Now in its ninth year, Design for Dignity's Spirit awards benefit took place last Thursday, combining a brief award presentation with a silent auction and a buffet dinner. The event honors a member of the design community who has significantly contributed to Designs for Dignity, a Heartland Alliance program through which volunteer designers refurbish area nonprofits.
Jen Sobecki, director of Designs for Dignity, had been working on this year’s Spirit awards since November and said that the toughest part of the planning process was choosing a venue. “We try to pick a place that will be interesting to our crowd, which is mostly made up of people from the design industry,” she said of the event's 400-person guest list. “We wanted a really unique event space; we weren’t going to go for a hotel ballroom.”
Another venue requirement: room for a silent-auction table that would hold more than 200 donated items. “We have quite a few new sponsors this year, and that’s telltale of our committee reaching out,” Sobecki said.For this year's location, Sobecki and her 20-person board settled on Salvage One, a cavernous, converted warehouse shop filled with antiques and architectural salvage. Sobecki liked the values at the core of Salvage One. “The venue ties into our mission and what we try to do as a program,” she said. “We take the excess from the design industry; Salvage One takes salvage from architectural space. We both want to keep things from the landfill.”
Salvage One's decor—think reclaimed stained glass hanging behind a vintage dentist’s chair, which sits near a mafia-themed pinball machine (and things get curiouser from there)—inspired the Spirit awards’ "cirque nouveau" theme. “The venue just leads to imagination,” Sobecki said. “It’s like a bohemian wonderland.” The Designs for Dignity board is made up of crafty types (fashion designers, interior designers, and architects among them), so the event's decor became an in-house operation.
To create a bohemian French circus-like atmosphere, board members sourced colorful, reclaimed fabrics. They stitched together a tentlike ceiling that would hang over the check-in table, draped highboys in patchwork-style linens, and accented vintage chandeliers with streamer-like strips of fabric. Performers from CircEsteem (a local after-school program) circulated through the venue, performing on-theme tricks like juggling and ring-tossing.
Since the evening's theme was "cirque" (and not "circus"), servers from J&L donned berets to make their passed-appetizer rounds; offerings included pomme frites with truffle aioli and mini quiche lorraine. The buffet tables continued the Gallic theme, with crepes, coq au vin, and an assortment of French cheeses and sausages.
Jen Sobecki, director of Designs for Dignity, had been working on this year’s Spirit awards since November and said that the toughest part of the planning process was choosing a venue. “We try to pick a place that will be interesting to our crowd, which is mostly made up of people from the design industry,” she said of the event's 400-person guest list. “We wanted a really unique event space; we weren’t going to go for a hotel ballroom.”
Another venue requirement: room for a silent-auction table that would hold more than 200 donated items. “We have quite a few new sponsors this year, and that’s telltale of our committee reaching out,” Sobecki said.For this year's location, Sobecki and her 20-person board settled on Salvage One, a cavernous, converted warehouse shop filled with antiques and architectural salvage. Sobecki liked the values at the core of Salvage One. “The venue ties into our mission and what we try to do as a program,” she said. “We take the excess from the design industry; Salvage One takes salvage from architectural space. We both want to keep things from the landfill.”
Salvage One's decor—think reclaimed stained glass hanging behind a vintage dentist’s chair, which sits near a mafia-themed pinball machine (and things get curiouser from there)—inspired the Spirit awards’ "cirque nouveau" theme. “The venue just leads to imagination,” Sobecki said. “It’s like a bohemian wonderland.” The Designs for Dignity board is made up of crafty types (fashion designers, interior designers, and architects among them), so the event's decor became an in-house operation.
To create a bohemian French circus-like atmosphere, board members sourced colorful, reclaimed fabrics. They stitched together a tentlike ceiling that would hang over the check-in table, draped highboys in patchwork-style linens, and accented vintage chandeliers with streamer-like strips of fabric. Performers from CircEsteem (a local after-school program) circulated through the venue, performing on-theme tricks like juggling and ring-tossing.
Since the evening's theme was "cirque" (and not "circus"), servers from J&L donned berets to make their passed-appetizer rounds; offerings included pomme frites with truffle aioli and mini quiche lorraine. The buffet tables continued the Gallic theme, with crepes, coq au vin, and an assortment of French cheeses and sausages.
The logo of Designs for Dignity appeared on hanging panels of translucent fabric.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
The Grey Goose-sponsored bar offered French martinis and Spiritinis (a blend of vodka and white cranberry juice).
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
Performers from CircEsteem entertained guests with circus tricks.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
An acrobat from CircEsteem rolled around in a giant wheel outside the Salvage One entrance.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
Passed hors d'oeuvres from J&L Catering included salmon mousse served in endive petals with lemon zest.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
The silent auction continued from the main table to the highboys, where guests could bid on figurines by local artists.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
Strips of reclaimed fabric hung amid a cluster of salvaged chandeliers.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
A tentlike ceiling made of reclaimed fabrics hung over the check-in table.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
Strolling models wore recycled garb and makeup artists transformed them into "Grecian, Harlequin, ethnic things," as one of the models explained.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
Objects on display at Salvage One included life-size figurines studded with colorful tiles.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen Photography
