Chicago Trends and Ideas for Food Preparation, Décor and Rentals, Event Inspiration, Business Entertaining, Gift Planning and Launch Parties in Chicago by BizBash

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Trends & Ideas 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    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 >> THE SCOUT    11.02.09 8:00 AM 50 Budget-Friendly Ideas for Holiday Parties: Food, Gifts, Decor, and More MoMA's pop-up centerpiece Photo: Courtesy of MoMA Design Store 1-3. Skip cupcakes for a fresh, high-quality sheet cake. Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago makes spice cake with apples, brown sugar frosting, and streusel; a half-sheet for $130 feeds 45. Mäni’s Bakery in Los Angeles makes an organic carrot-raisin cake, which costs $160 for a half-sheet and serves 65. Miami’s Yummy Cakes and More can make its chocolate explosion cake, with a half-sheet (enough for 65 guests) starting at $65. 4. A low-tech, high-impact way to serve shots is to create your own ice shooters with Pure Modern's Cool Shooter shot mold, available for $12.95 each. 5-6. Forgo the frat-party look and stash cold drinks in a stylish ice tub, like one from Broadway Party Rentals in New York, which rents for $30 and up. Or, to dress up a plain bin and keep things cool, Classic Party Rentals provides the 6 Velon chilling wrap (prices vary). MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Corporate Holiday Parties, iStar Financial, Paul Wilmot Communications, The Economist THE SCOUT    10.26.09 8:00 AM Cort's New Line of Glowing LED Furniture Cort's Luna Lighting collection Photo: Courtesy of Cort Event Furnishings Cort Event Furnishings recently launched a new line of LED furniture called the Luna Lighting collection. Rental items include bars, bar-height tables, and pedestals that are lit from within by battery-operated LEDs that last up to eight hours. The lights come in eight colors (red, white, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, and purple), and can be programmed to illuminate the pieces in a solid hue, or fade or flash from color to color. Brushed stainless steel tabletops and frames give the collection a polished look and help make the pieces sturdier. The modular design of the collection offers flexibility as well. The bar can be configured in circular, serpentine, or perpendicular shapes. Pedestals can be turned into tables with round or rectangular tabletops, and can also be connected to create glowing columns. The pieces are available throughout the U.S. and the company will deliver to Canada, depending on the size of the order. Prices range from $56 to $600.   —Lisa Cericola THE SCOUT    10.22.09 3:21 PM 6 New Products Spotted at the BizBash New York Expo Cloth Connection's new overlay Photo: BizBash FROM NEW YORK More than 200 exhibitors displayed a range of products and services for events at the BizBash Expo at the Javits Center on Wednesday. Here are some new items that caught our attention on the bustling trade show floor. 1. Cloth Connection just released a line of overlays called the Artistic Braided collection. The sparkly linens are available in an array of colors, including gold, silver, black, copper, red, turquoise, and purple. The linens are available throughout the U.S. and pricing varies, as the overlays are created to order. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Bizbash New York Expo THE SCOUT    10.19.09 8:00 AM New Company Offers Affordable Video for Events or Web Sites Video stills from Your Story Everywhere projects Photo: Your Story Everywhere Recently launched video production company Your Story Everywhere specializes in affordable minute-long films for Web sites, whether viral marketing campaigns or informative documentary-style pieces. The Columbus, Ohio-based company can also handle longer projects like tribute videos or footage for award shows, which are available on DVD. For short films, typically the time from shoot to finished video is approximately 14 days. The company sends clients periodic updates as a film is being edited so they can follow the video's progress and request changes. Unlike other video production companies, prices for projects are deteremined by the length of the video. A fully produced and edited 60-second video is $1,000, a 90-second video is $2,000, and a 120-second piece is $3,000. Longer videos are priced on request. Travel costs and a la carte options like high-definition cameras and motion graphics are additional.   —Lisa Cericola THE SCOUT    10.14.09 8:00 AM 3 New Activities and Catering Options With International Flavors Falafel from Roti Photo: Courtesy of Roti From Middle Eastern meeting snacks to private tours of a Vietnamese supermarket, here are a few new services and activities that center on global cuisine. 