" built from Mexican fan palm tree leaf-boots.
Photo: Erin Beach Photography

A "Fantastical" detail from Waterlily Pond's work.
Photo: Prokopets Studio

Growing up in the Ukraine, Lisitsa and her family explored the local countryside, where one of her favorite spots was a Monet-like waterlily-filled pond.

In addition to hanging it high, Lisitsa likes to float elements from food buffets to escort cards. Photo by Erin Beach Photography

Her work is reflective of the serenity of nature, with suddenly surprising drama and startling imagery that takes your breath away.

She and her team earned the cover spot on the December/January issue with a stunning tablescape with a floating floral chandelier.

From the East Coast we bring you Golf Srithamrong of Tantawan Bloom in New York City. I heard about Golf from Seth Stern of Something Different Party Rental, one of my go-to guys when I am looking for ... well, something different.

A page out of the Arabian Nights
Photo: Shira Weinberger

An innovative take on the escort card table.

My jaw dropped when I first laid eyes on Golf's work, and I couldn't get enough. Golf comes from Thailand, and this influence is easy to spot in his work which also fuses European and American style.

Awesome escort card table takes a global perspective.

A gorgeous chuppah that will never be forgotten.
Photo by Fred Marcus

Tantawan Bloom was founded in 2004, and quickly grew to become a full-service event production company, much in demand for many high-profile weddings and social events.

Rethinking the centerpiece as a framed work of art.

Golf has also made appearances on local TV shows and charity events. If I lived in New York, I would visit his shop on a weekly basis to be inspired and exhilarated by his art. Truly masterpieces.

Still hungry for more? Check out the latest issue of Event Solutions for more outstanding work from some of our industry's finest! And if you see talent that deserves a boost, let me know at ann@eventsolutions.com

Ann Turner
Ann Turner is editor of Event Solutions magazine where she brings more than 20 years of meeting and event planning experience to the table. She blogs at Backstage Ann Turner and tweets at @annlturner.

To subscribe to Event Solutions magazine, click here.

Taking the Party to the Streets of LA!

2011-11-30T14:46:00.000-08:00

Downtown Los Angeles is hot again! The city is experiencing a rebirth as destination events explore some of the areas that make this Los Angeles so vibrant. In this case, a group of 800 asked us to recreate these areas in a "Streets of LA" themed event held at Nokia Plaza at LA Live.

Chinatown. We showcased three areas of downtown with our decor and menus from Wolfgang Puck Catering, itself a Los Angeles institution!

Another buffet in the Chinatown area features a golden Buddha and a creative lighting treatment by Images by Lighting.

Olvera Street. The oldest street in Los Angeles was represented by this fun and colorful buffet treatment. In addition to food and decor, a 20-piece marching band greeted the guests. During the entire event, a DJ spun hip tunes while in the Venice Beach area, a graffiti artist depicted city landmarks in his unique, urban style.

The city at night, captured perfectly within the parameters of Nokia Plaza!

The team:
Executive Producer / Design: AOO Events
Venue: Nokia Plaza, LA Live
Lighting: Images By Lighting
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Catering: Wolfgang Puck Catering
Linens: Cloth Connection
Entertainment: Karla Ross Productions
DJ: Hey Mr. DJ

Top Ten Things to Know About Event Design: #7

2011-11-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

It Takes a Village

As we approach Thanksgiving, the symbolism of a beautiful table becomes even more important. As event professionals, that table is set not only for family but for our surrogate family -- those people who make up our village, who we can call on at a moment's notice for anything. For them, we are truly grateful.

And so it was that I thought this week especially appropriate to express gratitude for my village of event colleagues and remember a time when we all came together for this beautiful event!

The stage set for the fashion show

The client was a charity and as such, they were looking for ways to save where they could. One of the ways was to unfortunately go with a different company than AOO. I understood and graciously bowed out hoping we could work together again. I got my wish sooner than expected.

Chris Allen, the American Idol winner from Season 8, was one of the musicians we pulled in at the last minute.

A month before the event I got a call from them. The other company had dropped the ball. The charity asked us if AOO could design and produce the entire event, as well as handle on-site logistics, scripting, video and entertainment.

Several others were Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins and Taylor Dane.

We could and we did. But the only reason we were able to pull it off is because I have surrounded myself with an amazing team. They know me and I know them. So when I had to go into action quickly, it was easy to, as a village, make it happen.

This Thanksgiving, my entire village might not be around my table as I give thanks, but they certainly will be in my thoughts and in my heart!

Have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Top Photo: A last-minute donation gave us throngs of Casablanca lilies and white pillar candles to accent the all-white table design.

The Village
Decor and Executive Production -- AOO Events
Venue: Bacara Resort & Spa, Santa Barbara
Lighting: Images By Lighting
Chairs: Chameleon Chairs
Linen: BBJ Linen

Two Gala Award Nominations!

2011-11-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

The Special Events Magazine Gala Awards nominations were just announced and we are thrilled to have received two!

Best Decor $20,000 - $50,000
DREAM FOUNDATION

The Dream Foundation fund-raising event and fashion show was held at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. (The Dream Foundation is the first and largest national non-profit focused on fulfilling the dreams of adults facing life-limiting illness.)

This year the featured designer at the foundation's fund-raising event was Salvatore Ferragamo. Usually designers want a neutral color palette for a stage and runway show so that their clothes "pop." But for the first time, this fashion designer wanted to add a color -- red -- to the room design so it also popped.

Best Decor Under $20,000
ROOM WITH A VIEW

To welcome an exclusive group of 80 international sales executives to a company's 10-Diamond Dinner in Los Angeles, the client asked us to find a venue with a breathtaking view. Guests were staying in the heart of the city at the Marriott LA Live and it turned out that our "room with a view" was right on property at Wolfgang Puck's WP24 on the 24th floor of the adjoining Ritz Carlton hotel.

The awards will be presented in January in Tampa at The Special Event Conference.

Dinner and a Sports Theme

2011-11-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

This year's Gatorade Athlete of the Year awards dinner and post-reception event was fueled by several new elements. Held at the Wolfgang Puck ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center, the evening's new schedule allowed all the nominees to walk a red carpet populated by ESPN reporters. And, after the event, the winners of the awards returned to the area to be interviewed. This was also the first time that MTV filmed the awards so excitement was high!

As guests entered the ballroom, a 15-foot-high wall displayed images of the 12 nominated athletes. This later would serve as the press riser, a clever way to create an attractive backdrop for what is normally a very functional, yet unadorned, area.

AOO Events oversaw production of 36 linear feet of mid-century staging and the placement of Athlete of the Year banners per our design. The back wall of the stage was a scrim used throughout the evening for projection of both solid color and images. Dinner was catered by Wolfgang Puck Catering and all rental items were provided by Town & Country Event Rentals.

The dining tables featured a centerpiece of cream hydrangea accented with orange roses, braided Victorian branches and a Banksia shoot.

Before and after the awards, nominees and winners were available to reporters from ESPN. This new element was a wonderful addition, adding an air of high energy to the event.

Outside in the pool area, a post-awards reception was gearing up for all attendees who were later joined by the award winners. Gatorade's signature orange was woven throughout.

An illuminated table by Absolutely Fabulous. Guests could also play various games from Party Pals or have their photo taken by LA Photo Party.

We did our best to quench everyone's thirst for more Gatorade orange!

New Beginnings

2011-11-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

To all our friends and colleagues:

At this juncture in his life, Tom Budas has decided to leave AOO Events, Inc. to pursue some of his longtime goals.

Although we are sad to see him go, we wish him success with all his future endeavors.

Dave Merrell

Laying Out A Hospitality Suite

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Time is just flying by! The Bowl games of year end will be here soon, so I thought now was a good time to visit that most interesting hybrid of an event -- the hospitality suite (i.e. tented) areas at big games. I call it a hybrid because even though the overall feeling of the day conjures up a festival, the elements of the hospitality event (usually attended by VIPs) is itself usually high end. Take for example the CONCACAF Gold Cup (the Soccer Championship for North America).

When it was announced that this year's event was to be held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the entire city of Los Angeles was energized. Not just because it was a high-profile sporting event, but that the favorites to make the final were the USA and Mexico. This always makes for a festive time in our city! Sure enough, the finals came through as we had hoped and on June 25, the Rose Bowl was sold out.

Although they all had seats (good ones!) to the game, the CONCACAF executives and VIPs would be wining and dining 150 of their guests at the adjacent Brookside Country Club -- a beautiful site within a 100-yard walk from the Rose Bowl just across a bridge.

To give the bridge a sense of being part of the event, we lined it with bright yellow and white 20-foot-tall banners.

The entrance to the tent that was provided by Town & Country Event Rentals.

Inside the tent we draped the ceiling for a touch of elegance then designed with a "golden" palette of white and brown with a green accent.

The structure was designed in four sections. In the center area we placed a four-sided bar with white tufted bar fronts and really cool "zebrawood" tops. The bars were placed underneath a crystal chandelier and around plasma screens. Stylish communal tables with matching zebrawood tops and cool bar stools displayed succulents and floral.

We added two side structures and left the back of the tent open for an outdoor patio.

The side structure held buffets and white suede furniture and more zebrawood tables, pillows and floral accents. All the lounges had plasma screens as many VIPS would forego the stadium for a comfortable seat and a cocktail! The back patio was created with 8-foot green hedges for privacy and more lounges artfully scattered throughout.

And the game? It was an exciting afternoon as the US took a two goal lead early on. Then Mexico powered back with four goals to secure the win! The crowd was ecstatic. Team USA had beaten Mexico their last four games so this was a milestone win for team Mexico who went home as Gold Cup champions of North America.

We all went home winners having produced an event that was both fun and festive yet high-end and comfortable. Got to love a hybrid!

Stage Design: Creating Impact

2011-10-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

Stage design is all about creating impact which in this economy makes our jobs a little more challenging, but no less possible. And sometimes, the results of ingenuity and creativity are even more effective. Take for instance, the International Interior Design Association's (IIDA) award ceremony that we have done for several years. This industry has experienced the same troubled economic road as the special events industry. In fact, the lowest dips we felt in 2009, the gradual pick up in 2010 and the re-dip in 2011 were almost identical for both industries.

So while the IIDA has continued to have their awards, the budget and the look have obviously been cut back. But that just means to us as designers that the message only gets stronger. This year the message was rebuilding the industry. This was the only direction the client gave myself and the design team at AOO Events.

What we came up with was a literal translation of that sentiment -- block letters which you can see in the inspiration rendering at the top.

The idea for the lettering came from my own inspiration board in my office. It's where I put magazine clips and other graphics that catch my attention. When I am working on an idea I always turn to this board first.

As guests entered the Los Angeles Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, the stage seemed to be under construction with workers on scaffolds. the letters looked to be partially built. The sound of hammers in the background gave way to musical percussion as guests were seated. Once everyone was at their tables, the workers became musicians -- they are the amazing group, Weapons of Mass Percussion (think Stomp) -- and they performed a rousing percussion-based welcome. It immediately set a tone of high energy for the night.

Adding the white drape backdrop allows a lot of flexibility when building lighting looks for the different aspects of the show. It was important that it appear as though the IIDA was frugal with the money so the stage was simple in design, not in construct.

