For the holiday season, Conrad Miami Hotel offers a Jack Frost Happy Hour that features a snowfall from a snow machine provided by Stage Equipment and Lighting.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts hosted a hotel luxury-theme party December 5 at Studio 450 in New York. The event gave guests a chance to test out the brand's new mattress and bedding by incorporating a photo op provided by the creative agency Super A-OK. The agency's A-1 Array multi-camera system captured guests in motion to create 3-D animations for social sharing.
Designed by Tabanlıoğlu Architects, the Flamingo Lounge was a respite for collectors, gallerists, and others at the 12th annual Design Miami from November 30 to December 4. The essence of tropical Miami—and a nod to film director John Waters—was a central feature in this lounge, which was decorated in pink throughout its 328-square-foot space. The floor and the furniture were cast in the same candy-pink resin, giving the appearance of being carved from the same block. Each zone in the long rectangular space had a unique piece of furniture that the design firm hoped would serve as a symbol open to interpretation by guests.
Toronto-based Coco & Cowe Confectionary offers its Dicki Dee ice cream bike for rent both in and outside of the city. The bike, which can be customized by color to fit a theme, can be stationed at corporate events, weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties, and more as a serving station option.
The #RitzRainbow, a 25-mile laser light-beam art installation, was commissioned by Lionheart Capital to promote its Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach, development. Designed by artist Yvette Mattern, the installation originated from the company’s headquarters in the Design District. At a November 28 V.I.P. viewing, guests were escorted to the property’s private marina where they boarded Van Dutch yachts to watch the unveiling from Biscayne Bay. The #RitzRainbow was on display until December 3.
The inaugural Red Bull Sound Select's 3 Days in Miami festival took place September 1 to 3 at the Hangar in Miami. Artist Brian Butler handed out limited-edition posters he drew onsite each night, along with custom-made artist portrait pins.
Balloon Express constructed a floating, multicolored balloon display for Wildfox in the Boulan South Beach pool.
The Jägermeister Holiday Vinyl Party took place December 6 at Vnyl in New York. Produced by M Booth, the event had a branded vinyl record display that featured ingredients of the signature cocktails served at the party.
For the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life gala, which was held in November, Natalie McAdams of Namevents designed a night under the stars—inside a tent in the parking lot below the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. To recreate the outdoor evening look, the production team built a stage that resembled the moon's surface and used fiber-optic panels to resemble stars.
Design Exchange's annual fund-raiser, held in November at the Canadian design museum in Toronto, featured the theme "Dispatch" and explored the country’s intersections of design, art, and culture. Each floor showcased interactive installations and multi-sensory experiences, while Drake’s producer DJ Boi-1da performed a live set. Proceeds from the event support DX's public and education programs.
The lighted walls throughout the party drew inspiration from computer boards. Images by Lighting handled the party's lighting.
JOWY Productions produced the bold, colorful party, where DJ Michelle Pesce spun for the crowd.
Howard Brown Health held its second annual Halloween soiree, the Big Orange Ball, at restaurant and event space Carnivale in Chicago in October. More than 400 costume-clad guests attended and raised money to provide health and social services to Chicago’s L.G.B.T.Q. and allied community. RuPaul’s Drag Race season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen performed and emceed the event, along with a special meet-and-greet for “R.I.P.” ticket holders. Kehoe Designs provided the themed decor.
NA Collective created Twitter's annual lounge, which invited attendees to network, chat with clients and colleagues, and have meetings in a unique setting. The community-inspired space featured large bold images from Twitter's out-of-home campaign, an open format café, and a studio set that hosted 20 interviews over three days.
![“We have used linens by Party Tables in three recent events, including a party in Chattanooga [Tennessee], where I used a custom-made black-and-white pattern to fit the estate tables ranging in length from 16 to 60 feet. For a destination on Amelia Island [in Florida], Party Tables made custom jackets to fit over the venue’s existing wood barstools along with cloths for the highboys and pillows to accent the soft seating areas. It was one linen, three ways!” —Steve Bales of Bold American Events in Atlanta Linens, price upon request, available nationwide from Party Tables](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/01/chattanooga_blackandwhitelinens.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
Below the lantern installation sat the main bar, an onyx grid design meant to incorporate all of the warm tones used throughout the space.
The overall theme of this year’s NBCUniversal viewing- and after-party was 1920s modern deco. Event producer Angel City Designs created the look with a color palette featuring pewter, navy, and fuchsia with copper accents throughout the space. For a supper club-like feel, guests sat at café tables, curved couches, and half-round banquettes, all with a prime view of the multiple 90- and 60-inch plasmas located throughout the tent.
A large, circular center stage topped by a hanging chandelier provided a focal point to watch the entertainment, and then changed over to an elevated dance floor. Flowers came from CJ Matusmoto. DJ Kiss headlined.
Decor included a marquee sign of the brand's name.
