She She Impressions is a Toronto-based company that sells a variety of stamp designs, note cards, and a selection of coloured inks through its online store. The company, launched earlier this year by longtime friends Martha Digby Boyle and Leslie White, designs personalized name and address stamps and has just begun offering a new product called My Logo Stamp, which is suitable for corporate clients. With a black and white copy of a logo—in either a jpeg or pdf format—the company can create a custom self-inking stamp to be used as a seal on envelopes or featured on one of its 15 note card designs. The front of each card has a circular cut-out to accommodate the stamped design. The stamps, which can be shipped throughout North America, retail for $49.99 and will last for as many as 10,000 impressions.
To add some modern style to kiddie-centric events, there is now a child-size version of Philippe Starck's popular Louis Ghost chair. Like the original, the Lou Lou Ghost chair emulates the shape of a Louis XV armchair and is made of durable polycarbonate material, making it scratch- and weatherproof, as well as tough enough to withstand the rowdy antics of pint-size guests. Resource One currently rents transparent and pink chairs nationwide for $25 each. Other colors may become available for rent, depending on demand.
These fashionable furniture pieces make stylish spots for serving cocktails.
Hubbard Street 2, which recently became available as entertainers for private events, is a troupe of dancers associated with the contemporary dance company Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The company's seven performers range in age from 17 to 25 and maintain a repertoire focused on new works from young choreographers. The group's moves include hip-hop and improvisation, as well as intimate duets. HS2 performances can be tailored to a particular event, venue, or audience. The group is available for local, national, and international engagements and recently entertained guests at the Wilmette Women's Associate Tea and the Pacific Symphony Gala in Orange County, California.
Mobile Recess can transport a team from the rigors of the corporate battleground to the carefree world of the grade school playground, offering staffers the opportunity to de-stress with a series of group-friendly, grade-school games like cops and robbers, freeze tag, hide and seek, and duck, duck, goose. The company will pick up groups of any size in a traditional yellow school bus, or an eco-friendly solar-powered and veggie-fueled bus—complete with a lounge, dance floor, and DJ table—and take them to the beach, park, or location of their choice, to compete against one another. A package accommodating eight to 40 participants starts at $4,750.
A Party at the Office Good Eats: Satisfy staffers with a taco buffet from Southern California-based La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill. For $10.95 a head (plus a set-up fee), the chain will deliver all the fixings for chicken and steak tacos, plus salad, rice and beans, guacamole, and chips and salsa. Memorable Moment: A game hosted by Atlanta-based Team Trivia can break up office cliques and get everyone interacting. Pricing starts at $350 for an hour with a quizmaster. Supplies are included (except prizes) and the company can tailor questions to the group. Parting Gift: Colorful bulk candy from New York’s Economy Candy in glass jars or scattered around the conference room does double-duty as decor and take-home favors at the end of the night.
Full-service event firm R Design Lab recently launched Green Lab Design Studio, its new eco-friendly production arm. R Design Lab co-owners Christopher Courtemanche and Alejandro Rivera have experience greening events under the umbrella of R Design Lab: They created reusable signage and racks for the booths at the debut Class fashion trade show. The pair decided to increase their commitment to the green movement with the new company, and rely solely on environmentally sound materials like soy-based paints, locally grown flowers, and certified wood to create designs. The firm donates or reuses materials when possible and contributes a portion of its profits to environmental agencies. Since its soft launch in June, Green Lab Studio has only taken on a handful of clients, including a fashion show presented by the Reality Cares Foundation hosted by Janice Dickinson. Upcoming projects include a lounge the business partners will install for a 2009 Super Bowl party in Tampa, Florida.
Last night’s 60th annual primetime Emmy Awards celebrated excellence in television, awarding actors including Glenn Close, Tina Fey, and Jeremy Piven statuettes for their roles on the small screen. But it was a film rather than a television series that inspired the decor behind this year’s Governors Ball. Because 2008 marks the diamond anniversary of the Emmys, ball co-chair Dwight Jackson decided to incorporate diamonds into his design, and turned to Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the classic 1958 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for creative inspiration.
Jackson, who enlisted the help of Sequoia Productions’ Cheryl Cecchetto to produce the event, created a color scheme of black and Schiaparelli pink—the shade of Monroe’s dress in the musical number. Guests found touches of the distinctive bright pink hue scattered throughout the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, where it popped up in the form of tablecloths, napkins, throw pillows, ottomans, and strips of carpeting.
Glass artist Ann Morhauser's company, Annieglass, crafts fine tableware out of its Watsonville, California, foundry. The new line of goods includes golden-maple- and oak-leaf-shaped dishes that feature clear glass veins running through the surface. Oak leaves measure nine by six inches, and maple leaves are 10 by nine inches and are suitable for desks or office coffee tables. Each style retails for $50; platinum-colored dishes area also available.
In a trend that was particularly fitting for the Los Angeles stop of Diffa's eight-city Dining by Design tour, many designers incorporated shells and other sea-inspired details into their creations. Here's a look at how designers achieved beachy looks at their tables.
