The welcome counter at the front of the large Quiksilver booth was made from stacks of palettes topped with glass to create a display case.
Near the new kayak and canoe section of the show floor, organizers created the Paddle Lounge, with colorful coolers functioning as the base for the bar that served coffee from Commune & Co.
Billabong teamed up with John Frieda for the “A Bikini Kinda Life” event, where the surf brand unveiled its 2017 collection. The fun-in-the-sun festivities on August 13 and 14 included a styling suite and braid bar at the Surf Lodge in Montauk, along with an evening party.
On July 22, Revolve helped launch Moet & Chandon’s new Ice Imperial Rosé at the Watermill home. Hosted by style star Olivia Palermo, guests enjoyed the rosé while wandering through the Moet Secret Rosé Garden. Decor included a greenery-fronted DJ booth with social media handles and hashtags spelled out in Scrabble-style tiles.
At a private estate in Sagaponack on May 28, Hamptons magazine celebrated its 38th season and its Memorial Day issue featuring actress and entrepreneur Drew Barrymore. The event coincided with the inaugural release of Barrymore Rose of Pinot Noir; Lawrence Scott Events paired the wines with its culinary creations.
For a back-to-school or academic-theme decor idea, AE Events designed sunflower centerpieces wrapped with a row of pencils for Excel Academy's 10th annual Celebration of Excellence, which took place June 2 in Boston. Table numbers were created with new covers on old books, which were then used in classrooms and libraries.
American Express celebrated the second year of its Seattle Seahawks partnership by hosting a seated dinner in Seattle for card members on CenturyLink Field's 50-yard line on August 27. Produced by Momentum Worldwide, the event offered guests a four-course meal inspired by four quarters of a football game.
Crowns by Christy created flower crowns for the crowd.
Stella Artois' multi-sensory dining experience took place August 17 to 22 at Skylight Clarkson Square in New York. Guests could dip bread into melting beef tallow candles that were infused with caraway spice. The event was catered by Bompas & Parr.
The event showcased a canopy of rose petals designed by floral artist Ruby Barber. The installation was surrounded by rose-tinted infinity mirrors.
The Television Academy's Governors Ball Committee and Sequoia Productions chose a “Nature's Elegance” theme for the two Creative Arts Balls as well as the Governors Ball at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It was the 19th year Cheryl Cecchetto and the Sequoia team have worked the events, and the first year two events expanded to three nights.
For guests at the nature-inspired dinners, official spirits sponsor World Class poured Ketel One Vodka, and the Hilhaven Lodge Blended Straight American Whiskey cocktails, Sterling Vineyards provided the wines, and sponsor Fiji Water the water.
Resource One provided specialty linens at tabletops where Patina served the three-course meal. Additional decor elements included starry drape and 2,700 yards of fabric covering the ceiling beams, plus 1,000 yards of black fabric covering the truss structure. Fabrics were done in neutral, earth-inspired tones, and sequin mesh, metallic silks, and floral sequin organzas added an element of glamour.
LA Premier's Kevin Lee created the floral look for this year's more rustic vibe. Centerpieces alternated between low birch-wrapped looks and towering, colorful designs rising more than three feet tall off tabletops in trumpet-style vases. Designer8 supplied the event's lounge furniture, and Bill Ferrell Company and Sosa Sisters the scenic fabrication.
This year's more rustic, organic look included more than 50,000 hydrangeas, 80,000 roses, and 20,000 succulents. Classic Party Rentals provided the guest and catering rentals, and ShowPro brought in the lighting equipment for design by Matt Levesque of First Circle Design. Goodman Audio handled the sound, Irma Hardjakusumah the technical design, and Matt Ringer the technical direction.
Following the Emmys, HBO hosted its annual bash at the Pacific Design Center’s fountain plaza. Working with HBO’s Cindy Tenner, longtime collaborator Billy Butchkavitz again designed the event. (It was Butchkavitz’s 18th consecutive HBO Emmy party.) The theme for this year’s production-heavy party was water, with a color palette done in seven shades of blue.
