Chicago Fresh Face Archive for Event Planners regarding Food, Rental and Gift Ideas, Design Inspiration, Business Entertaining strategies and Decor trends

Chicago Fresh Face Archive for Event Planning professionals looking to get inspired to host a trendy and memorable event complete with elegant invitations and within Budget

Chicago event planning resource directory

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GIFT IDEAS What to Give Budding Wine Snobs 7 Noteworthy Pad-and-Pen Sets for Meetings A Gift to Motivate Staffers Planners' Picks From the New York International Gift Fair   FOOD AND DRINK IDEAS Rosenthal Group Launches Eco-Friendly In-Office Catering Option Boka Partners' New Catering Division Catering Company Focuses on Local, Sustainable Ingredients Afternoon Delights: 5 Springtime Lunch Entrees Health-Conscious Cookies   DECOR AND RENTAL IDEAS A New Source for Natural, Unfussy Flowers A New Take on Fancy Draping An Iconic Modern Chair, Now for Rent 10 Fancy Forks 10 Innovative Lighting Ideas   BUSINESS ENTERTAINING What Are Some Crafty Takes on Teambuilding? 5 Cutting-Edge Performers     Fresh Face Archive 11.04.09 9:00 AM Chicago Producer Looks to Keep Events as Eco-Friendly as Possible—Without Sacrificing Style Pivotal Production's Shannon Downey Photo: Candice C. Cusic After five years working in experiential marketing for Spalding Sports Worldwide and Jack Morton Worldwide, Shannon Downey packed it in—into a backpack, that is—and spent seven months traveling the world, visiting countries such as China, India, Egypt, and Spain. “It was one of those times in your life when you realize that you need to be doing something for the global good,” she says of her journey. Downey determined she would continue to work in events, but on her own terms. “I decided I should really be working for myself, and in a way that made sense to me,” she says. In 2007, Downey founded Pivotal Production, a full-service event design and production firm. Since its inception, Pivotal has designed trade show booths, produced exhibition openings at local art galleries, and handled logistics for events ranging from the Ravenswood ArtWalk to the Museum of Science and Industry’s Science Saturdays program, a yearlong series that invites the public on behind- the-scenes tours of venues such as Argonne National Laboratory. MORE >> 09.10.09 9:00 AM David Danielson Draws on High-End Restaurant Experience for New Catering Firm Chef David Danielson Photo: Rick Aguilar Studios Before launching catering firm Behind the Scenes in Chicago, executive chef David Danielson worked in the kitchens of upscale restaurants across the globe. Fresh out of culinary school, Danielson interned at the Ritz-Carlton in Paris; subsequent jobs took him to Charlie Trotter's in Chicago and Bouley in New York. In 2002, Danielson took on the role of executive chef at Chicago's Calihan Catering; three years later, he received a call from John Crisafulli. As president of the original Behind the Scenes in San Diego, Crisafulli has worked on everything from rock concerts to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. When he initially contacted Danielson, he was seeking a new executive chef, and though Danielson wasn't able to move to San Diego at the time, he agreed to work as a freelance consultant. "David is a perfect fit for Behind the Scenes," says Crisafulli. "He's passionate about his menus, dedicated to his clients, and focused on bringing creative culinary experiences to his guests." MORE >> RELATED TOPICS 2008 Beijing Olympics, DLA Piper 06.24.09 8:00 AM Planners Join Forces to Create New Production Firm (and Tackle the Green Tie Ball) MD&A's Denise McGowan and Michelle Durpetti Photo: Nicole Radja for BizBash One summer night in 2007, a fortuitous thing happened while Michelle Durpetti—then an independent event planner—was on a riverboat cruise of Chicago. After years as a publicist at event planning and public affairs firm Jasculca/Terman and Associates, Durpetti had one thing left on her dream-job list: She wanted to work on Chicago’s Green Tie Ball. “I would have swept out bathrooms to work on that event,” she says of the Gateway Green’s annual fund-raiser. “It just seemed like the biggest and brightest and best of the social galas—I really wanted to be a part of it.” Then, on that summertime cruise, Durpetti met Denise McGowan, another independent planner with 30 years of experience—including a nine-year stint as Navy Pier’s entertainment director—who was then overseeing logistics for that summer’s Green Tie Ball. A few days later, the two were working side by side as associate producers of the 3,000-guest event. MORE >> 04.29.09 8:00 AM New Stationer Provides a Clean, Classic Take on Invites Andrea Tahlier Photo: Anthony Tahlier After earning a degree in graphic design, Andrea Tahlier pursued a stationery fetish by managing the design department of River North's Paper Source, where she worked for a year and a half before opening Fuss, a Lakeview paper goods boutique she co-owned and operated for three years. In 2006, Tahlier shuttered Fuss to tend to personal matters. "I took a break, got married, and helped my family open a restaurant," she says. But design was never far from her mind. "I was always doing artsy projects around