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

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Trends & Ideas FOOD AND DRINK IDEAS A New Source for Tea-Centric Gifts Slake Specializes in Handcrafted Drinks, Cocktail History Yummy Stuff Opens Queen Street Pastry Shop New Pastry Shop Specializes in Custom Cakes Big Flavors on a Budget 10 New Cocktails to Toast the Summer New Alternatives to Mini Burgers An Attention-Grabbing Cupcake Server   GET INSPIRED Diffa's 10 Most-Steal-Able Ideas Diffa to Bring Tabletop Design Fund-Raiser to L.A. This Fall Diffa Showcases Big Tabletop Designs in Smaller Venue Diffa's Place Settings That Popped Diffa's Color Trend: Yellow Diffa's Sparkling Chandeliers Diffa's Paint Swatch Decor   DECOR AND RENTAL IDEAS 8 Fashion-Forward Plaid Table Linens A New Take on Fancy Draping An Iconic Modern Chair, Now for Rent Gnome-Shaped Stools—or Tables 10 Fancy Forks 10 Innovative Lighting Ideas New Illuminated Gaming Tables 6 Sleek Cocktail Tables   GIFT IDEAS 7 Noteworthy Pad-and-Pen Sets for Meetings A Gift to Motivate Staffers Eco-Friendly Gift Bags An Antioxidant-Packed Gift for Tea Lovers Planners' Picks From the New York International Gift Fair Travel-Friendly Gift Ideas     FRESH FACE    11.04.09 9:00 AM Veteran CTV Planner Francine Socket Running Own Event Design Firm Francine Socket Photo: Courtesy of Francine Socket Having transformed a downtown parking lot into a party space for high-profile events such as the MuchMusic Video Awards, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the set for runway shows by the likes of Valentino and DSquared, Francine Socket says she can turn any space into an elegant, sophisticated venue. As director of special events for CHUM Ltd. (which was taken over by CTV Inc. in 2007), Socket spent more than 20 years planning executive conferences, premiere parties, client appreciation events, and functions for staff at a variety of venues, including the television station’s Queen Street West headquarters. “This was the challenge in that building: There was no loading dock, two skinny driveways in the downtown core, and over 100 vendors [for events like TIFF and the MMVAs], who couldn’t have shown up all at once—and there was one freight elevator,” Socket says. “It doesn’t get more challenging than that.” MORE >> RELATED TOPICS CTV THE SCOUT    11.02.09 9:00 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 9:00 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 4:21 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 9:00 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 9:00 AM 3 New Sources for Desserts and Edible Gifts Nadège Patisserie's La Veuve cake Photo: Courtesy of Nadège Patisserie These three new cafés provide edible corporate gifts, desserts for events, and sweets for office gatherings or meetings. 1. Open since July, Nadège Patisserie is a traditional French pastry shop owned by Nadège Nourian and her partner, Morgan McHugh. The patisserie specializes in miniature cakes, known as the couture collection. The cake at the forefront of this fall's collection is La Veuve—a mousse made with Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne and wild strawberry coulis. Additional flavours include the Marie Antoinette, made with maple syrup, vanilla, and macaroons; and the Marie Galante, made with pineapple and rum. Nadège also provides a selection of macaroons, marshmallows, and a variety of savoury mini sandwiches served on croissants. Gift baskets will be available in the coming months. MORE >> THE SCOUT    10.12.09 9:00 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 9:00 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 INFLUENCES    09.29.09 9:00 AM Two New Photography Shows Explore the Culture of Celebrity Hilary Swank by Norman Jean Roy Photo: © Norman Jean Roy Iconic celebrity images are on display as part of two complementary photography exhibitions now under way at the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario. The ROM’s presentation of “Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs From 1913-2008” includes close to 150 photographs of stars such as Madonna, Tom Cruise, Bette Davis, Ernest Hemingway, Louis Armstrong, and Cary Grant. The exhibit, created to celebrate the 95th anniversary of Vanity Fair’s founding in 1913, includes works by photographers Cecil Beaton, Edward Steichen, Mary Ellen Mark, Mario Testino, and Annie Leibovitz. The exhibit is a collaboration between Vanity Fair and the National Portrait Gallery, London. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Vanity Fair, Condé Nast READERS' FORUM    09.29.09 9:00 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 >> MORE NEWS Search for Suppliers Activities/Experiences Catering/Food Services Decor/Design/Flowers Entertainment Event Planning & Marketing/Meeting Planning/PR Event Production/Audiovisual Services Gifts/Premiums/Awards Industry Resources Invitations/Name Tags Photography/Videography Planning Tools/Software Rentals/Props Security/Fire Services/Insurance Signage/Banners/Printing Special Effects Staffing Trade Show Services Transportation/Parking Services Search for Venues By Type All Types Activity Venues Ballrooms (All Venues) Banquet Halls Bars/Clubs/Lounges Boats/Yachts Casinos Conference Centers, Convention Centers & Auditoriums Entertainment Venues/Performance Spaces Golf Courses/Clubs Hotels Independent Event Spaces Lofts/Photo Studios/Raw Spaces Mansions/Houses Movie Studios/Sound Stages Museums/Cultural Spaces Outdoor Spaces Private Clubs Quick Trips Religious Spaces Restaurants Retail Venues Spas/Relaxation Places Stadiums/Arenas Terraces/Roofs/Gardens (All Venues) By Neighborhood/Location All Neighborhoods Annex Baldwin St. Area Beaches Bloor St. West Bloor West Village Cabbagetown Chinatown Church St. Village Danforth/Greektown Downtown Core Downtown East Downtown West Entertainment District Etobicoke Financial District Little Italy/College St. Midtown North York Queen St. West Rosedale Scarborough Theatre District Yorkville Markham Mississauga Niagara Niagara-on-the-Lake Other Areas Richmond Hill Stratford Thornhill Bloor/Yorkville Forest Hill Harbourfront High Park King West Leaside Leslieville Liberty Village Muskoka North Toronto Old Town Toronto Parkdale Show Only New Venues RECENTLY VIEWED Stories Proving Your Worth: 5 Discussion Points to Make the Case for In-House Event Jobs MOST POPULAR STORIES 1. Venetian Ball Recreates Piazza San Marco With 30-foot Bell Tower, Starry Night Lighting 2. Baycrest Foundation Stages Ballroom Dance Competition for Annual Gala 3. Roosevelt Room: A Supper Club With Art Deco Style 4. Thomas Sabo Product Launch Dresses Ultra With Black Feathers, Roses 5. Veteran CTV Planner Francine Socket Running Own Event Design Firm 6. Feist Steps in to Perform at Holt Renfrew's Holiday Window Unveiling 7. Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes 8. 50 Budget-Friendly Ideas for Holiday Parties: Food, Gifts, Decor, and More 9. Poll Results: 2010 Event Budgets Look Bigger 10. What Are You Looking for? 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