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

Toronto Event Planners for Trendy New Releases, Styles, Fashion and Display

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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     ASK BIZBASH    11.16.09 9:00 AM How Do You Make Staffers Feel Appreciated—at Little or No Cost? Leo Burnett's employee art gallery Photo: Courtesy of Leo Burnett In a year of cutbacks and salary freezes, perhaps now more than ever, hard-working employees need to feel valued, even in small ways. Jennifer Savica, TD Bank’s vice president of event management, rewards her staff with little perks throughout the year, like taking everyone out for ice cream in the summer, treating people to their favorite drinks at Starbucks on a cold day, and occasionally allowing casual Fridays. “I try to show appreciation for my team every day by creating a true democracy—asking their opinions, including them in many of the department decisions, and empowering them to do their job,” she says. Boston Beer Company has a gift policy that prevents employees from keeping items valued over $10 given to them by clients and event sponsors. “If someone gets something over that amount, we raffle it off to the office as a thank you,” says Kristen Smith, the company’s travel and event planner. Past items have included tickets to charity events the company has sponsored, movie screenings, and Red Sox tickets. “It’s nice to raffle these things off and make them available to anyone—and at no cost to the company,” says Smith. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Leo Burnett, Publix, TD Bank, Boston Beer Company, Warner Brothers THE SCOUT    11.11.09 9:00 AM New Rental Company Offers Customizable Furnishings Glossy black furnishings from Lounge Rentals Photo: Courtesy of Lounge Rentals Wanting unique—and glamorous-looking—furnishings for events, Stacey Cynamon and Cele Pasternak, who have been hosting parties together for years, joined to launch a new company called Lounge Rentals Inc. "We got a job within a week without having any furniture," said Pasternak, who added that they quickly came up with some sketches and called on a local upholsterer to help. The company, which has provided decor for spaces like ET Canada's TIFF lounge in Yorkville and events like Flare magazine's 30th anniversary gala, currently offers four distinct collections, including pieces they designed themselves. Event and company logos can be added to white Louis chairs, ribbon detailing can be added to table and floor lamps, and throw pillows can be accented with pearls and jewels. MORE >> THE SCOUT    11.09.09 2:33 PM 8 Tabletop Looks From ISES's Design Competition Designs from the ISES tabletop competition Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash FROM NEW YORK On Friday evening, eight designers participated in the metro New York chapter of the International Special Events Society's 2009 tabletop design competition, held at La.Venue as part of the three-day "Cook. Eat. Drink. Live." expo. Members of the events industry including internal planners and owners of design and planning firms (as well as this editor) gathered to judge the tables, which were created with rental items from Broadway Party Rentals. Because the designers did not have to follow a theme, the looks ran the gamut from a sparkly winter-inspired setting by Marc Wilson Design to a table draped with woven palm fronds by Flora New York. Neuman's was awarded two round-trip airline tickets from Delta Airlines for the winning entry, a cornucopia-style design with a bounty of fresh produce, mossy accents, and an earthy color scheme. Blade Floral and Event Designs took home the second place award, and Floral Icon Events won third place. Here's a closer look at all of the participants. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS International Special Events Society TREND SPOTTED    11.09.09 9:00 AM A New Spin: 5 Cool DJ Booths A DJ station from the Bacardi B-Live music tour Photo: Rob Loud Photography MORE >> RELATED TOPICS DJ Booths, Bacardi, Target, Black Eyed Peas, Red Bull, Funny People, Luminato Toronto Festival of Arts + Creativity, Armani 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. 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