These two photos are of Weapons of Mass Percussion. After opening the show, they performed again at intermission. The connection between their work and the raw, under construction look of the stage was the perfect complement to the overall message we were going for.

The show in action...

On the tables we did a neutral color palette with raw, stained wood containers, crushed glass and Gracie Jacquard linens from BBJ. The orange flower provided a pop of color against the neutral theme.

For my money (and the client's for that matter) this look was just as effective as what we create when budgets are bigger. Of course with more money there would have been more bells and whistles, more audio/visual elements, more entertainment. But in the end, the goal is still the same whether designing a stage look or the interior of a house -- to use ingenuity and bold looks to deliver impact.

Color Combinations

2011-10-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

"Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions."
Pablo Picasso

Color. There are only five primary colors, and yet hundreds of hues and combinations, each of which affect our emotions differently.

Color has to hit you right and of course, it is a decision that is made with the entire environment in mind. But still, I find myself going in phases with color combinations. Take, for instance, this recent event produced by AOO Events . A really simply affair, but sometimes the most difficult. Everything has to be just right. This is where an interesting color combination comes into play.

At the moment I'm obsessed with orange and blue together. In flowers, orange is an easy color to access. Not so much with blue. In this case, I brought it in through votive candles. And the linen also has a blue iridescent hue, which doesn't show up well in the photos but was a subtle presence on this tabletop design.

The flowers used -- orchids, pin cushions, rosettes and succulents -- have modern lines.

We raised the centerpiece on a metallic base to allow us to add some more details under the piece itself. Plus, I think it helped show off all elements in the arrangement, such as the succulents near the bottom. Given the other flowers, these were unexpected, yet really worked.

White Valencia Chair: Classic Party Rentals
Linens: BBJ Linens
Chargers: Mandarin Orange Trading Company

GUEST BLOG by Sharon Dexmier

2011-10-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

We all begin our design process by staring at a blank screen or empty sheet of paper. But really, it begins before then, with some spark of an idea ... something we saw, heard or felt. I'm always fascinated by this spark and today begin a new series of guest blogs that explores what inspires us to bring a new vision to life. Today my guest is Sharon Dexmier, owner of Napa Valley Linens, a national specialty linen company that exports not just linen but also the dream and look of the Napa Valley lifestyle.
David Merrell Creative Designer, AOO Events, Lead designdawg

INSPIRED BY: MAISON & OBJET
Paris + Textile Love + Trends

By Sharon Dexmier

Everyone loves Paris, but in January even the most beautiful city in the world is shrouded in a blanket of gray. The only bright spot is Paris Nord Villepinte, an exposition center. It too is covered by the same gray sky, but its brightness comes from within; from the design inspiration of the twice yearly show, Maison & Objet.

If you are a design junkie like me, this is the place to be. Throngs of international visitors arrive on trains from Paris ready to take on eight separate pavilions of the latest trends in furniture, tabletop, crafts, lighting and ... my love ... textiles.

I love textiles because the right linen completes the entire design

So why do I go to Paris when my company is called Napa Valley Linens? Because Napa gets it's spark from France! Something about wine countries, I'd venture to guess. But also, I love fabric, and I love a fabric show. And Maison & Objet dials me into what's clicking in the entire design mix. New trends and color emerge every year and this is where they kick off long before they hit the stores, homes and tabletops of Napa, Los Angeles or New York.

The original designs here capture the most attention and inevitably are copied but there's nothing like seeing the genesis of creativity in its purest form. That's a process that continues to inspire and excite me.

By the time I leave the show my creative battery is supercharged. These ideas guide me to my selection of fabrics and colors during the year. Conversely, I'll also be aware of them as I see them emerge in other areas.

For instance, if ethnic chic (an example of which is in the above photo) has a big presence at the show, I know its influence will soon be felt in mainstream furnishings and accessories. Dark moody colors that might be seen on showroom walls will suddenly find their way into the latest design magazines and fabrics. It's a great way to get the trends BEFORE they are even a trend!

The January 2011 show was heavily influenced by Belgian design -- muted walls, honed bluestone tables, natural linen upholstery, and unstained pine furniture were accented with both a touch of metallic and orange.

The contrast of metallic elements on raw muted fabrics is a sophisticated juxtaposition of quiet versus brilliant. It was my spark of inspiration and you can see in these following photos how it made its way onto our tabletops this year at a WIPA (Wedding Industry Professionals Association) event in Malibu.

I love the use of deep orange as an accent color, especially with taupe and gray. In a way, it's almost as if these colors ARE January in Paris -- a gray sky brightened by a fire's warm glow. When this is translated back home in Napa, the colors become the gray of the weathered wood of vineyards after harvest, accented with the brilliant orange of a Napa sunset. An entire story in a simple textile ... although now you know, when it comes to finding inspiration, there is nothing "simple" about it!

About Sharon Dexmier

Sharon Dexmier is the president and owner of Napa Valley Linens, one of the fastest growing national linen rental companies. Her fresh approach to linen design and creative flair has been the driving force behind her company's meteoric rise. Sharon is the Vice President of WIPA for 2011-2012, as well as a member of Northern California ISES and a Gold Founding Sponsor of the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA).

Designing Charity Events

2011-10-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

Although the theme of this charitable event was based on the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the garden that "grew" at the Marriott at LA Live blossomed with only good intentions.

Today many corporations are stepping up and doing a lot of good for charitable organizations. This particular event was for underprivileged children around the world; an annual highlight of the corporation's multi-day meeting. With events such as this becoming part of the corporate world of events, it's important that we as event designers create a look that is meaningful but not perceived as frivolous. The message is always the most important element.

To this end, our design for this event was beautiful, yet cost-conscious as well as understated. The center stage, pictured above, was simple and effective. An 8-foot-tall ficus hedge framed a wrought iron gate in the center while cherry blossom trees brought color to the stage. And the fabric behind it was given texture by projections of branches.

As an example of that cost-conscious element I spoke of, originally the client wanted plants around the perimeter. But with a limited budget, I had to find another way to make this happen. Lighting was the answer.

We did this by using a tree branch gobo pattern and split-gelling the light with a steel blue and green. This was projected onto a fabric treatment we created around the room. The finished effect was an ethereal forest by way of a shadow-play trick with lighting.

No matter what the event or its budget, setting the tone from the very beginning is always one of the things I try to do. Here, we did that with an overgrown arch. During the event, a more subdued lighting than what is shown here helped the elements of the hotel disappear into the background.

Every table had a different arrangement which had guests going from one table to the next to see the design on the table where their friends were sitting. Here, a bird cage arrangement utilized roses and hydrangea. Linen by BBJ Linens.

These wrought-iron candelabra were surrounded with French tulips, rose, and hydrangea.

On other tables, gold statues were surrounded by hydrangea and roses.

This event was as beautiful on the outside as it was in its purpose. Suffice it to say that at midnight in the garden of all good, the seeds were sown for hundreds of underprivileged children.

A Room with a View

2011-09-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

To welcome an exclusive group of 80 international sales executives to the company's 10-Diamond Dinner in Los Angeles, the client asked us to find a venue with a breathtaking view. Guests were staying in the heart of the city at the Marriott LA Live and it turned out that our "room with a view" was right on property at Wolfgang Puck's WP24 on the 24th floor of the adjoining Ritz Carlton hotel.

The evening was one breath-taker after another. Our "gasp" worthy entrance was this showpiece floral incorporating the client's logo. Since this was a "Diamond Dinner" we began by covering a three-by-three-foot form of the logo with green lemon leaf and encrusting it with crystals to resemble diamonds.

We then took dozens of long-stemmed roses and hung them from the ceiling. Conversely, we created a garden of upright long-stemmed roses underneath the logo. At the base of the display we placed more roses in containers covered with green lemon leaf. The final touch was a carpet of silver votive candles and faux diamonds scattered at the base. Guests were compelled to stop at the entrance to admire this design.

It gave them a moment to catch their breath before we would take it away again in the dining area!

As I said at the beginning, the room itself overlooks a beautiful night view of the city. We didn't want guests to lose this as they sat so we created the space in such a way to ensure that every seat had a view.

We began by clearing the space of everything, starting with a blank canvas. Then we began to refill it with elements that, when all was said and done, created a space that actually looked like a special restaurant, open one night only for this group.

The dining room included three 40-inch-wide-by-24-foot-long royal tables, each seating 28 guests. They were covered with an elegant "lily pad" linen design by Wildflower Linen of black-and-white silk with three dimensional black flowers that cascaded across the tables. Placesettings included red glass chargers from BBJ Linen. Down the center, we placed large red roses in square crystal containers and added a warm glow with candles in reflective votive containers and more sparkling faux gems. The room was complete with the addition of Louis XIV clear acrylic ghost chairs from Absolutely Fabulous.

The final touch was the ceiling. We filled it with gorgeous cherry blossom branches attached to overhead chandeliers to create a canopy of light and floral.

We of course, had been holding our own breaths, hoping the client would love the effect we created. And they did! It was so seamless guests thought it was part of the restaurant's decor. In fact, the hotel actually inquired about keeping the ceiling treatment up! Now it was our turn to catch our breath. We were flattered, yet unfortunately had to inform them that the branches and blossoms were live and wouldn't last a week. At least the night lives on in our memories and that of these special attendees!

Event Tease: A Preview of Four Events

2011-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

What do these four events have in common? They were all part of a multi-day event in Los Angeles that AOO designed and produced for the same client. Apart from that, each one was unique to the venue and objective of each gathering.

Stay tuned for my next three blogs to find out more about the design concepts and details!

Natural elegance.

What until you see the room this setting was in!

Simple beauty ... the best!

GUEST BLOG by Eddie Zaratsian

2011-09-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Work by tic-tock Couture Florals. Photo by Marianne Lozano

We begin with a new series in which I ask industry designers and professionals the simple question: What Inspires You? This week I pose that question to the talented Eddie Zaratsian, creative director of tic-tock Couture Florals in Los Angeles.
David Merrell, Lead designdawg

Eddie Zaratsian...
What Inspires You?
For me, inspiration is drawn from the vast sensory experiences and moments of life. The things I see, smell, feel and do -- from art and architecture to fashion and fiction. It all leads me to self expression. I don't think about it too often, because it is something that I do all the time, but when someone like Dave asks me specifically about inspiration, I'd have to say I turn to magazines focused on interior design, architecture, art and fashion, taking note of what's happening with fabric and texture, color and lighting. I also draw inspiration from the awe-inspiring runways around the world, travel, and new and old films. But I don't even have to stray that far. Sometimes a walk around the city or even the aisles of Home Depot can really jog my inspiration loose!

Of course, no matter how inspired one gets, at the focal point of the process is the client. Whether it's a family, Fortune 500 company or a fashion house, the client's identity is key.

When starting a new project, my advice is:

Draw your inspiration from who the client is but don't stop there. Anyone can incorporate a corporate logo or a person's initials. When I say "who they are," I mean what are they about? What are their values? What inspires them? Allow what inspires them to inspire you.

Inspired by Coral

At my annual tea party for wedding professionals this year.
Photos by Marianne Lozano

Research is key! Find out the overall theme and the feel of the event and integrate identity and personality thought color, texture and shape.