A 105-foot-long water lounge flowed from the dining pavilion to the formal entrance of the event space. Photographer Gabor Ekecs created a dramatic photo collage to serve as a backdrop for the 150-foot-long HBO press line. A 24-foot-high by 16-foot-diameter cascading fountain sculpture was the centerpiece of the party, centrally displayed within the 120- by 100-foot dining pavilion. Rippling water-patterned custom carpet covered the 50,000 square feet of party space. Twenty-five-foot-high perimeter walls enclosed and defined the event space, and were decorated with flowing draperies of two-tone metallic jacquard and blue metallic columns.
A stylized band entertained guests, and a DJ and percussion ensemble kept guests dancing atop a two-tiered, circular blue dance floor.
Entertainment Weekly hosted its annual pre-Emmy party on September 16 at Nightingale Plaza; the venue is the new lounge from SBE formerly known as Greystone Manor, and the event was the first one held in the space.
Event Eleven used stacked vintage television sets as the backdrop for a slow-motion video booth.
Audi’s annual pre-Emmy celebration took over West Hollywood venue Catch on September 15; it was the venue’s first major event in Los Angeles. Event Eleven produced the chic bash.
In July, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the Berkshires, hosted its Tanglewood Opening Night Gala. The event, which raised $475,000 and was attended by 410 guests, featured oversize wreath-like installations made of greenery and cascading blooms, along with a mix of floral and herb centerpieces.
GT Fish & Oyster in Chicago unveiled its fried pumpkin dessert for the month of October. Created by pastry chef Andrea Coté, the decadent dish presents a deep-fried pumpkin filled with sweet potato and cinnamon ice cream, apple sorbet, gingerbread cake, and meringue.
To celebrate the start of the 2016-2017 basketball season, the N.B.A. partnered with Mountain Dew to install 40-foot-tall branded basketball installations for fan events. The installations, which were designed by Firstborn and fabricated by Inflatable Design Group, came to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on October 21, the Wynwood Art District in Miami on October 23, and the Public Square in Cleveland on October 25. The event series was produced by FreemanXP.
The gala had a photo booth that included a fairytale story backdrop and props.
In mid-September, SpotHero launched a new service to help planners provide parking for their guests. SpotHero for Events allows guests to find and reserve parking in advance through a mobile app and website. The system operates in real time to reflect street closures and construction. Planners can embed the custom parking landing page on their event’s website and in emails and other communication materials so guests can reserve a spot with one click. The system is currently available in 15 cities across the United States, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Jitjatjo is an app to facilitate on-demand temporary staffing for venues, caterers, events, and more. When a user requests staffing, the app handles the entire process from hiring through payroll. Requests can be made as late as an hour before a scheduled shift, for examples to replace people who have called in sick or simply don’t show up. The app analyzes requests and selects talent based on their experience, location, skills, availability, history, and ratings. Users can also request specific attire, include details regarding an assignment, and send messages in the app without having to share their contact information. Jitjatjo launched October 18. Currently, the service is only available in New York, but the company is making plans to expand to other cities.
SlideBot is a tool to help people create engaging presentations. Users either type content directly in SlideBot or import an existing PowerPoint or Word file. The system uses “natural language processing” to understand the presentation’s content and then searches its database of more than 25 million images to find those that are most appropriate. After identifying images, SlideBot uses thousands of design rules to place the text on the images. Users can also choose from more than 800 icons and symbols to customize the presentation. Users can present directly from SlideBot or they can export a fully editable version to Powerpoint. The system costs $19 per month or $179 per year.
Grip is an app to facilitate networking at events. Similar to dating apps, Grip requires both parties to express an interest before connecting. Once two people both express an interest, that triggers a “handshake” in the app and the two people can then communicate through in-app messages to share ideas and arrange a meeting. Users can log in with their LinkedIn or Facebook accounts and also add a description about their interests. The system’s algorithm uses that data to recommends people to meet. Users can also join any of the more than 500 networking communities that exist within the app. In addition to the Grip app, the company also offers a white label version for events and planners can also integrate Grip’s API into their existing app or website.
Guesto is a new app that launched in October that allows planners to check in guests and print name tags using an iPad and small label printer. Planners can create custom badges with their event’s logo, and import events and guest lists from Eventbrite or a simple spreadsheet. Guests can be identified for check-in either by searching for their name or by scanning a barcode or QR code.
