Part One of EVENT Design – Our GiveBack to the Community

Part One of EVENT Design – Our GiveBack to the Community

Our Round Table!  I do love Round Tables – and not just the round kind, the table can be square or rectangular or at our Event Design and Creativity Round Table it was “T” shaped!

Howard Givner of the Event Leadership Institute (ELI) and I began to talk about the Event Community and how Pink Powered by Moss could give back. We said we could look at the tricks and trends in Event Design but we also wanted to address what is really going on with Creativity and the Business of Event Design.

The idea of bringing together 15 Event Designers (listed below)- from all kinds of disciplines was important to broaden the scope of the project.  We wanted a lively discussion where all kinds of ideas came bubbling up!

The lively discussion went on for a couple of hours and all kinds of points were made from Design and it’s worth, to the buyers, who are much smarter about what is available to them.  With Social Media the communications travel much faster then in the old days and how do we deal with that. Pinterest was sited as a new watch out for tool.  Our group chat was so vibrant and deep.  And of course we had a bunch of opinionated Designers in the room!

Howard culled the information down into a White Paper, The Business of Event Design, that Pink Powered by Moss sponsored.

So please go ahead…. DOWNLOAD and take a read!

On Friday March 3oth, the first ever TEDx Wall Street took place at the New York Stock Exchange. Pioneering thought leaders, including Jim Cramer, spoke to an audience of 300 as well as a global audience via webcast revolving around the topic of “Redefining Success” within the Wall Street community and beyond. For those not familiar with TEDx, it is a program created by TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) in which local and self-organized events bring people together, usually honing in on one subject, and are shared throughout the TED network.

We collaborated with Levy Lighting in order to create a dynamic stage set design. Flanking the main presentation screen on both sides were two 8′ wide by 12′ high towers of Wave Form that were projection mapped with video content relating to Wall Street and other issues touched upon throughout the conference. LEDs were also used to internally illuminate Pinkometry products such as Pillars, Trigons, Monoliths, and Quadrigons adding extra intrigue to the stage. Take a look at some photos below and you can click here for some videos from the conference!

It may be warming up outside, but that didn’t stop us from going to the skating rink a few weeks ago for the Skating Club of Boston’s annual Ice Chips festival which showcases sine if the best-known names in figure skating from around the globe! This year marked the 100th anniversary of Ice Chips and the Skating Club of Boston wanted to make this edition very special.  A dazzling display of colors and lights joined the skaters on the ice as well as the fabric decor that we provided on one end of the rink which served as entryway as well as projection surfaces.

A 90′ stretch of  rental products, including Crescents, Continental Divides, Wave Walls, and a 12′ Moon in the center, were on the rink – all dressed in stark white fabric. The combination of lights and reflections off of the ice, made for quite the spectacle; see for yourself:

For the past 2 years we have been involved with the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) Conventions; all taking place in the Broadway Ballroom in New York’s Marriott Marquis. The most recent event just took place from March 25th-28th. For this event, which was themed ‘Shifting Sands . . . Understanding the New Consumer,’ we worked with S & A Event Services to provide a tension fabric rental stage set that was video projection mapped with desert imagery that was constantly transforming. This stage set consisted of two Large Divides, a Wave Wall Tall, Wave Wall Small, and Tidal Wave in order to provide a surface for the projections. In another location, we also provided some rippling walls for the registration areas that were made from stacked Ribbonesque strands.

Last year’s convention, which marked the 75th anniversary of ARF, relied heavily on a printed 9′ Moon, which served as a centerpiece. Behind this Moon was a 30′w x 14′ h Circle Surround incorporating the conventions logo and colors. A smaller scale Ribbonesque wall also incorporated 2′ Moons with the same theme out in the registration area. We also provided a separate stage set using the same 9′ Moon flanked by Large Crescents and Moons of other sizes that was used for live music performances as well as talks.

Take a look at some of the work we’ve done with ARF over the past few years below:

The 2012 addition of The Event Solutions Idea Factory brought a collaboration of  Pink Powered by Moss and AFR in the CaterSource Lounge!  We created an environment with Ribbonesque Arches floating over AFR’s rental furniture.  Take a look at the effect we created!

My Recap – of the Event Solutions Idea Factory 2012!