Inspired by Fashion

I created this necklace for a shoot for Junebug weddings.
Photo by Apertura Photo

Consider the budget. What you have to work with financially will largely indicate what you have to work with creatively.

Inspired by Abundance

A photo shoot for Your Wedding Day magazine. A lot of pink!
Photos by Kevin Lubera

Know your client's priorities and make them yours. Knowing what is most important to your client will always help you when it comes to working with their budget. Is it more important to them to have a specific flower type or color? A particular linen or look?

Inspired by Luxury

A look I designed that is literally dripping in luxury elements such as pearls and crystal!

Know your team. Every creative team is composed of individuals who each contribute integral elements and have their own set of strengths. One person's idea always inspires something in another, setting the creative machine in motion. At tic-tock we use worksheets for our team to create notes and sketches. Then we get together and talk them out.

Inspired by People!

I love this hat I designed for Marley Marcher, The Party Goddess, to wear to my annual tea party. This is a great example of knowing the personality of the person for whom you are designing.

Above all else, be fearless! Don't hesitate to try something new. In fact, probably the best advice I could ever give is this: seek out new things to try and set your sights on achieving the impossible! And I'm not just saying this. Recently I achieved one of my dreams -- to create a line for retail. I got the chance this year with Restoration Hardware.

Inspired by New Ventures!

In June I launched Eddie Zaratsian Custom Florals and Lifestyle in conjunction with the grand opening of Restoration Hardware's Beverly Hills concept store. The studio features arrangements for in-store purchase or home delivery.

About Eddie Zaratsian

More than 20 years ago, Eddie Zaratsian discovered his passion for floral design and enrolled with the Phil Rulloda School. There, Phil recognized Eddie's talent and encouraged him to join the American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) where he became one of their youngest inductees.
Time spent in Europe taking in art, architecture, history and elegance gave Eddie a larger perspective of design and how it relates to flowers. He returned to the United States and began pushing creative boundaries as
Creative Director of tic-tock. His A-list clientele grew fast and he began working with the world's most renowned celebrity wedding planners including Mindy Weiss, Marcy Blum and David Tutera; has designed for private events at Chanel, the Emmy's Governor's Ball, the launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network and has been featured on countless television shows, including an appearance as a contestant on LOGO TV's The Arrangement. Most recently, he's launched an in-store line with the Beverly Hills Restoration Hardware store called Eddie Zaratsian Custom Florals and Lifestyle.

Sweet Charity

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being in this industry is that we have the ability to give back to our communities through the design and production of charitable events. I know sometimes requests can be overwhelming but I've found it helpful to choose just a few that are near and dear to me and leave it at that. I am a big believer of paying it forward and have found several charities to support that contribute good energy to the world.

The Center for Hope and Healing is one of those. A non-profit center, it provides affordable or free counseling to those in need. It's a great organization. I'm proud to be on its Board of Directors and do what I can. So every year I open up my home to their annual fund-raising event then design and produce it. The in-kind donation really allows them to make the money they need to support their work.

The entrance. I like to design in a little "flavor" right from the beginning.
Even though people just pass through it, it sets the tone.
This was simple -- a Persian rug, great lanterns, silk lamps and a little bit of sheer fabric.

This year I decided to theme the event Bohemian Nights. It's one of my favorite themes. You can pretty much pull anything you own into it and make it look Bohemian which is why it's affectionately known around AOO Events as the "everything and the kitchen sink" theme! And by its nature, it lends itself to a comfortable and casual atmosphere, nice on a hot summer night. Even in a semi-business setting like this, comfortable and casual is all the more pleasant for guests.

The stage. It's important to create a center point. Even though the party is casual, you still want to deliver a brief message to the guests from the charity. Plus, in this case, we had a performance by a well-known mezzo-soprano and a quintet of strings. The Moroccan arch is hand painted in gold and the colorful fabric helped break up the white walls.

Another view of the stage.

Use any combination of linens, colored candles and pillows for a Bohemian theme. Half of the items in this photo are pieces from my house. The colorful embellishments are easy to add, and at practically no cost!

An eclectic mix of furniture. Rattan goes well, but anything you can cover with a colorful throw will do. In this case, we used a patchwork quilt.

Details! The gold pattern under the glass of the table is the same one we used on the stage. Mosaic glass, which you can buy inexpensively everywhere, is such an easy thing to cluster on tables. The more eclectic the better.

Wildflower Linen donated the linens.

Flowers also get the Bohemian treatment! All colors and types can be mixed. This is a combination of dahlias in different colors mixed with hydrangea, orchids and lysianthus.

And of course, the silent auction, a necessary evil for charity events! For this event, some of the coolest auction items came from connections that all of us have. Many weekend get-aways are available free-of-charge to charities and they are usually the first thing to be bid on. But the biggest prize this year was the beach cruiser!

Guest we did such a good job of creating a laid-back Bohemian atmosphere that guests were inspired to add a little relaxed fun into their lives!

Speaking of relaxation, I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. See you back here next week with all-new events and Guest Bloggers!!

Top Ten Things to Know About Event Design: #8

2011-08-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

I love architecture. Half the magazines I read for inspiration are either about contemporary architecture or about their interior design. In fact, many architects today follow the masters and often design the furniture that goes into their buildings so the end result is a beautiful, cohesive environment, inside and out.

Think Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry. And before them, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who was famous for his sayings "Less is more" and "God is in the details." I used to change this and say that the devil is in the details, but then I realized that although they can be overwhelming, it's the details that inspire us, make us work harder, and rise up to be our best.

So I've amended this. To me, the details are the elements that bring a good event to greatness.

Which brings us to No. 8 on my list of The Top Ten Things Thing to Know about Event Design. Every great event designer should know that...

Details are not to be feared, but revered.

Here are a few illustrations of details that have come up in my recent event design experiences.

For the UPCI Hillman Cancer Center Fundraiser in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, it seemed that every detail was there to be mastered since we began with a venue that offered no clue of direction.

Here we have it -- a blank page waiting to be filled by a big picture (and a lot of details)!

Making the big picture come alive with details.

Entertainment is one long list of details waiting to be addressed. You need to be aware of the audience, the objectives of the event, the budget, the logistics, the lighting and sound, and more, more, more! Having the lovely and amazing Kristin Chenoweth for your featured entertainment does make it all easier, though, I will admit!

Final details. remember what guests see, feel and experience as they leave. This was actually a last-minute addition to the event. It was a projection of the custom logo of the event and a simple thank you. It turned out to be a bigger hit than the star-studded night and special design details we created. Everyone saw this as they left and the committee received the most comments on it. It goes to show, you just never know.
Never overlook an opportunity to add a detail!

This next event was the rehearsal dinner for a destination wedding produced by Total Event Resources out of Chicago at the Montage in Laguna Beach. We worked with them on design, creating a Texas-Style barbecue for the bride who was from that state. We were proud of this event but it was the little touches that Cathy Miller, owner of Total Event Resources, added that made this extra special.

An overview of guest tables on the Pacific Ocean. Even with this dramatic setting, the details that Cathy added made this event go from good to great -- it just won this the 2012 ISES Esprit Award for Best Wedding.

The menus on the buffets were handwritten on chalkboards framed with a rope finish.

Each table was named after a country music star. Placecards were horseshoes. Table names and numbers were written on small chalkboards on each table.

Cathy added Texas Longhorn salt and pepper shaker sets into the decor on every table. You know that you've done your job right and connected with the guests when at the end of the night, not a single salt and pepper shaker set is left!

GUEST BLOG by Therese Cole-Hubbs

2011-08-15T08:17:00.001-07:00

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

by Therese Cole-Hubbs, Electric Karma International

An elephant in the middle of the room is hard not to notice and in the event industry, that pachyderm is Indian design. It’s impossible to miss the bright colors, lush textures and of course, beautiful traditions, that have made this design style a true crossover star as today both Indian and non Indian events are made richer with an infusion of these elements.

I have been doing Indian weddings and events for many years now but it’s only recently that this design style has become a widespread “trend” for lack of a better word. It didn’t hurt that the wedding of Katy Perry and Russell Brand actually took place in India and paid homage to all the beauty of the country. But I think the main reasons Indian design is gaining momentum is the second- and third-generation American-born brides and grooms have been influenced by American wedding magazines. They are hiring hire outside planners more and thus getting more media coverage for their more professionally produced and photographed events.

In turn, those same couples are adding more America traditions such as cake cutting...

... and a first dance.

But even with the fusion of cultures, Indian wedding traditions remain strong during the mehndi – the henna ceremony for the bride – and the ceremony itself – which continues to take place under structures called mandaps and follow the structure of the couples region or religious sect.

But when it comes to the sangeet – the rehearsal dinner -- and the reception, all bets are off! Themes, décor, entertainment and unique venues are part of today’s multiple-day Indian wedding making these particular events resemble their American counterparts.

But I know that when Dave asked me to write this, he really wanted me to show you more of the beauty of Indian weddings and some of the customs.

Baraat

The baraat is the groom's entrance. In this photo, you see a groom and his family being welcomed at the entrance to the ceremony by the bride's family. This was a beautiful wedding with a very traditional entrance for the groom and ceremony. In India, where elephants are plentiful, many of the grooms arrive in this bigger-than-life manner (as you see in the very first photo of this blog). But in the U.S. many opt for a horse, which is just as impressive, or a Rolls Royce or limo.

Mandaps

Mandaps are the chuppah or altar of an Indian wedding and they can vary from traditional to contemporary in style. But most will be based on a four or eight column design on a stage and reflect the region or religion of the couple. Red, white and gold are very auspicious colors in the Indian wedding and you can see a lot of that in these mandaps.

An al fresco mandap is more unusual. For this couple, we allowed it to be open on all the sides to take in the beauty of the surroundings.

A more traditional mandap, although it does play with colors and a "lace" like pattern to the column design.

Traditional, yet the fabric used is lighter than the more traditional lush textiles of Indian weddings, signaling a trend toward a more updated look.

The Ceremony

As I've said before there are many different ceremonies within India and its varied regions. They are usually several hours long and often include a snack!

They all incorporate beautiful details such as a garland exchange, a sacred fire, palm leaves and other actions that involve not only the bride and groom but the family. One of these ceremonial action is that of the "reveal" of the bride and groom to one another, captured in the photo below.

To me, there is something so timeless about an Indian wedding ceremony. It's not as though there is a "retro" movement within the design as the fashion and the customs of the ceremony never went away! Perhaps it is this sense of history, family unity, and the passing on of heritage that draws us to Indian ceremonies and their color, pageantry and design today.

About Therese Cole-Hubbs

In her 27 years of experience as an event professional, Therese Cole-Hubbs has produced more than 2,000 weddings and more than 500 high-end Indian weddings and celebrations. The latter has earned her a reputation as one of the nation’s leading Indian wedding coordinators. In 2010 Therese formed Electric Karma International. As a division of her company, ASC Event Services, a full-service catering and design firm, Electric Karma gives Therese and her team an even higher profile as a top designer and caterer of Indian weddings and events nationally and internationally. Most recently she was named one of the nation’s Top 11 Wedding Innovators at Engage 11, the premier luxury wedding summit.

