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1. OCAD Gala Kicks Off Mystery Art Sale

2. Developer Hosts Green Cocktail Party, Mini Trade Show to Unveil Eco-Friendly Homes

3. New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

4. Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

5. 8 Handy Gifts for Meeting Attendees

6. MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute

7. Art Basel Preview: New Convention Center Layout, Giant Beach Structure for Audi

8. Obama's First State Dinner Calls on Marcus Samuelsson, Jennifer Hudson

9. Clinique and Teen Vogue Bring Young Women to Beauty Tour, Send Them Online

FROM NEW YORK

Morgan Loft Penthouse: Temporary Venue for Holiday Season

Sustainable Label Opens SoHo Pop-Up With Community Center Sensibility

Clinique and Teen Vogue Bring Young Women to Beauty Tour, Send Them Online

Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle Open Stores With Musical Performances

MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute

3 New Hotel Restaurants for Business Entertaining, Private Groups

Nintendo Launches New Mario Game With Look Back at Franchise History

Scripted Models Play Up Key Notes at Victoria's Secret Fragrance Preview

Ad Age Looks to Boost Conference Interaction With Beer Tasting, Lounge Seating

FROM LOS ANGELES

American Music Awards Begin With Redesigned Arrivals, End With Downsized After-Party

Bouchon: Thomas Keller in Beverly Hills, With Indoor/Outdoor Dining, Private Room

Us Weekly Takes to Voyeur With Scantily Clad Models, Burlesque Feel

6 New Venues for Los Angeles Holiday Parties

New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

$4 Million MOCA Gala Breaks Fund-Raising Records

Chrysalis Benefit Cuts Ticket Prices in Half, Draws Same Crowd

MOCA Gala Spawning Arty Online Auction—Including Gehry's Hat for Gaga—Through November 30

Wende Museum Closes Wilshire for Cold War Anniversary Celebration

3 Ideas for Stylish, Eco-Friendly Events

News Archive for Ikea

NEWS 06.23.09 10:00 AM

MuchMusic Award Gift Lounges Offer Swag and Space to Chill

The official MMVA Gift Lounge
Photo: George Pimentel

Talent in town for the MuchMusic Video Awards had the opportunity to visit two lounges this past weekend, both of which offered swag and space to unwind: the official MMVA Gift Lounge, located at MuchMusic headquarters, and the Artist Sanctuary at Hotel Le Germain.

New York-based On 3 Productions created an orange and white lounge for artists and presenters participating in the MuchMusic Video Awards this year. "We were going for something edgy, something a little different, with bright colours and bold colours," said Matthew Simon of On 3 Productions. Ikea and Sumo Lounge provided furnishings for the space, including bag chairs and ottomans. "It's a place where people can just chill out and relax." MORE >>

MuchMusic Video Awards, MuchMusic, IKEA, Soma Lounge, Bench Apparel, Guess, Kameleon Jewellery, LouLou magazine, Marchon, New Era, Tenstate Jeans, Nestlé, Nautica, Stella Artois, Robert Mondavi Winery, Redken, Nokia, Vitaminwater, New Balance, Mavi, PKG, SkullCandy

EVENT INTELLIGENCE 06.02.09 9:00 AM

Guerrilla Marketing Guide: Where to Stage Stunts in Six Cities

Tennis pros Venus Williams and Andy Murray stopping traffic in Miami
Photo: Getty Images

Chicago
Where to Go: One of the Windy City’s most iconic locales, the Daley Center, allows marketers to reach consumers—including the lunching masses—under the watchful eye of a 50-foot untitled Picasso sculpture. A few blocks northeast, and just outside the Loop, is Pioneer Court. The petite, extremely busy plaza sits where the Chicago River meets Michigan Avenue and sees most of the 40 million tourists who visit Chicago annually.
What It Takes: The Daley Center’s plaza is owned by MB Real Estate (312.603.7981), which prices permits individually. Pioneer Court is controlled by the Equitable Life Insurance Company and the Chicago Tribune Company, but any event using the streets around it would require permits from the City of Chicago (Office of Special Events, 312.744.0626). Months of red tape and a 28-page application packet might persuade you to go guerrilla instead.
Recent Stunt: When More put future first lady Michelle Obama on its October 2008 cover, the magazine deployed 100 readers to the streets around Pioneer Court to pose with issues—and it didn’t spend a penny on permits.
Who Can Help: Based in Chicago, Legacy Marketing Partners has earned a lot of attention from experiential campaigns like the Stoli Hotel and the mobile Burger King/NFL Challenge. MORE >>

