Nicole Benjamin and Garrett Sathre originally founded Hand Made Events to promote Sathre’s two Bay Area restaurants, but the concept ended up taking on a life of its own. The duo had read about events like Dîner en Blanc—a secret flash-mob picnic started in Paris that asks guests to wear white clothing and bring their own supplies—and wanted to bring something similar to San Francisco. “We were hoping to get a thousand people there, which seemed like this extremely steep goal,” Sathre says. “But UrbanDaddy posted an article about the event, and by the end of the week, we had 10,000 people on our mailing list and ended up with 3,500 attending the event.”
Since that first Le DĂ®ner picnic in October 2011, the company has taken off: The couple now works full-time planning the events, which have expanded across the United States, with 12 events Âslated for 2014 in cities including Miami, Brooklyn, and Washington. Guests purchase tickets, which range from $25 to $38, and locations are announced hours before the event. Tables and chairs are provided, but attendees bring their own food, wine, and table decor. “People work on their tables for months—it’s been called the elegant Burning Man,” Sathre says. Adds Benjamin: “We stress creativity, and try to differentiate ourselves by making it the most creative festival out there. We’re just providing this blank canvas, and we want the picnics to take on the characteristics of each city.”
Hand Made Events launched its first masquerade dinner earlier this year (essentially a winter version of the picnics, held indoors and with a black-and-white color scheme), and has started partnering with event companies to make it easier to host East Coast affairs. However, to date, the couple hasn’t accepted any sponsorships. “We’re a two-person show, but we like to stay in as much control over the events as we can,” Benjamin says. “We’ve entertained the idea of sponsors but haven’t found a natural fit yet. We’re trying to keep it as homespun as possible.”