As a Founding Member of the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA), Therese serves on the Board as Director of Professional Development. She is also Advisory Board Member for The International School of Hospitality (TISOH) Wedding Coordination and Design Program and a proud member of International Catering Association (ICA).

Decor by
Prashe Decor
Mandap Creations
Darryl & Co

Photos by Poser Image, J. Cogliandro

Celebrating the Spirit of Events!

2011-08-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

Esprit ... it means spirit or wit; having a lively intelligence.

I love that word because this is the attitude with which our team at AOO Events approaches event design and production.

So it was such an honor for us to have just received two Esprit Awards presented by the International Special Events Society (ISES) at EventWorld this past weekend. And doubly so because these are the association's international awards -- meaning our work was viewed and judged to be worthy alongside many amazing contenders from all over the world.

Needless to say, our esprit de corps couldn't be higher this week!!

Winner:
Best Event for a Nonprofit Organization

We were awarded for our work on the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's annual fundraiser. This year, the theme was Celebrate and hot colors were a main design component. And the best part ... Gladys Knight performed! For more on this event, click here.

Winner:
Best Wedding

We are especially proud of this award because we only produce the rare wedding these days. And this was one of those -- a multi-day destination wedding that we produced jointly with Total Event Resources from Chicago.

It took place at The Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, California, and included a rehearsal dinner, wedding, after party (photo below), brunch, kid's activities and more. For the full story on this event, read the guest blog by Total Event Resources' owner, Kathy Miller, by clicking here.

Fire Starters

2011-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

"If you want to start a fire,
find someone who is HOT."

This was the beginning of Special Events magazine's July/August cover story by Lisa Hurley. I'm proud to say that I was one of those listed as being someone who is not only "hot," but who has influenced others, sparking a creative fire in them.

A lot of first-rate event professionals made the list, and I'm thrilled to be in such illustrious company!

Check out the entire article by clicking here: HOT STUFF!

The online version

Contemporary Stage Design at BizBash

2011-07-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to be the executive producer and designer of the General Session at BizBash Expo West at the Pasadena Convention Center. As such, we had to create a stage and room design that was beautiful yet flexible. It would change twice after General Session -- first for a seminar look in which I presented, and then the look for the BizBash West Style Awards.

During the awards

The mid-century modern design was technically integrated to accommodate multiple acts and was adaptable for both a seminar, an awards show and entertainment from simple acts to complex shows. Presenters and entertainers were able to enter the stage from behind at either end of the stage. We were able to easily accommodate multi-media award presentations, different and unique acts and a number of General Session speakers!

For the seminar

It was such a wonderful opportunity to get to work with the West Coast event community and I want to take a moment to thank all our creative partners.

Brite Ideas
Greg Christy

Goodman Audio
Trace Goodman

Megavision Arts
David Corwin

Don't Wonder Productions
Andrew Pole

Kool Party Rentals
Anthony Griffin

Zen Arts
Doug Miller

Dazian
Ashley Brown

Town and Country Event Rentals
Ted Galvanz

Thanks all! Everyone at AOO Events looks forward to working with you again soon!

A Pool with a View

2011-07-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

A dramatic welcome to the J.W. Marriott at LA Live!

Every year the Marriott hosts a Marriott Corporate Partners Program in one of its newest, hottest destinations. We've been thrilled to have produced two of them in the last three years -- one in Indian Wells, California, at the Renaissance Esmeralda, and now this one which was held at the newest jewel in the Marriott crown -- the J.W. Marriott at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.

The view from the pool deck

The unique architecture of the 70-floor hotel adds much to the LA skyline yet also pays homage to it when you are at the location. At the halfway point, a pool deck offers stunning views of the city. Above the deck, another 35 floors rises into the sky. It's not hard to see why this space has quickly become one of LA's favorite locations for events. The Marriott's more than 350 guests from all over the nation were equally impressed when they came in for the Corporate Partners Program this year.

The group was in town for several days and AOO Events designed both the welcome night events (a Los Angeles market theme), produced the event's several General Sessions and the final night la-la-land-lounge look that took place on the pool deck. The intent was to make them feel like rock stars and, as you can see, that wasn't hard given the space!

Beneath the Marriott logo and the Los Angeles stars, guests lounged in style, drank champagne, and dined on the best of everything.

Red. Not only is it the hottest color of the season, but it's also the color of the Marriott brand. Using it helped create an energetic, hot vibe contrasting with the cool colors of the pool.

GUEST BLOG by Phil Cooper

2011-07-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

As Creative Director of the Chicago firm, Event Creative, Phil Cooper is a true designdawg. As part of the pack, he’s out there every day, looking forward to the next design challenge. When I met him, he told me about an event he did based on the movie, Avatar. The Adler Planetarium was the perfect venue for that theme. Here he shares a profile of that event with the rest of us dawgs. Have an event, design idea, or concept you want to share? Let me know. You could be the next guest blogger!

David Merrell

Lead Designdawg

The Sky is the Limit

By Phil Cooper

Stretching eastward into the depths of Lake Michigan, the Adler Planetarium offers panoramic views of the iconic Chicago skyline. It was here that Event Creative would produce an event called Wondrous Worlds for the annual Women’s Board Gala. Their inspiration for this year’s event? Avatar.

In recent memory, no other film has fired up my imagination as much so the creative process began immediately with a brainstorming meeting between Event Creative’s team of designers, sales staff, and executive management. We all agreed that we wanted to take this opportunity to showcase our company’s full capabilities in design and production and create a finely tuned event that was both memorable and unique.

The Adler: A perfect venue for an event with an Avatar Theme

Three hundred and fifty guests began their evening with cocktails in Café Galileo’s and the exterior Lake Michigan terraces of the Adler Planetarium on a Saturday evening. Donors then dined throughout the museum in five separate spaces where they participated in a live auction and then returned after sunset to Café Galileo’s soaring atrium for music, entertainment, and dancing.

Making the most of the view!

The layout of the museum presented several design challenges. Because patrons were divided throughout the Planetarium, it was important to make sure that all of the guests felt they were part of the same event.

The selected theme actually made this very easy. It was determined that in order to represent the feeling desired by the Women’s Board, we had to have an incredible guest table centerpiece that captured the exotic flora images from the epic James Cameron movie. We did not think a “traditional” arrangement would do. So we called on our head floral designer, David Gould. As Creative Director, I gave him two directions to work from: steel risers and upside down bromeliad plants.

David ran with this and incorporated not only the steel and bromeliads, but also orchids, mossy vines, gnarly grape wood, carnivorous plants, maiden hair ferns, colored gems, glass bowls and LED acolytes. The final creation of three alternating tabletop designs was out of this world and a total success. By alternating the rolling landscape of centerpieces and color blocking each of the rooms with one of BBJ Linens' twist fabrics we were able to enhance the existing décor and exhibits by transforming each one into its own world.

Cafe Galileo’s presented another challenge. Guests were going to spend a lot of time in this space so we had to mask the existing cafeteria-styled kiosk on the west wall of the building. We knew we did not want traditional pipe and drape, so we decided to take this opportunity to exhibit some of our scenic video capabilities.

We installed a 42-foot-wide wall of white Spandex on curved wall frames to provide us with a large projection surface.

With the aid of a handful of 3K projectors and LED lights, we were able to wash the entire surface in animated video and light. We also wanted to take advantage of the high atrium ceilings with décor. Our team of artists utilized large round steel spheres and wrapped them with strands of acrylic beaded crystal garlands. The garland absorbed LED light extremely well and added to the luminescent glow found in the Avatar movie.

One of the major scenic elements from the movie that we wanted to incorporate was the Tree of Souls.

To accomplish this, we sculpted two large tree structures from aluminum tubing, aluminum screening and acrylic opalescent crystal strands to enhance the weeping willow look. We then installed these “trees” over LED lights to allow the color-absorbent aluminum materials to change color throughout the evening.

The greatest accomplishment of the event was the synergy between all of the departments within our company. Teamwork defined our showcase goal: the ability to design and execute a fabulous event that focused on our lighting, sound and video capabilities, along with the fabric, floral, furniture and art departments.

About Phil Cooper

Making things was always a part of Phil Cooper’s childhood growing up in a small town in Michigan. His passion for creating and love of the outdoors led him to attend college in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he studied Scenic Design and Directing. Phil moved to Chicago where he worked for the Four Seasons Hotel for several years, eventually leaving to follow his passion and join Event Creative in 2008. In 2010, he took the reins of the company’s Creative Director.

Photos by Josh Sears

Anatomy of an Event: The Details

2011-07-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

In this, the last of my posts about the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation event held on the USS Midway in San Diego, I want to talk about details.

People either say the devil or God is in the details, depending on how you look at it. Either way, it's the details that really make something great. The final result and how it looks is directly in proportion to how much time is taken in paying attention to the little things, and getting every detail right. I believe this holds true in all things -- our personal lives, our businesses and our craft, in this case event design.

MAKE AN ENTRANCE

The entry from the dinner area from reception was a perfect place for branding.

The sponsor banners flanked the red carpet on either side. Sailors were placed on either side for a dramatic entrance.

STAGE NOTES

The middle panel of the stage was a scrim. When lighted from behind it revealed the dinner band. The live element of having a band was intact but it didn't impose on the spoken portion of the program. The band was revealed during every break when there wasn't someone on stage.

ENTERTAINMENT

Kenny Loggins

I'm so glad the client went with my recommendation of Kenny. I've worked with him before and know that he will always go above and beyond all expectations. Plus, knowing the demographics of the crowd, he was the right choice. They all grew up with his music and of course, Danger Zone was the famous song from the movie, Top Gun. How perfect is that? And another of Kenny's songs, Celebrate Me Home, tied in perfectly with the words on stage and the video created by Brett Culp Film.

In fact, this is a huge detail that I want to mention -- the cadence of the show was built around three videos produced by Brett Culp. Each were beautifully written and produced and added so much emotionally to the program.

Emotion -- it's probably the most powerful detail ever and certainly one to never forget when putting together and evening like this one!

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-01T09:58:00.001-07:00

From the flight deck of the USS Midway in San Diego!

For more of my posts on this event -- A Celebration of 100 Years of Naval Aviation produced by AOO Events -- please click here.

Photos by Jahon Pilichowski, AOO Event Producer (I was down below putting the final touches on the gala! For more on that click here)

Top Ten Things to Know About Event Design: #8

2011-06-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

EVENT DESIGN IS NOT EGOCENTRIC

A great designer leaves his or her ego behind.

Too often designers and producers in creative industries such as special events or interior design think that their opinions on how things look and feel are the only ones that matter.

Sure, the client comes to us for our talent and even our signature style, but it's imperative that we listen to what the client needs and work from that point of reference. After all, we are in a customer service industry. The best use of your talent is finding that sweet spot between your design abilities and the client's personality and objective.

But as I'm a designer, and work in a visual medium, it's probably better if I stop TELLING you what I mean and SHOW you!