Guerrilla Marketing, More Magazine, Sony, DirecTV, Budweiser, Ikea, Ikea, Sony Ericsson

EVENT REPORT 02.09.09 9:00 AM

Interior Design Show Party Presents "Food as Theatre," With Performing Bartenders, Interactive Stations

The Crystal Clear exhibit
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash

For the opening night party of the 11th annual Interior Design Show, held Thursday at the Direct Energy Centre, organizers chose caterers who presented food as theatre in an effort to entertain guests at the event, which adopted an "aMUSE" theme this year. “The whole evening is certainly food and drink centric,” said event producer Marion Heintzman of Heintzman Productions. “We decided to present food as theatre so everything around the preparation and serving becomes theatre. It’s all about the visual.”

Servers on scooters delivered boxes of pizza to two Autogrill food stations; staff from Rodney’s Oyster House shucked oysters; Edo offered handmade sushi to attendees; and Peller Estates made pink icewine candy. Bartenders from Bartender One entertained guests while making drinks at a large bar located in the main aisle, and a girl dressed in white chipped away at a block of ice that encased a bottle of Belvedere Vodka on the Krups stage. MORE >>

Interior Design Show, Audi, Azure, House & Home, The Globe and Mail, Ikea, Para Paints, Krups, Swarovski Crystallized, Dekla, Jenn-Air, Scavolini, Samsung, Yellow Pages

EVENT REPORT 07.31.08 4:05 PM

Ikea Takes Over Downtown Space for Launch of New Collection

Furniture displays at the Ikea launch
Photo: Courtesy of Oreon Mounter/Moment Communications

Ikea has built its success on accessible price points and utilitarian design, but it's not often a brand associated with luxury. The Swedish furniture chain looked to tweak that image Wednesday evening by adding an upscale vibe to its Style 2009 party, which launched the new catalogue and collection. Eschewing its yellow-and-blue signage and suburban big-box image, the company took over a vacant retail space in the King Street East furniture and design district, leaving passersby to speculate if a new downtown location was opening.

"It was a guerilla PR tactic, but we also wanted to position ourselves competitively against the high-end furniture stores in the area," said Ikea Canada PR manager Madeleine Lowenborg-Frick, who planned the event. The downtown showroom isn't a permanent fixture, and items aren't for sale, but it will be open to the public until Sunday. (Last year's event was at Ikea's Etobicoke location.)

MORE >>

Ikea, So You Think You Can Dance, HGTV

NEWS 04.07.08 3:56 PM

Gallery Highlights New Products for National Home Show Attendees

Teak flooring furnished a section of Gallery New.
Photo: BizBash

In an effort to highlight new products for attendees at this year's National Home Show, the show's production manager, Karen Coons, called on designer Adam Berkowitz of Equal Design + Development to curate a booth called Gallery New. The 1,200-square-foot, museum-style setup at the Direct Energy Centre is a first at the National Home Show (which began Friday and runs until Sunday), and features everything from building materials to lighting and flatware—all of which are being showcased by exhibitors at the show.

