“Everyone’s been to a dinner; everyone’s been to a corporate meeting. How do we make it different?” That’s the question the duo behind Alchemy Event Studio asks themselves every day. The studio was founded by uber-creative Amy Saltzman and Kate Stone, who serve their Southern clients with a hyperfocus on the clever little details that make a party so personal. Their fans include everyone from billionaire retail CEOs to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Lately, they are guided by their favorite phrase: Why not? “Don’t think you can’t do it that way because others aren’t doing it that way,” says Saltzman.
When it comes to food, you can go high and low.
Getting creative with F&B elements is one aspect of gatherings where Alchemy thrives. For a spirited Fortune 500 company’s holiday event, Alchemy crafted a mobile, 6-ft.-tall fir tree made from dowel rods on big rolling casters and covered each rod with hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts. “People were rolling the doughnut tree around and taking pictures in front of it, posting them on social media and branding their experience,” says Saltzman. When attendees left the event, they were given hot cones of French fries from The Fry Guy food truck at the valet. “You want to make sure guests eat when there is an open bar,” Saltzman adds.
When Krug Champagne wanted to introduce its president and CEO, Maggie Henriquez, to a select audience, Alchemy created an intimate affair at a private home in Atlanta. “She’s a fascinating woman from Venezuela who went to Harvard, lives in Paris and runs a classic European vintner, and this was her first visit to Georgia,” Stone says. For the night’s F&B, each of the six courses was paired with a vintage Krug. “It wasn’t a place for collards or pimento cheese,” says Stone. Alchemy asked the chef to create a lobster arepa, a nod to the classic Venezuelan dish, which Henriquez praised as the best she’d ever had. “She knew we wanted to make her feel comfortable, so it was Southern hospitality in our own, atypical way,” Saltzman shares. “It got Henriquez talking to guests about her life, which made for a fabulous evening.”
Experience beats swag.
When the economy soured, companies were looking for inexpensive ways to do events. “They did what they had to do,” says Saltzman, “and that meant a cocktail party and a branded mouse pad or a logo on a stress ball. Guests left having no memory of the night and more junk on their desk.” Thankfully, times have changed. “Now we’re doing corporate events where you can be thoughtful of what the actual experience is,” she says. “For example: What’s the music? It’s not just a DJ anymore.”
Alchemy personalized a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital event for an honored guest without necessarily going for a theme. Because the guest is from Mexico and her husband is Cuban, a 16-piece Cuban band and DJ who worked together were brought in to create an exclusive, customized music experience attendees had never have seen before.
Another way to boost the experience factor is to find the most unique venue in town. For this same event, Alchemy used United Distributors, an enormous sponsor of the event with a huge warehouse space. “They shut down operations for 24 hours so we could set up this event for the hospital,” says Stone. “People had never been inside and they were so excited to be the first to see it.”
Eliminate clutter.
Call it the “Kondo-ization” of America, but it seems author Marie Kondo’s organization methods in “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” have infiltrated the events industry. For Alchemy, it means a more streamlined presentation. “We’re liking patterns on tables, which allows us to use less gack,” Saltzman says, using her word to describe all the junk that can clutter a table. “It’s cleaner but lets us get a more layered, interesting look.”
The team at Alchemy often mix metals and patterned linens to create a more interesting effect. They also aim not to overconstruct decor—i.e., forget roses in the shape of an animal—and are forecasting a return of greenery to the table. “People once shied away from greenery because it meant you had no budget,” Saltzman says. “Now it’s intentional, and you can use different shades of green in a pretty way.”
Alchemy is also keen on giving people something to do while they’re standing around with a cocktail. They’ve covered tables in chalkboard paint allowing guests to write messages. For one robot-themed event, they installed LED Lego displays on highboy tables where guests could use the toys to build robots. At the same time, it served as a reminder of the event’s philanthropic beneficiary: a technology and robotic rehabilitation center.
Photo credit: NJM Photography