AN EXAMPLE

AOO Events has been the overall designer and producer of a large fund-raising event for several years. This year they asked to see a look based on jewel tones.
My personal style is modern and edgy, using more of a neutral color base with one or two complementary accent colors that pop. Jewel tones are outside my comfort zone but we kept working to get the right look they wanted. Using the tabletop centerpieces as my example you'll see that it took us several tries, but in the end we created a beautiful table with just the right blend of us and them.

This is the look of the overall event design we created. Lighting was done in jewel tones as well in keeping with the client's wishes for an environment that felt celebratory.
In fact, the word "celebrate" was in this year's event theme.

The first demo based on notes from our first meetings, and as you can, a little contemporary and edgy.

The second demo was a lot less edgy, more traditional and incorporating a lot more jewel tones with a selection of flowers that I normally wouldn't use.

The third demo. More jewel tones, more broken up pieces. We did several more demos after this.

And the final result on the table. One that made us all very happy!

Click here to see #9 on my list

Click here to see #10

Guest Blog by Samantha Vuijst

2011-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

A Different Perspective
Seeing the Event World Through an Intern's Eyes

By Samantha Vuijst

Growing up as a competitive and ambitious athlete, I always liked going to big sporting events, not only to participate but also to wonder how everything was done behind the scenes. It made my choice pretty easy when I had to decide what I wanted to do in the future. I had it all figured out -- I wanted to be an organizer in the Olympic Games within 20 years.

For me the first step towards that goal was to have a killer internship in the United States. After I got in contact with Mark Sheldon, the VP of Operations at AOO Events, I got my wish. Before I knew it, I was on a 12-hour flight from my comfort zone in the Netherlands going to a place where everything is bigger and better -- the United States of America.

Thinking about what it would be like beforehand was one of the hardest things to do. What did I expect? What did I want to get out of the internship? Those are questions that people asked me constantly before I went, and I never had a clear answer. What did I expect? Of course I did my research: I started reading DesignDawgs, following David Merrell on Twitter and researching the company on the internet. But because the event world in the U.S., especially in Los Angeles, is so broad, it's hard to form a clear expectation.

You first think about Hollywood and the glamour, but that lasted only for a minute. I was thinking more about what I would do there. I honestly thought I would be doing a lot of administrative work and research, and I wasn't wrong about that. But I never expected to be on-site as much as I actually was, which I think is the key to any good learning experience. I also didn't expect to be around the client as much as I was, and I certainly was amazed by the dynamics of this incredible industry. The biggest thing for me was the American work culture. I always heard it was sink-or-swim (good thing for me I'm a competitive swimmer) and you have to work your butt off all the time. Of course these are only stories but in the event world, it's not that far off. And I have to say, I love it!

AT THE EVENTS

Before and after shots of Naval Aviation Gala on the USS Midway

The first event that I was part of was the Centennial of Naval Aviation on the USS Midway in San Diego. An historic event in itself, it was also the weekend that I got the "event butterflies" in my stomach!

Even though I was just the newbie looking around the corner, or in this case, around the ship, I learned a lot. The most important factor was probably patience. If you work on such a big production as Naval Aviation, you are working with so many people -- from production to entertainment, from show caller to script writer and so on. That means you really have to have a lot of patience to keep everything running smooth and on schedule. But having that much patience turns out to be really good because it's so interesting to see a room transform from something "normal" to something absolutely amazing, as you can see in the photos above!

What I didn't realize before I came here is that AOO Events is a unique company on its own. Not only does it design and produce, it also manufactures a lot of the elements, like those chandeliers you see in the "after" shot above.

When you have a team manufacturing your design, you're looking at a room in an entirely different way. It makes you even more aware of the space, the measurements and most of all, the design. You can create something really unique, something that hasn't been done before, something that's initially only inside your head.

After San Diego, I was even more eager to learn everything and our producer, Jahon Pilichowski, really took me under his wing during the five-day Honors project which consisted of a dinner, fund-raising event and a gala. Even though this event wasn't as historical as Naval Aviation I enjoyed it even more, probably because I was involved in the entire project from start to finish. This included 16-hour workdays which I loved being a workaholic in the making.

Seeing a style page, like the one above, come alive is amazing. You know that you're doing a really good job when everyone wants to be part of it. And honestly, wouldn't you want to be a part of this dinner, looking at the final result below?

With special events, you really see how important a tight team is. Everyone has to complement each other to get the best result. Often people are only seeing the designer or producer but they are relying on the whole team to get the job done. And the longer you work with these amazing people, the more they grow on you, especially in a company like AOO; it's like they become your surrogate family.

And who is to say that when you're working in the office at AOO you can't help your family with production?
Above, Kelly and I are helping the production crew with AOO's sponsor booth for our City Year Fundraiser (below).

My time here at AOO Events started out with butterflies in my stomach during Naval Aviation and now that it's almost over I'm still head over heels in love with the special event world. Yes, I do still want to be an organizer of the Olympic Games, but it's not my dream anymore. My dream now is to work at a company just like AOO.

This isn't the world of glamour if you're on the organization side of events; it's so much more than just glamour, it's a lifestyle. One thing I know for sure is that I'm going to miss everyone here. Thank you AOO for making my time here the best in my life!

Samantha Vuijst has been an intern at AOO for the past few months. She will be leaving us this week, but we hope to see her back again soon!

Anatomy of an Event: Stage Treatment

2011-06-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

Design inspiration is everywhere!

If you've been hanging with the pack of designdawgs lately, you'd be aware that No. 10 of my Top 10 Things to Know About Event Design is that inspiration is everywhere -- architecture, interiors, fabric, super market shelves, car washes, etc. I'm happy to be able to now give you a perfect example of this!

For the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation on the USS Midway in San Diego, I presented a design proposal that naturally contained a treatment for the main stage.

But when I actually sat in the space -- which was a hangar bay on the aircraft carrier, what I'd proposed didn't feel right. I asked the clients if I could redesign it. I kicked some ideas around but nothing seemed to stick. Then, while in Palm Springs on New Year's Eve Day I saw the building that's in the photo above. I took out my camera and snapped this shot.

Two days later, this rendering was born. The client immediately loved it. I knew I had designed a bigger stage than my original quote and the cost was way more, but I couldn't change my pricing. Working with Ruben Sierra, production manager of AOO Events, we found ways to make it work.

The final stage. That's Dan Fouts, a former All-American quarterback with the San Diego Chargers, on stage as emcee. You can clearly see the influence of the lines of that building in Palm Springs!

Moral of the story -- be aware, be open to inspiration, and always have your camera charged and ready to go!

Anatomy of an Event: Naval Aviation Centennial Celebration

2011-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Gala: Before and After

Beautiful! You wouldn't know that this event took place below deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego. The celebration was the kickoff of the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation and this is the continuation of my blog series on the event.

This is the space -- Hangar Bay 1 -- six hours into installation...

Now we are able to take over more of the space, leaving enough room for about 100 visitors to the Midway who were still wandering around...

Almost there. We are startng to lay tables, and are starting to see color on the perimeter for the first time. The scrim on stage is also up and starting to read color...

Check back on Thursday when I go more into the details of the stage treatment ... there's an interesting story behind it.

If you want to read more on this event before then, check out the digital version of the Event Solutions June issue. This event was the cover story!

Anatomy of an Event (continued)

2011-06-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

After a VIP reception at the San Diego Air and Space Museum (see previous post), the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation celebration continued on the deck of the USS Midway.

It truly was all hands on deck as AOO Events descended on the aircraft carrier. And we weren't the only ones! The USS Midway is one of the most popular with tourists with more than 4,000 people visiting it a day! Of course, portions of it were closed off as we installed the two-part event above and below deck.

Top gun! As a location we love, this one packs a powerful punch!

Images By Lighting projected star gobos and the Naval aviation logo on the ship and its tower. Those, and some very well-placed up lights, were all that was needed to highlight the drama of the location. And another string of red, white and blue lights helped to define and carve out our event space on this massive flight deck.

In the middle of the central bar, we set up a "stage in the round." During the event a band played here and later, the Secretary of the Navy welcomed the Kickoff Gala's 700 guests. By the way, I should mention this was called the Kickoff Gala because it did just that -- kicked off a full year of events that will end later this year in Washington D.C.

How did Jahon Pilichowski, AOO event producer, even get this shot? I don't ask. And Jahon please don't tell. I am just thankful for insurance and even happier that no one had to use it!

Another great shot!

Classic Party Rentals worked with the USS Midway to organize the daytime air show. This was the largest ever in San Diego and drew huge crowds throughout the city. On the Midway itself, more than 3,500 guests attended the viewing!

Details. Details. The larger the event, the more you have to bring it down to human-scale.

The vibe on deck.

Go big! And yet, fireworks were not the ending! After the show, everyone made their way below deck for an amazing Gala dinner.

That's it for now mateys! You're granted shore leave. Have a great weekend! But hurry back next week for more about the Gala!

The Players
Event Design, Production, Technical Direction, Executive Show Production, Photos: AOO Events
Event Production Management: 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation, AOO Events, USS Midway Museum
Location: USS Midway Museum
Catering: Manchester Grand Hyatt
Furniture: Plush Lounge
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Sound, Video: PSAV
Lighting: Images by Lighting
Fireworks: Fireworks & Stage FX America

Anatomy of an Event: Naval Aviation Centennial Celebration

2011-06-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

The VIP Reception

One hundred years of naval aviation deserves more than a day and night of celebration! In fact, it deserves an entire year of nationwide events, the kick off of which began in San Diego. Working with the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation on planning, AOO Events was involved in both the VIP reception profiled in this blog post, and the kick off that began the next day and night on the U.S. S. Midway in San Diego.

The site...
The Pavilion at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park has a natural ambiance and Deco-vibe that is perfect for events. Here it is during set up.

The entrance ...
Instead of the proverbial red carpet, we went with a 24-foot wide blue carpet. With a light blue wash on it, the color popped even more. The Art Deco architecture of the museum was easy to highlight. Images by Lighting uplighted it, then popped out the jet planes on either side with white light. We worked with the museum to change out the banners for the evening and finished the entrance with a gray-scale gobo of the Naval Aviation Foundation logo.

The setting...
The Pavilion at the San Diego Air and Space Museum is a relaxed and comfortable setting, made more so with the addition of serpentine-shaped white leather seating from Plush Lounge.

The Stage...
As soon as I saw the huge wall behind the stage it was an easy choice for lighting. Images by Lighting used gobo patterns in a wavy stars and stripes pattern surrounding a gray-scale Naval Aviation Foundation logo. The Deco fountain in the foreground beautifully offsets the stage.

The Players

Design / Floral / Photography: AOO Events
Production: AOO Events and the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation
Catering: The Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego
Lighting: Images by Lighting
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Audio Visual: PSAV
Location and coordination: The San Diego Air and Space Museum

Check back this week and next for more up close and personal info on the kick off event, both above and below deck on the U.S.S. Midway.

Also, we are honored that this event was the cover story of the Event Solutions June issue! Coming to your mail box soon!

Top Ten Things to Know About Event Design: #9

2011-06-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

LEARN TO EDIT

This is really the key to great event design.

We all want to use all our latest, greatest ideas, but there is a time and place for everything.

I'd say less is more, but it's not that simple.
Sometimes more is more!

Even then, you need to choose the elements that are right
in order to make an impact.