1. A former personal chef and cooking instructor, Rebecca Wheeler now leads corporate groups on tours of ethnic markets and restaurants. Starting at $85 per person, the tours cater to groups of four to 12 guests, and can last from two to three-and-a-half hours. Hosts may select a route from a list of options that include Argyle Street, where guests make their way through a Vietnamese bakery and supermarket before sitting down for a meal at a noodle shop. Other tours wind through Chinatown, Andersonville, and Devon Street, and Wheeler provides information on the culinary history and cooking techniques of the predominant cultures in each neighborhood. MORE >> THE SCOUT    10.12.09 8:00 AM Budget-Friendly Invitation Makeovers Kira Evans Design's 2008 and 2009 invitations for an ERA Real Estate event Photos: Courtesy of Kira Evans Design ERA Real Estate's Leadership Team Awards 2008: The Parsippany, New Jersey-based company holds an annual dinner for its employees. Last year, Los Angeles-based Kira Evans Design created an Art Deco-inspired invitation with heavy silver foils and an embossed logo. 2009: ERA scaled back and went with a rain-forest theme, which allowed Evans to use nature photography to create an invitation for one-third of the price. Four-color printing also reduced production costs, but still resulted in a high-impact look. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Invitations THE SCOUT    10.05.09 8:00 AM A New, Attention-Getting Format for Meetings and Presentations "The Morning Show With Scott Bloom" Photo: Scott Janelli Looking for a way to spice up a conference presentation or sales meeting? "The Morning Show With Scott Bloom" is a new talk show-style format for business meetings. Hosted by Scott Bloom, a Los Angeles-based M.C. and moderator with 15 years of experience, the program is customized to fit each client's needs. Bloom can host a scripted question-and-answer session with a C.E.O. or presenter or act as a moderator or an M.C., moving speakers from topic to topic. Bloom can also provide introductions and banter to warm up an audience, then turn over the stage to the presenter. Because staging and audiovisual needs are minimal, "The Morning Show" can take place in venues ranging from hotel ballrooms to large conference rooms. A riser and two stools are ideal, but some companies may opt for more elaborate settings with pipe and drape and branded graphics. Planners can provide their own backdrop or have Bloom's team source items for an additional fee. Pricing starts at $13,500, which includes a customized program as well as Bloom's hosting duties. Travel costs are additional.   —Lisa Cericola READERS' FORUM    09.29.09 8:00 AM What's the Weirdest Request You've Heard From a Guest? Jack Morton Worldwide's Sarah Shulman “For a corporate event, one of the big shots wanted to know what hotels in Chicago would let him bring a skunk, because he wouldn’t go anywhere without his pet. Someone in our office was able to find a bed-and-breakfast that agreed to make arrangements for him.” —Katherine Parris, Events by Parris, Toronto “'Please change my child’s diaper.'” —Sarah Shulman, director of program management, Jack Morton Worldwide, New York “The weirdest request I’ve received was for the shirt off my back—literally. At our annual outdoor festival we sell apparel, and one year I happened to be wearing the last fleece vest. A guest attempted to purchase one, realized there were no more available, and asked for the one I was wearing. For the good of the cause, I handed it over.” —Amanda M. Burks, manager of corporate relations and special events, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio MORE >> THE SCOUT    09.28.09 8:00 AM Seating With Customizable Upholstery Lounge 22 offers customized upholstery Photo: Courtesy of Lounge 22 Two major event furniture providers have new, customizable options that allow you to emblazon seating with logos, customized designs, or photographic imagery. Lounge22's new upholstery service makes it possible to cover the company's modern-looking Congo line of chairs and sofas with customized images. The available fabrics are a heavyweight poly-cotton canvas or a polyester with the look and feel of heavy silk. Planners work with Lounge22 to provide the patterns, and the turnaround time for the upholstery is about three weeks. The Congo chair with custom printing is available for rent starting at $325 each, and the sofa rental starts at $500 each; the company can also store the custom covers for future use at no extra charge. Rentals and the upholstery service are available in the U.S. and Canada. 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Chicago Producer Looks to Keep Events as Eco-Friendly as Possible—Without Sacrificing Style 2. Healthy Schools Campaign Hosts Fund-Raiser With Student Chefs 3. Ceres' Table: Italian Restaurant From a Former Boka Chef 4. Michael Kors Opens New Chicago Store With Runway Show, Raspberry Martinis 5. Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes 6. 2 New Nightspots Near the Loop 7. 50 Budget-Friendly Ideas for Holiday Parties: Food, Gifts, Decor, and More 8. Poll Results: 2010 Event Budgets Look Bigger 9. What Are You Looking for? We Want to Help 10. 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