One of the most visual C.E.S. booths this year belonged to LG, which showcased its OLED TVs with a tunnel created with 216 55-inch models. The tunnel showcased a variety of colorful images including celestial bodies on a three-minute demo loop. LG Business Solutions commercial displays division designed the tunnel in-house in partnership with HS-Ad.
Epiphany Productions once again coordinated the Texas State Society's Black Tie and Boots Ball at the Gaylord National Resort on Thursday evening. The event drew 10,000 people, twice as many as in 2013 and about 2,200 more than in 2009. Design Foundry created custom entryway decor with the event's name and inauguration year as well as Texas road trip-theme decor elements throughout the four rooms of the ball.
Event agency Dardanella staged its first inaugural ball, the Great Gatsby Ball, on Friday night at the National Portrait Gallery. The company focuses on recreating period-theme events, and tapped the Dapper DJs, who specialize in music from the 1920s through 1960s, to entertain at the ball. The DJs brought their own vintage microphones and decor.
The 2011 event took place at the chancery of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China. Guests exited the ball through a tunnel of 999 red Chinese lanterns, symbolizing good fortune.
Stickers with the words of the presidential oath of office adorned the signature red wall of the P.O.V. Lounge in the Politico Hub lounge on Friday atop the W Hotel.
Epiphany Productions added a new sports bar-theme room to the event footprint for the Texas State Society’s Black Tie and Boots Ball on Thursday evening at the Gaylord National Resort. Design Foundry decorated the rustic bar with pennant flags from Texas sports teams.
Washingtonian magazine paid tribute to past presidents at its Inaugural Ball on Saturday night at the National Portrait Gallery with framed portraits of the commanders in chief as the central decor for the four-sided main bar, created by Revolution Event Design and Production.
Atmosphere Lighting projected the Washingtonian magazine logo above the main entrance inside the Kogod Courtyard.
Hair product brand Kérastase unveiled supermodel Toni Garrn as the face of its new natural origin collection at a launch event on Wednesday, which took place at the Lowline in New York. Designed by Patrick J Clayton Productions, the event had a photo booth with a foliage backdrop and neon signage.
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.
Before lunch and the presentation, guests gathered in a sponsor activation area. Its design had a look consistent with the main room, with the same color palette and furniture rentals.
Angel City Designs’ Damon Drescher and Michael Gerloff created a supper-club environment with a half-round stage—backed by a video wall—under a clear roof dome that showed off the Houston skyline.
The room also featured a poker casino, Skeeball Alley, costumed dancers, and dancing stilt walkers.
Sponsors for the AT&T Presents DirecTV Now Super Saturday Night event included LeEco, a Chinese technology and electronics company.
Bad Hunter, a buzzed-about restaurant with a mostly vegetarian menu, opened in the West Loop in October. An upstairs space called the Herbarium has its own private entrance, a full bar, and a dedicated kitchen. It holds receptions for 150 guests or seats 80. On the regular menu, items include butter dumplings and tempura-fried lemons. Chef Dan Snowden can prepare different dishes, with a broader variety of proteins, for events held in the Herbarium.
The Recording Academy’s official Grammy after-party, known as the Grammy Celebration, followed the awards next door to Staples at the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall. Produced by the Recording Academy’s Brandon Chapman and Rex Supa, working with Angel City Designs, the event drew its traditionally massive crowd of 5,000.
Angel City Designs' look for the huge bash was a modernist take on Shakespeare’s classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The party’s production used three distinct lighting and scenic looks: silhouettes of trees through the morning mist, followed by warming color hues to evoke a day getting brighter, and then a sunset through a forest, which included a diffused lighting glow meant to represent the Aurora Borealis. ShowPro handled the lighting and video projection.
Aerialists performed from within a dramatic green-draped cube.
A neon-green outline of the recognizable shape of an Absolut bottle served as an entrance into a platform bar area, designed and produced by MKG.
Presented by American Airlines and Citi at the Ace Hotel following the Grammys, Universal Music Group’s event included a chic candlelit bar bearing the sponsors' names.
An angular, illuminated structure overhead lent a graphic, modern look to the party space.
On February 12, CAA hosted a Grammy party at Hyde with nominees and past winners in attendance including Stevie Wonder, Boy George, and others. There, marquee-style lettering spelled out the agency’s name against a wooden-slat wall, and carnival string lights hung over head.
Official Grammy partner Delta Air Lines hosted its pre-awards event on February 9 at Beauty & Essex, adjacent to the new Dream Hollywood hotel. New this year, celebrities on the red carpet were asked to stop and sign two oversize metallic airplanes, mimicking the form of paper airplanes, which decorated the arrivals line.
For every unique signature, Delta committed to donate $1,000 to the Grammy Museum, where one of the planes will live. The second plane will be displayed at the Delta Museum in Atlanta.
Decorative objects within the MKG-produced party space echoed the angular look of the paper plane motif.