Ask yourself: What is right for that event, that audience, that venue?

Choose: One strong color or motif.
Use it wisely.

Go big: Try to create one BIG look rather than lots of little ones that get lost.

See if: You can carry that very simple, very strong look throughout the entire event.
For instance, the photo I show here is of a motif that went from a casual day event to a dramatic nighttime look using a few very strong elements of color, shape and texture.

And then: Apply the Coco Chanel theory about accessories -- when you've put your ideas down on paper, take one away.
This will help you learn how to hone in on one great look!

To see #10 of my Top 10 list, click here

Locations We Love: Bouchon Restaurant

2011-05-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is one of those rare finds for corporate events where the location IS the event. Bouchon, the Beverly Hills restaurant of the world-renowned chef Thomas Keller, was the setting for an event produced by AOO Events. Everything about it was designed to give guests an authentic and interactive French culinary experience.

It began with a little drama...

The long walkway toward the restaurant's entrance allowed us to build anticipation for what was to come. Guests followed a blue walkway dramatically lighted by Images by Lighting. As guests got nearer to the end they saw that the carpet was in fact the train of a blue dress worn by a beautiful model from Champagne Creative. When done in red, this effect is a great red carpet treatment.

Accordionist Ron Borelli set the mood.

Inside, guests were greeted by a French host, Vernon the Entertainer, who designed this moving table filled with glasses of champagne.

The restaurant is a perfect French bistro, warm and inviting. We custom built a charcuterie platter and buffet that became the center of the main dining room. To the right of it we built a platform stage.

The stage highlighted jazz harpist Lori Andrews.

The entire dining experience was interactive. Here is the fresh seafood buffet with lots of oysters, mussels and great shrimp.

One of the most popular buffets -- charcuterie -- was hosted by another fun character.

All the bars and buffets were custom built to fit into the space and look as though they were always there.

Buffets were set up through the enormous kitchen space. The chefs were manning the line and cooking dishes to order as well as directly replenishing buffets.

All the pastry is made on site as well and the pastry chefs created beautiful displays.

The main buffet in the kitchen. It took a lot of coordination and planning by the team at Bouchon to make it such a unique and world-class experience. It was worth it. Letting the event gravitate toward the kitchen gave the event the feeling we wanted -- that of both a homey, intimate experience and a behind-the-scenes look at a well-known chef's restaurant.

A food lover's experience in the kitchen of Thomas Keller!

Guests watched as artist Ann Rea created a line drawing of Thomas Keller's cookbook. Then they could take part by painting it in. A lucky guest was awarded the painting at the end. However, everyone received a cookbook, and of course, they all left with a delicious memory to take home!

GUEST BLOG by Ruth Moyte

2011-05-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Lately, the types of events that AOO Events produces have shifted from custom event décor to more live production galas and awards shows. I believe that this is because we carry the client’s aesthetic to every aspect of the event. The client’s message and personality should come through in what guests see, taste, smell, touch and hear. Of course, the most direct conveyor of the message is the spoken word. That's why we use Ruth Moyte as our script writer! She's great at getting into the heads of our clients, learning their history and demographics and being able to take all that and parlay it into emotionally charged, entertaining scripts. With her investigative genius, mixed with a ton of patience, she has become an integral part of the creative team at AOO Events!

David Merrell, Lead designdawg

THE WORD

By Ruth Moyte

It all starts with a word, especially when you’re a scriptwriter.

Last November, I got a call from Dave Merrell about writing a script that would inspire, and challenge me in ways I’d never contemplated. The project was the kick off Gala Celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of Naval Aviation. We would be working with the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation, the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. The guests and speakers would be top level military leaders from all three branches, former President George H.W. Bush, celebrities and community leaders. And, it was my job to create an evening that was historical and celebratory for them. Can you say, “shut the front door!?” I was just a tad excited.

Dan Fouts, the show's MC, with two Naval officers, during one of the segment

Three main ideas evolved from the creative team and would become the crux of three videos created by Brett Culp, representing the Legacy, People, and Spirit of Naval Aviation. Working together with Tom Budas, AOO's Marketing Director, we would need to create a storyline and live experience focusing on those three central points.

In addition, we would need some emotionally provocative moments of honor and celebration as well as observation of ceremonial protocol. Where to begin? My knowledge of naval aviation started with the opening scene of Top Gun and ended with the credits rolling at the end of the movie. I had to make up for some lost time, errr, history.

Scriptwriting encompasses so much more than flowery words on paper. Before I ever splash ink, I spend a lot of time really understanding what the client wants to accomplish with the event. Sound familiar? For event professionals reading this, it should.

I seek a lot of the same information that each of you find valuable, I just use it differently.

In events we often talk about touching the senses. And when writing a script it’s of utmost importance. Using sight and sound, a great script stimulates the parts of the brain that provide an emotional response. Let me give you an example.

Creating The Response

That night at the event, we would create a historical moment where the past would literally meet the future passing on the legacy of naval aviation. In order to make it work we would need the oldest living aviator and the youngest aviator present that evening. A tough task, but it was possible, and this is where one of the moments in the evening gets magical.

Let’s set the stage.

The room looked amazing, guests were happy and the evening’s program was moving right along when we came up on the time to create a historical moment. Here’s an actual excerpt from the script. Dan Fouts, our MC for the evening, delivered the narration perfectly.

This evening, as we celebrate the Centennial of Naval Aviation Kick-Off Gala, we are not only celebrating the achievement of the last century, but creating history…history that only those of you in this room will ever experience. There are some things that only happen once in a lifetime. This is one of them.

Dan Fouts and ENS Justin T. Mears

A young Naval Officer, ENS Justin T. Mears, pinned on his Wings of Gold last night in a ceremony at Naval Air Station at Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. His squadron, known as the Hellions, falls under the command of Training Air Wing 5 and fly the TH-57 SeaRanger. Please join me in welcoming the newest Naval Aviator Ensign Mears to the Family of Naval Aviation. He represents a future leader of generations to come.

[Ensign Mears comes out to center stage amid applause.]

In addition, another very special guest here this evening is a veteran and decorated U.S. Marine Corps ace fighter pilot who served during World War II and the Korean War. He has the enviable distinction of having seen not just Naval Aviation, but the evolution of flight itself, grow from a vision to the keystone of America’s defense. Currently the oldest living Naval Aviator, he is a witness to and a part of the living legacy that has made us what we are. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a round of applause for…America’s oldest living ace, Brigadier General Frederick “Fritz” Payne!

[Ensign Mears begins walking down the stairs and down the aisle toward Brigadier General Frederick “Fritz” Payne’s table].

Tonight, these two men represent the past and the present of Naval Aviation as together they look to the next one hundred years of progress and achievement.

[Ensign Mears arrives at table, and salutes Brigadier General Payne.]

Emotionally provocative on its own, the moment soared even higher than anticipated, when the 99-year-old Brigadier General, who was wheelchair-bound, struggled to his feet, stood erect and saluted the young Ensign back. In that moment, every element of the event came together in an explosion of unbelievable emotion. The room came to its feet with a roar of applause and cheers. I sat in the tech booth with chill bumps running down my back. The goal had been achieved and it was historical and priceless.

Golden Nuggets…

It is enchanted moments like the one I just shared with you, which make me so passionate about what I do. It’s finding that one word, the right nugget, which creates strong emotion and imprints an indelible memory or message in the minds of guests.

Whether I’m working with a local charity or the man in the big white house, I chase after moments that will drive guests to the mindset a client needs them to be in. I work to deliver indelible memories through experiences triggered by words. In my opinion it’s about the coolest thing ever. I’m impassioned by the opportunity and the challenge. I live it, breathe it and love it! If I get my way, I’ll be writing the rest of my days. Maybe, one day I’ll even get the opportunity to write with you, and I’d really, really like that.

RUTH MOYTE

Through words, Ruth Moyte captures a moment, makes a connection, builds emotion and delivers a message. Building on story, rhythm and timing, her event scripts are works of art in and of themselves. Each reflects the personality and brand of the client for whom she is writing, many of whom are leading companies across a broad range of industries throughout the United States and Canada.

With 18 years of experience in the special events industry, Ruth has worked on a variety of events and projects with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Audi, Siemens, Farmer's Insurance, Epson, IIDA, Dream Foundation, Anthem/WellPoint, EventMobi and many more. From writing scripts, speeches, awards submissions, creative concepts, conference content, print and broadcast copy, direct mail, and web copy, each project she takes on is delivered with her passion-driven writing style.

Through her own blog, Ruthspirations, she satisfies her desire to help people meet and overcome challenges in both their personal and professional lives. With her wit and candid sense of humor, she tells it like it is and aspires to inspire as many people as she can along the way.

Setting the Stage for Entertainment and Fashion

2011-05-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

This second post on the Dream Foundation fund-raiser held at Santa Barbara's Bacara Resort focuses on the stage treatment and entertainment. What makes this stage unique is that it first functions as a runway for a fashion show by a major designer -- this year it was Salvatore Ferragamo -- and later hosts several top-name entertainers. The shot above was taken from the stage looking out over the runway.

A great looking room from any other angle! Priscella Presley is on stage in this shot taken during rehearsals.

The Ferragamo fashion show during rehearsals.

And during the actual event.

Founder and visionary for the Dream Foundation, Tom Rollerson. He's a dead ringer for Steve Carrell from The Office which has becoming a running joke during the show.

The event featured several top-name performers. As you can see, through lighting we were able to change the mood and the look of the stage from Ferragamo's look to that of a concert. Here, Orianthi, Michael Jackson's lead guitarist, played some of her own new hits, including "According to You." She performed with just a guitar and gave an amazing show.

The evening also included a performance by David Archuleta who played the white baby grand piano that is one stage. And the night concluded with a performance by Jim Messina -- yes that Messina -- from Loggins and Messina (pictured above during rehearsals).

The room design + the fashion + the entertainers ... made this event was a dream from beginning to end!

In the last post and this one I've mentioned many of the players who made this event happen. I'd also like to add to those credits:
Lisa Jones -- Stage Manager
Mary Hill -- Show Caller
Bella Vista -- Lighting and a/v

A Dream Event

2011-05-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

My dream event? One that lets me use the color red as an accent!

Once again, the Dream Foundation fund-raising event and fashion show was held at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. (The Dream Foundation is the first and largest national non-profit focused on fulfilling the dreams of adults facing life-limiting illness.)

This year the featured designer at the foundations fund-raising event was Salvatore Ferragamo. Usually designers want a neutral color palate for a stage and runway show so that their clothes "pop." But for the first time, this fashion designer wanted to add a color to the room design so it also popped. I was more than happy to oblige.

This was the design presented to them for the stage. They didn't change a thing. It was so gratifying to me as a designer to completely nail the aura and essence of a brand as specific as that of a high-end clothing designer the first time out.

The runway and stage.

A detail shot of the stage.

TABLE IT!

The room was divided into four "tiers of giving." The committee wanted each tier to have a different perceived value and look. We worked with Youngsong Martin at Wildflower Linen and with Mandarin Orange Trading Company and Teri Rudin at Chameleon Chair to create a look for each tier defined by table size and style.