"As far as the timing of the year, it's perfect because April is the beginning of outdoor living season, so I took that opportunity to do the indoor space and the outdoor space so we could show a whole range of products," said Berkowitz, who met Coons when he worked as a product developer at Umbra. His indoors picks include Griipa, a new adhesive technology, while outdoor products include a Nuevo patio furniture set that fits into an oversize wicker ball for storage and a portable fireplace from Ecosmart Fireplaces. MORE >>

National Home Show, Adam Berkowitz, Umbra, Nuevo, Ecosmart Fireplaces, Adrianne Rubenstein, Griipa, Ikea

Q & A 03.27.08 12:17 PM

National Home Show Manager Christine Nattrass Listens (and Responds) to Attendees

Christine Nattrass
Photo: Courtesy of Parallel Communications

With 700 exhibitors coming in from across North America and only five days to set up for the 57th annual National Home Show (which runs April 4 to 13 and is sponsored by Remax), Christine Nattrass is preparing for some long hours at the Direct Energy Centre. As DMG World Media's show manager, Nattrass is responsible for coordinating the event and ensuring that the show—which attracts about 160,000 people each year—is a success not only for DMG but for the exhibitors, presenters, and attendees, too.

The National Home Show is only a week away. What are you working on now?
Just last-minute details. A lot of feature work, finalizing a lot of things for the Dream Home, making sure that the union and all of our suppliers are going to be there on time. It’s like a very detailed choreography to get everybody in there because we do build it in five days. We’ll start to drop things off this Friday and they’ll start on Saturday. It’s definitely around-the-clock. We are North America’s largest home and garden show, and we basically cover anything you can think of for your home, inside and out. MORE >>

National Home Show, Habitat for Humanity, Karl Lohnes, Ikea

MY FAVORITE VENDORS 03.14.08 1:55 PM

Flare Favours the Drake, ROM

Flare's Tracy Finkelstein
Photo: Courtesy of Flare Magazine

As the group director of business development and promotions for Flare magazine and Hello! Canada, Tracy Finkelstein—together with her team of three—is responsible for producing between 15 to 20 events a year, including red-carpet galas, cocktail parties, consumer shopping events, and client receptions. Finkelstein is currently finalizing plans for a private party (being cohosted by Fido and featuring a performance by the Juno-nominated band Dragonette) for 400 at the Drake Hotel to celebrate fashion, music, and technology during Toronto Fashion Week.

Catering: "We have two unbelievable caterers we rely on. For smaller, more intimate cocktail receptions, we work with the Salt & Pepper Catering Company. Stefanie Tortorella, the owner, really understands our guests and always delivers innovative menus—not to mention her cupcakes are addictive. After every event the company caters [for us], I am bombarded with emails from guests wondering how they can get their hands on the white fluffy cupcakes.

"For our larger galas, I have repeatedly gone back to Dee Gibson at Catering With Style. Dee has such a distinct style that I instantly know when I am attending one of her catered events. Her food is delicious. But it's her careful attention to detail that impresses me most. Flare has relied on Dee for many years, and it's been a wonderful collaborative effort in pulling off grand events like our Canada Style Gala and Flare's 25th anniversary party." MORE >>

Flare Magazine, Hello! Canada, Dragonette, Fido, Ikea, Oscars, Toronto International Film Festival, MuchMusic Video Awards, Cannes, Sundance, Juno Awards

EVENT REPORT 11.15.07 3:41 PM

Moulin Rouge Inspires United Way Fund-raiser

Westbury National Show Systems bathed the grand ballroom at The Suites at 1 King West in an atmospheric red glow for United Way's Moulin Rouge-theme fund-raiser.
Photos by: David E. Elliot

The United Way’s GenNext organizing committee took inspiration from the French cabaret Moulin Rouge in planning the not-for-profit’s gala promoting volunteerism and charitable giving among young professionals. The annual masked event, held in The Suites at 1 King West, featured great music from a trio of DJs and loads of inventive red decor elements.

The Suites at 1 King West donated its historic Grand Banking Hall for the ritzy affair. More than 700 young philanthropists mounted the newly renovated venue’s sweeping marble staircase to enter the cavernous party space. Circular red mats purchased from IKEA served both as a welcoming carpet at the entrance and as hanging decor. In the grand ballroom, red Chrysanthemums sat atop six copa tables draped in red cloth, while red flower petals lay strewn across the top of the ballroom-length mahogany bar. As well, subtle lighting bathed the room in an atmospheric red glow, and guests contributed to the effect through red clothing items incorporated in their attire. MORE >>

United Way, Ikea, Diesel, Toronto Maple Leafs, Samsung

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