the house, whether it was designing invites for family and friends or building mobiles," she says, "and then I really got back into it." Freshly inspired, she rented a Lincoln Square studio in May 2008 and launched Float Paperie, a business she named after the mobiles she enjoyed building at home. Tahlier describes her new business as "design for hire," and most of her work is custom. "I work with a range of clients, from brides to businesses, and can design everything from business cards to stationery, basic paper goods, and thank-you notes." She describes her aesthetic as clean and classic with pops of color. "I want people to look back on an invite I designed for them 20 years from now and still love it." MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Advanced Eyecare Professionals P.C. 02.25.09 9:00 AM Revel Global Events Expands to Include Design and Decor Services Clint Paton and Brit Whitfield Photo: Courtesy of Revel Global Events Meeting of the Minds: Like many partners in the event world, Britt Whifield and Clint Paton met on the job. The two worked on the League of Chicago Theatres' annual gala in 2005, but in different capacities: Whitfield was a sales rep for Jewell Events Catering, while Paton's floral company, A.Vision, handled the decor. The pair then found themselves working side-by-side on more events, and over time, developed a "unique synergy," according to Paton. "We fed off each other from day one," Whitfield says. Whitfield launched her own event planning and destination management firm, Revel Global Events, in early 2008. "After being in the events industry for so long, I figured it was time  to try things on my own," she says. In October, she added in-house production division Revel Decor, turning to Paton to head it up. "The cohesion we can now provide our clients—taking event planning and production from the very beginning—will make the biggest difference in their experience." MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Teknion 09.17.08 9:00 AM Cupcakes—and a new Bakery—From a Former Financial Analyst Teresa Ging of Sugar Bliss Cakes Photo: Matthew Shaine for BizBash Making Dough: A career in finance, including a stint analyzing the retail food industry at Credit Suisse, led Teresa Ging in a surprising direction—toward the kitchen. “My heart was tugging me to do something different,” says Ging. “I left my job in 2006 and attended Le Cordon Bleu.” Once Ging got her pastry certificate, she set out to craft the perfect cupcake, which she considers a portion-controlled indulgence. “I started testing recipes and trying them out on 30 to 40 people who lived in my condo building,” she says. “I had them answer five questions about each variation and, over eight months, I finalized the 24 flavors in my collection.” With a menu established, Ging launched Sugar Bliss Cakes in October 2007 and will open her own bakeshop, Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique in the Loop this November. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Le Cordon Bleu, SeeMore Shopping 05.28.08 8:30 AM Veteran Event Planners Launch Design and Production Firm WPI Event Partners's Marcy Manley and Jessica Weinberg Photo: Kendall Karmanian for BizBash Balancing Act: Before launching their own company, Marcy Manley and Jessica Weinberg spent 10 years working side by side in the Chicago offices of XA, the Experiential Agency. The two met at XA, where Manley, then the event and PR firm’s president, was Weinberg’s boss. Together they produced such high-profile events as the Green Tie Ball and the grand opening of the W Hotel Chicago. Weinberg left XA in March 2007 to spend more time with her family (she has triplets) and started event production company WPI Event Partners last May. Wanting the balance of work and family that Weinberg had achieved, Manley soon joined her. “It’s all about a better quality of life,” Manley says. “Do we like what we do, and do we want to keep doing it? Yes, but we want to choose quality of events over quantity.” MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Hootie and the Blowfish, Poi Dog Pondering 04.09.08 12:00 PM Boka Partners' New Catering Division Boka owners Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz founded BRG Catering. Photo: Liza L. Moraitis for BizBash Toast of the Town: In 2003, former nightclub owner Rob Katz partnered with Kevin Boehm, a new-to-Chicago restaurateur. Combining their sensibilities (and the first two letters of their last names), they opened Lincoln Park restaurant Boka, featuring a loungelike setting and progressive American fare. With the success of Boka and Landmark, the contemporary American restaurant it opened in 2005, the team was flooded with catering requests, but getting a license didn’t become top priority until this year, with the opening of Perennial, the duo’s third Lincoln Park restaurant. Perennial is on the ground floor of the new—and event-friendly—Park View Hotel and across the street from event space A New Leaf. “We knew there would be a lot of catered parties going on,” Katz says. Not wanting to miss out on such an abundance of opportunities, Boehm and Katz finally launched a full-service catering firm, BRG Catering, in January. 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