The first tier table is shown in the very first photo on this post. This is a close up of the table featuring new chargers by Mandarin Orange Trading Company. Notice the hand-written name tent on the charger on the right -- Dan Aykroyd was the guest auctioneer for the live auction. He was a.ma.zing! He raised more money than any other event at which we've done a live auction. Either it's his acting talent or he's a natural auctioneer or both. Why even question it with results like this!

This was the second tier and actually my favorite of the couture table designs we created.

The third tier , still quite beautiful. Funny story .... we didn't tell some of the committee members that the flowers would be red carnations in a pave' pattern (a French term used in the floral industry to mean flowers removed from their stems and tightly affixed to a shape, usually an Oasis foam ball or cube). The people who weren't told what they were thought the look was stunning and had no idea what type of flower it was! When I had told others at a pre-event design meeting they just said "ewww" followed by "no." Lesson learned! Carnations have a reputation as low-rent flower, but it's amazing how that changes when they are used right. Now we just do it and don't tell anyone until they see them!

Red Jaimestory Orchids. It's all about containers. All the containers we used at this event were white and contemporary for a cohesive look even though there were four distinct looks. This was the fourth tier table and truth be told, I would have been happy sitting at any of them!

Later this week -- setting the stage for a star-studded lineup of entertainment.

Trends in Event Seating

2011-05-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

What's in a seat? A lot more than your guest!
Thoughts on seating and how it affects your event...

Mix and match -- rounds and rectangular tables
share space for a more interesting room layout.

This dining area features two totally separate styles of seating.

The new rule in trends in seating is that there are no rules!

"Everything is mix and match now,” says Tom Budas, director of marketing for AOO Events in Los Angeles, California.

This was the beginning of this article: In Tents magazine. In it Tom goes on to discuss reception style events and lounge seating.

“No one wants to see only matching table rounds," Tom says. "Mixing in custom-made belly bar height with high-backed bar stools makes the design more interesting.”

The key in arranging the tables is to make sure the tall seating is behind the traditional seating so as not to obstruct views, he warns.

Based on this we thought we'd share a few CADs of seating arrangements and some photos of new concepts in event seating.

Seating doesn't just have to be arranged in a typical space. This event took place on a stage looking out over where the audience would normally be seated.

Thank you In Tents for featuring AOO Events!

Click here for full Seating Trends Article

Top Ten Things To Know About Event Design: #10

2011-04-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Where did I find my inspiration for this?

To end the week on an inspirational note, every Friday for the next 10 weeks I am planning to post an item off my Top 10 list for event design.

This week -- Number 10:

Constantly be on the search for inspiration

I always say that a good designer studies other designers
but a GREAT designer studies EVERYTHING!

And by "study" I mean, be aware of the world around you
and how it can relate back to event design.
Some things to study:

Music

Culture -- Modern and Ancient

Broadway plays, TV and Film

Cuisine and Restaurant Design

Visual Merchandising

New Products

AN EXAMPLE

Here is the ad where I found the inspiration for the photo at the top of this post. Just browsing through a magazine I noticed that cool room divider and filed this away. A month later, the look was the perfect accent element for a booth AOO Events had at an industry tradeshow!

Here's to creating inspired events and living an inspired life!

Event Design Details

2011-04-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

Color Splash!

When designing in a large space, nothing makes an impact more than color.

The theme, Celebrate, was perfect for this bold use of color. Warm colors like this are both sexy and energetic, plus they make everyone look really great! Gobos of bursts helped to really underline the message.

And just as broad strokes of painting with light are effective, the details are not to be ignored! These flowers used all the colors of the event in a totally unique, unexpected way. The architecture of this arrangement also could be said to be "bursting!"

Again, color makes a typical lounge environment go completely over-the-top. As this is the foyer, you can see we weren't kidding around. We wanted to make a huge impact right out of the box!

The strong colors continued in the stage design which shifted with each act.

Never be afraid to show your true colors. I promise the effect will be uplifting, energetic and dynamic!

The photos in the post were from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center fundraiser. You can find more on it in these recent posts:
Event Design Break Down: Design and Conception
Event Design Break Down: Entertainment.

GUEST BLOG by Debra Roth

2011-04-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

SEVEN TRENDS FOR EVENTS FROM EUROSHOP
By Debra Roth

Last month I traveled to EuroShop in Düsseldorf, Germany. It’s a huge show that is held every three years and runs for five days. It focuses on exhibit design and build, retail display, lighting, fixtures and details (think halls and halls filled with mannequins)!

While it’s not exactly a direct fit with the events industry, there is a lot of forward-thinking design from which designers can learn. When Dave asked me to write a guest blog on it, I jumped at the chance to share some of the trends from this European marketplace.

Trend #1

Long, sheer curtains, and gin fringe (my name for string curtains. I called them this before I knew the real name because they reminded me of bordellos). They are great for dividing space in a very dramatic way.

Trend #2

Scrim in both white and black were out in full force for a peek-a-boo look. Many ceilings were created from mesh scrim.

Trend #3

Layers and layers. Flat forms were cut in succession to create a three-dimensional form like the one above. This concept was seen over and over again.

Trend #4

Color!! Though black and white is always super popular there was also a lot of green and orange being shown in monochromatic color schemes.

• Trend #5

Vertical tubes or shapes were used to create an environment. The effect is very similar to the long sheer curtains, string curtains and scrim.

Trend #6

Light Boxes, light boxes and more light boxes. I call them light boxes but a better (and longer) description would be graphics that are lighted from behind. The were all the rage.

You see this in tradeshows and retail all the time and lately we've seen more of it at events. Often the fabric is vinyl and the lighting is fluorescent but that is changing with LED. The best light boxes don't let the viewer see the bulbs or dots; they just give out an even, overall lighting.

Trend #7

In the lighting hall white LEDs ruled. LED has come in many colors for years but maybe you didn't realize that it's actually been difficult to achieve a true white light with them. At Euroshop this year there was a breakthrough in that area and many light fixture companies working with LED were showing it off. The photo above is an example of the cool white lights.

And this is an example of the warm white light from the new LEDs. Actually, this stand (in Europe they say stand, not booth) is showing the LED's capability for mixing BOTH warm and cool light tones.

Knowing that we are not stuck with the stark white light of fluorescent lights is important as we make the transition from incandescent light bulbs to LED in our every day lives. And in our professional event lives, we all know that a rosy glow is the most important element to making food -- and people -- look great!

Debra Roth

Debra Roth began her artistic expression as a student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in the early 1980s. From sculpting in metal to performance-art movement, Roth combined postmodern dance production with abstract-shaped costumes made of stretch-fabric that she literally performed within. And to enhance the theatrical experience, she designed and sewed brightly colored, highly imaginative stretch-fabric stage elements — complete environments, all of which became the basis of her business, Pink Inc., almost 30 years ago.

Seeing a viable outlet for her work, Roth entered the special-event marketplace where her innovative stretch-fabric structures and unique costumes have become the most sought-after and long-standing decorative design products the industry has known. Attesting to the prominence and power of the Pink Inc. brand, the firm was recently acquired by Moss Inc. in order to provide Moss entry into the world of special events.

Pink Inc. Powered By Moss

Now We Are Three!

2011-04-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

This month the DesignDawgs celebrates it's third anniversary. Since that's 21 in dawg years, we'd like to think we are all grown up, but you know we still frisky pups when it comes to the design and production of creative, cutting-edge events. Here's a look back at some of those throughout the years.

2008
In Santa Barbara at the Bacara Resort, we designed this stunning event for the Dream Foundation Fund-Raising Event featuring a fashion show by Valentino.

Later that year, in the same month we produced two huge events ... the opening of Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas ...

...and the Aqua Caliente Resort in Palm Springs

Then we were off to Miami to produce the launch of a new Gatorade product at the G2 Lounge during Super Bowl. The lounge featured a bowling alley and a live sports anchor desk where interviews with athletes took place.

And the dawgs began getting its pack of guest bloggers together. The very first was our own Tom Budas, Director of Marketing, (and this year's winner of the Spotlight Award for Marketing Professional of the Year).

Tom wrote about the Marriott Masters, a desert-themed event featuring this custom-designed Iguana Bar.

Later he was joined by other guest bloggers Rand Larson, Janet Elkins, and
Steve Kemble, America's Sassiest Lifestyle Guru!

2009

Picking up the pace with blogs and events in 2009, we won our first Event Profs Design blog Award for Best Eye Candy. To keep that inspiration rolling along we shared these pieces of eye candy...
The Heart Foundation fund-raiser honoring Wolfgang Puck held in Beverly Hills.

We created special stations for about a dozen celebrity chefs who participated in the event creating appetizers and the main meal.

And later in the year we produced a multiple-day corporate event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, using every unique venue that region has to offer -- from a restaurant on the top of a ski run to a nature preserve to one of the city's top watering holes.

And joining the dawg pack with their guest blogs this year were Debbie Meyers, Debbie Hawkins, Teri Rudin, King Dahl, Joella Hopkins, Andrea Michaels, Youngsong Martin, Pauline Parry and Michael Cerbelli.

2010

Designdawgs began the year with its second award by the Event Profs which meant upping the ante on the postings and on our amazing events!

Early in the year we welcomed 5,000 attendees of the American Society of Association Executives to Los Angeles with an event at LA Live. Melissa Etheridge performed a rousing number while a few days later, at the closing event we designed and produced, Cyndi Lauper bid them farewell.

And then we were off to Pittsburgh to produce the annual fund-raising event for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. This year it featured a wickedly great performance by Kristen Chenoweth.

Our transformation of the huge event space at the Monroeville Convention Centre was enhanced by lighting by Images by Lighting.

And during the summer we produced a Special Events magazine Gala-nominated wedding with Total Event Resources. We worked with Kathy Miller and team who brought a Chicago client to Laguna for a fun, multiple-day destination wedding.

The dawg pack grew larger with posts by Rick Turner, Lara McCulloch-Carter, Bart Kresa, Ryan Hanson, Brett Culp, Evan Carbotti, Audrey Gordon, Wendy Anderson, Brooke Bonder, Kathy Miller and Hillary Harris.

2011

We started this year with something different -- a mobile marketing event where the guests were people who followed the event (a bus that promoted Calgary skiing through the brand Stoked for Snow) through Twitter and Facebook around Los Angeles. Lucky winners walked away with plane tickets to Calgary along with lift tickets and hotel nights!

Guest blogger, and longtime friend and collaborator, Raymond Thompson, lighted up the blog post to start the year out right.

Thank you all for reading this blog every week. We've enjoyed sharing AOO Events and our work with you, bringing in guest bloggers, forming a design community around our work and theirs, and then taking it offline at our Designdawg seminars we've held every year at The Special Event and Event Solutions!

Got to sign off now, looks like the birthday cake has arrived!

See you next week! From Dave Merrell, Tom Budas, Jahon Pilichowski, Nick Gentile and all the other dawgs in the pack!

Event Design Break Down: Entertainment

2011-03-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

Gladys Knight!

This is the second post on the fund-raising event that AOO Events produced for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for its cancer institute. The theme was Celebrate a Future Without Cancer.