Also view the  The AFR – Event Furniture Rental Recap and read about our experience from AFR’s POV!

With just two days notice we agreed to sponsor the CaterSource Magazine Lounge. We recruited Deb Roth from Pink powered by Moss to offer us Ribbons and Phyliss from Eventricity in Glenside, PA to do the florals.  We showcased our Function line with the Extravaganza slip covers and previewed two other slip covers- Titan and Saffron which are currently only available in Florida, but may be available in additional markets very soon.

See you out at another great events conference soon!

Event Solutions Idea Factory: I have been a part of this show for years. It is now part of a larger show, CaterSource. Right now, it has the feeling of being buried inside of a catering show. But it continues to change. For better or worse, it is what it is and here I will tell you of the highlights of the Event Solutions Idea Factory!

I diligently walked the show floor with Mark Musters and his banter about his new site My Sustainable Style. We talked sustainability with many and tasted and experienced all kinds of foods and events products. From smoked salmon to cupcake cozy’s there were many products geared towards reuse and innovation.

Pink Powered by Moss brought in Ribbonesque to highlight the CaterSource Lounge with AFR event furniture. Additionally AFR brought their prize winning booth from TSE, Backdrops Beautiful showed large with several of their backdrops and Champagne Creative jumped up a notch with their Champagne Skirted women, wearing edible chocolate fashions!

The highlight for me was experiencing Projection Mapping, through the Spotlight Awards Ceremony (short, sweet to the point – an excellent presentation) and through a workshop. I was happy to meet Bart Kresa from BartKresaDesign – a projection artist and Ray Thompson from Images by Lighting.

ELI – Event Leadership Institute was there in force – Howard Givner and his team continue to educate through live sessions at the show and most importantly through innovative online education.

David Tutera and Preston Bailey did (once again) great presentations and they really draw a big social events crowd.

I continue to go to meet new event professionals but also to connect with the best in the biz. Frank and Lyn from Concept Bait were there, David Merrell and his team presented, Hillary Harris from Warner Bros events and the MGM events group all were at Event Solutions!

The Diva Design Challenge with Cheryl Fish “against” Sasha Souza was fun and funny. It is AFR’s second year with the live battle of the event designers! Great concept right on the show floor!

While there, Dazian announced they had just purchased Dreamworld Backdrops, one of the original backdrop companies in the Special Event market. Expect to see rental backdrops coming out of the Dazian catalog. Congrats Bev and the Dazian team!

An #Eventprofs tweetup brought together some of the best in the biz! Liese Gardner @liesegardner, Jeff Hurt @jeffhurt , Midori Connoly @avgirlmidori and Jessica Levin @jessicalevin, to name a few. I of course was there @pinkdeb, just in case you didn’t know!

What I do love about Event Solutions is their ability to learn and try different things. They are building on their own innovations, which allows things like: a free to all, 1.5 hour awards show built through amazing projection and mapping technology. Heck, the awards show even ended early! And it led to a small private party at Cosmopolitan (my new FAVORITE hotel in Las Vegas) So, getting shaken up can lead to great ideas and innovation and that is what has me watching Event Solutions carefully and coming back for more!

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences came to Pink Powered by Moss with a last-minute request – to produce a double-side, printed fabric circle sign that would be prominently displayed above the star-studded red carpet leading into the Kodak Theater.

With the expert help of Marc Posnock (the AE) and the tenacious and superlative performance of Kahori Sano (the PSM), the job was brought in and turned around with the speed of a flickering 24 frames per second.

Thanks to AMPAS for selecting Pink and keeping the project on the fast track. The Circle Sign was highly visible throughout all of the broadcasts and has made it’s way into several photos from it’s spot above the red carpet. Take a look for yourself:

On the last Saturday in January, pirates invaded the port city of Tampa as part of the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival. The roots of this celebration go back to 1904, and has since evolved into a full day of festivities attended by almost 500,000 people per year. The day begins with the sailing of the Gasparilla Pirate Ship into Downtown Tampa. This is followed by a parade of Pirate Krewes up Bayshore Boulavard and into the heart of the city. Following the parade there is also a series of concerts at the newly built Curtis Hixon Park. Fortunately, we happened to be right in the midst of the action following The Special Event; view some pictures from this unique celebration below . . .