Invite the Media is an online system to get journalists, bloggers, and influencers to an event. Planners fill out a form to indicate the date, time, location, and registration page of the event as well as details about the type of event (a conference, trade show, or fund-raiser, to name a few examples) and social media links and hashtags. The system then selects who in its database of more than 1 million media representatives in 150 countries would be suitable to receive the information. Reporters opt in to the media list so when an event matches their profile of interests it also triggers an invitation. The system sends reminder emails and provides tracking and metrics at the conclusion of each campaign. The company reports it has sent more than 450,000 invitations to date. Pricing ranges from $79 to $499.
Swoogo is a comprehensive planning system to manage an event’s website, registration, and marketing. Users choose a theme and drag-and-drop content widgets to create the event website. The system’s setup wizard can be used to create the registration form, designate registrant types, and add sessions. Pricing is based on how many people have access to create and edit events, ranging from $500 for one “full user,” to $2,000 for eight. All plans can be used for an unlimited number of events and registrations.
For a beer-infused catering idea, Patina Catering in Los Angeles is offering traditional baked pretzels served with cheddar-pilsner sauce.
Mixologist Jason Kindness offers boozy teambuilding activities such as Mixology 101, in which teams create an original cocktail in 10 minutes and then present it to judges. In addition, his Newport, Rhode Island-based company also provides cocktail-making lessons for groups, as well as serving private events. Plus, the Kind Spirits offers cocktail consulting services to venues.
The dance floor is an obvious place to make an impact. For a private event, designer Preston Bailey created a unique dance floor that served as the evening's focal point. Hundreds of flowers were covered in Plexiglas, creating a massive floral carpet. "The result was a statement piece that allowed guests to dance on air," said Bailey.
The floor can also be an unexpected place for logos, sponsor information, or branding. The TEDActive conference in 2013 took over some of the host venue's Spanish tiles for its own messaging. The special tiles at La Quinta resort in the Palm Springs area also guided attendees along the walkways to the various event venues on the sprawling property.
Floor decor can serve a bigger purpose. During Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival in 2015, carpet company Flor handed out some 5,000 squares of carpet so that guests could make their own carpeted seating areas on the grass—creating a functional and eye-catching decor idea. When the weather turned stormy during the festival, attendees used the carpets to cover muddy spots on the grounds.
Energy Floors offers human-powered, interactive dance floors for event rentals worldwide. The eight-inch-deep tiles each house small generators; the tiles compress when stepped on, activating the generators to convert the kinetic energy produced by the dancers into electricity. The power can be used to activate the colorful LED light tubes inside the tiles that respond to the movement of dancers or nearby electrical systems.
Expanding wall and ceiling decor down to the floor can also have a big impact. At the Museum of Contemporary Art's 2015 Benefit Art Auction in Chicago, colorful stripe-on-stripe decor expanded all the way to the floor, creating an optical illusion. Ghost chairs and striped tables allowed the design to feel fully immersive.
Sometimes all you need is some masking tape. During Austin's 2014 South by Southwest, event production agency MKG brightened up a dark room using neon masking tape and ultraviolet lighting, creating an edgy, Pop Art-inspired look for the party for online magazine xoJane.com.
The Brussels Flower Carpet is a 19,375-square-foot mosaic of 700,000 intricately arranged begonias that comes to life every two years for five days during August in the central square of the European capital city. Meant to incite conversation about nature, cities, and art, the designs have typically incorporated themes from Belgium’s history since the first carpet was created in 1971. It takes 100 gardeners four hours to arrange the petals by hand.
For Super Bowl LI, ESPN hosted its 13th annual ESPN the Party event on February 3 at a 65,000-square-foot warehouse located just outside of the Arts District in downtown Houston. The event, which was produced and designed by Event Eleven, featured decor including custom paneling with imagery printed onto raw sheets of plywood.
National Geographic hosted premieres for its latest documentary, Gender Revolution, last week in Washington and New York at the network's headquarters and TimesCenter, respectively. At the New York premiere, 15/40 Productions used candy Ring Pops to spell out #GenderRevolution on the message wall. Additional packaged pops sat on the floor for guests to take.