Each year entertainment is a huge part of this event. This year the event's chairperson was dead-set on having Sheryl Crow. I agree that she is a great performer but as the producer of the event, it's my job to look at the elements not only separately, but as a whole. Not only did Sheryl not fit within the budget, but she wouldn't fit with the demographics of the audience -- an older audience -- or the format of the event.

Challenge: Present an alternative that worked on all levels.

I saw Gladys Knight as being the perfect fit, yet before I went down that road I had to at least see if Sheryl Crow was a possibility. One never knows with entertainment. There is always a chance that an entertainer's price might be lower if she was already in town. But it turned out that she wasn't available at all and this opened the door for me to suggest other entertainment ideas, Gladys being top of the list.

Once we had settled on the entertainment, the next challenge was the final number. The client really wanted an anthem-like number for a "we-are-the-world" type of finale; one where all the medical center and university VIPs would come on stage, lock arms and sing with Gladys.

Logistically, this was not an easy thing to accomplish. First of all, they'd all have to be called in early for rehearsals, then leave their tables during dinner to get backstage early for the song. Not the type of thing you want to put your big donors through! Plus, Gladys' people weren't really keen on it. But the client had said "David, I know you will make it happen." So, regardless of my objections, I was going to have to make this work. Or ... find another way to make something special happen.

A BRAINSTORM

While all this was going on, I was watching a Tyler Perry movie one night. At the end, during the rolling of the credits, I heard Gladys singing a song entitled “I Hope You Dance.” Originally written and performed by LeeAnn Womack, this song is absolutely anthem-like, and the meaning of the song is to dance, to celebrate life, versus sitting on the sidelines.

I jumped up from my couch and said, "That's it!" We contacted Gladys' management a few days later when we made the offer and put in our request that she perform that number for the finale. Sure enough it was a fit! I talked with Gladys after the event, and told her that I had heard that song in the movie and said I knew it was perfect for this event. She thanked me for asking it to be a part of this event, as she LOVED that song and really never got to perform it outside that recorded music track! That alone was gratifying, hearing that from such a superstar.

And to create that we-are-the-world moment? By working with the video company, we created a montage of all those important people and Gladys agreed to be scripted to introduce it. It played during the finale.

BUILDING EMOTION UPON EMOTION

The goal with an event like this builds a series of emotions to that one final moment that we achieved with Gladys.

Ade Obayomi and Melissa Sandvig

One of those moments was a beautiful dance routine performed by Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi. I had seen them perform this routine on “So You Think You Can Dance” years ago. It was created by celebrity choreographer Tyce Diorio and was actually titled the Breast Cancer Dance. It was moving to the point of having most everyone in tears. I remember thinking to myself, "One day I am going to get that on stage." This client. . . this year. . . . this theme. . . it was perfect.

Melissa and Ade in the final pose of the Breast Cancer Dance.

Dance is a celebratory expression of life, and while the breast cancer dance was a poignant moment, the two other solos that Melissa and Ade each performed were completely celebratory and light at heart. A perfect injection into a gala for what normally would be heavy handed subject matter.

I am constantly getting teased by my friends for watching these reality shows with younger subject matter. But the reality is, it keeps me on the pulse of what is new, young, hip and happening. If I didn’t expose myself to these programs, then I would just be putting out more mature, ok, older, subject matter. And our job as designers and producers is to stay up on what is cutting edge. Melissa and Ade helped me make this gala more celebratory, young and edgy!

Plus adding in the dancing also helped reinforce the "Celebrate" title AND tied Gladys' finale song into it.

The Nick Dialoiso Band played during dinner break and for all the walk offs. They were revealed behind the scrim when they played during dinner breaks, a clever way to conceal a live band and then reveal them.

Emcee David Conrad

The direction I gave to our script writer, Ruth Moyte of Red Dandelion Creative, was to allow the seriousness to remain when there was business to be done (this program includes many different speakers from the university and community), but keep it celebratory and light the remainder of the time. Which she did with the speeches and the introductions as well material for the emcee. In this case it was David Conrad, an actor and a native of Pittsburgh, who tied the entire program together beautifully.

Thanks to everyone for an amazing event!
Design, floral, production: AOO Events; Rentals: All Occasions Party Rentals; Linen: Mosaic Linens, Pittsburgh; Audio/Visual/Tech Support: Vision Tech; Lighting: Images by Lighting; Catering: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Event Break Down: Design and Conception

2011-03-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

We were back in Pittsburgh again for the annual fund-raising event sponsored by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for its Cancer Institute. This year the theme was Celebrate a Future Without Cancer. Who wouldn't celebrate that? And to do so, the clients wanted a festive atmosphere using jewel tones.

A Design Challenge

The event was for 800 people and held at the Monroeville Convention Center, a large space. And because it's a fundraiser, our eyes are always on the budget. After the stage treatment, our main design elements are flowers and lighting.

When I hear jewel tones I think emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue, and amethyst gold. These are not easy colors to carry into flowers. In fact, I don't think truly deep jewel tones even exist in flowers with the exception of red.

Jewel tones certainly do exist in lighting and linen but you don't want to use too many otherwise the look becomes too busy. Plus, blue greens and purples are hard to "push" onto walls because of the dark nature of them. They create a more moody feeling rather than one that is light and celebratory. I began to thing that the client, while saying jewel tone, really meant bright, saturated colors.

The toughest part about creating a visual concept is that everyone has their own definition of these terms. My solution was to focus on the word "celebrate," and that seems to be the best answer for us to come together on the idea of an event awash not in jewel tones but in orange, gold and fuchsia.

And to really say "celebrate" we created gobos for the walls that emulated fireworks explosions in those tones.

Floral arrangements in oranges, rich pinks, yellow, and red were set off by linen in muted brown and copper. I wanted a neutral base so the flowers would really pop once they were lighted with pinspots.

Design wise, this was an conservative, older crowd. My natural inclination with design tends to be younger and edgier. but I found a balance of the two by adding a touch of excitement with several custom-built, avant-garde iridescent beaded chandeliers.

The best thing.
The venue AND the layout were the same. We learned from last year's layout as to what worked and what didn't and then improved upon it.

Stay tuned for a unique twist on a stage treatment and how we worked with and incorporated several styles of big-name acts into this event!

ISES Mastermind Series Features David Merrell

2011-03-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

The ISES LA Mastermind article series begins today with a four-parter on David Merrell, president and creative director of AOO Events

(and lead designdawg)!

To read it, click HERE

Check back in on Monday for the mastermind's work for a fund-raising event for the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Cancer Institute!

The stage is set! Tune in next week!

Event Design Break Down

2011-03-18T09:55:00.001-07:00

Coming Next Week!

We break down the elements of this stunning fund-raising event AOO Events produced and designed for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Upcoming posts will cover:

Design Concept and Execution
Entertainment and Logistics-- the great Gladys Knight!!
Lighting
Floral
And how we integrated our efforts with Food and Beverage.

You won't want to miss this party! It all starts next week on designdawgs.

Locations We Love: Gainey Vineyard

2011-03-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

The wine country. I know that visions of Napa and Sonoma just popped into your head, but there are actually several outstanding wine countries located close to Los Angeles and easy for out-of-town corporations and brides to access. Recently we produced a corporate event at the Gainey Vineyard located in the Santa Ynez Valley, just north of Santa Barbara.

The group, based on the East coast, was taking in Southern California sun in style by staying at the beautiful Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. They wanted to explore the area with an off-site event so what perfect way than a trip to the wine country (which from that location is only about a half hour away)?

Plus, the timing was perfect. It was October which is harvest time at the vineyards so there is a lot to see and learn as the grapes are brought in from the vines.

After a tour of the winery, guests were treated to a food and wine pairing with each buffet table decorated with its own arbor. Tables for the casual dining style were set as were high-boys for cocktail dining.

Then guests were taken back to the entrance area. With its garden-like feeling, it was the perfect area for a sit-down dinner.

As String Theory played, guests were wined and dined at square tables set with two different, yet complimentary colors of linen inspired by white and red grapes and provided by La Tavola Linen.

Simply delicious.

Design Dawgs At The Special Event

2011-03-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

The stage was set for a talk...For several years I've been moving the designdawg concept -- a format for design trends and ideas -- from the online world to offline reality. Through seminars I'm able to talk one-on-one with my colleagues who have appeared on this blog as guests.

But of course, when the topic is design, we like to make sure to bring it! Our team here at AOO Events designed this vibrant stage with furniture from Hire-Elegance and a cool white disc drape from Dazian.

Tom Budas, our Director of Marketing and recent recipient of the Marketing Professional of the Year award, and I talked about recent events produced and designed by AOO Events, citing trends and cool resources.

And here, the dawgs all come together -- Hillary Harris, Executive Producer of Special Events at Warner Brothers, Curt Stahl and Raymond Thompson from Images by Lighting and industry videographer Brett Culp from Brett Culp Films. The discussion is spirited and passionate and the audience left with a plethora of new, great ideas that will take their event design to the next level.

With even more guest bloggers lined up this year at designdawgs, it's clear that we're going to need a bigger stage set and couch at The Special Event in 2012!

Tom Budas Named Marketing Professional of the Year!

2011-03-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

We are back from a week in Las Vegas at the Event Solutions Conference and Tradeshow. We returned roughly a pound heavier yet a million miles lighter. In fact, we are walking on air!

That pound is the beautiful award that Tom Budas, marketing director of AOO Events, toted home from the Event Solutions Spotlight Awards. Tom was named Marketing Professional of the Year and we couldn't be prouder! The award is that much sweeter because it comes from peers and colleagues in the industry who recognize the work that Tom does at AOO as well as within the industry to elevate both to the highest of professional standards.

All dressed up! Tom Budas, Jahon Pilichowski, and David Merrell on the
red carpet of the Spotlight Awards in Las Vegas. You dawgs!!

A Winter Tabletop

2011-02-25T07:35:00.001-08:00

Recently I hosted a large dinner party at my home. I've done a number of parties here, but never a sit-down dinner. As the numbers grew in the last week I knew I wasn't going to be able to cope with all the china, glassware and flatware needs. So I turned to my friends in the industry to help me create the perfect dinner table.

I wanted everyone at one table but it soon became apparent that the table in my dining room wouldn't do. So I removed the furniture in the living room, made furniture groups in the dining room, and then placed this huge table in the living room.

PRO TIP: When created a tabletop look, consider the dominant colors in the room and create the table to compliment those. I believe a table is simply an extension of the room design whether you are doing a dinner in your home or an off-premise location.

Doing the table this way felt better for the space and was unexpected for my guests who had been here before. It added to making dinner more special. And since the dinner table was warm and inviting, it's where everyone ended up hanging most of the night, so why not the living room?

The antique gold chargers helped to define each place setting. We used Fanfair chairs by Chameleon Chair, The table, china, glassware and flatware were from Town and Country Event Rentals and the linen was by Wildflower.

Justin created a fantastic centerpiece for the large table. I asked him to make numerous pieces and then we added tons of candles to fill the table. He used an unusual combination of roses, protea, James Story orchids, liquid amber leaves. The antique mirror table top reflected the warmth of the colors and the flickering candles.

This was a true living room -- a place where friends and family could, and did, spend hours of lively conversation and memorable moments. It almost ... almost... made me want to keep the table there year-round!