As Kermit the Frog famously sang, “It’s not easy being green.” Guests who attended the April 12 screening of the Sundance Channel’s “The Green”—a weekly three-hour block of programming focusing on environmental topics—were reminded of the song’s veracity as they snacked on bags of popcorn and sipped bottled Dasani water at Union Square Stadium 14 while watching a documentary about our overreliance on petroleum products like plastic.
But the after-party at ABC Carpet & Home was all about shades of green, an Earth Day theme meant to remind people that eco-friendliness can happen in different degrees, said ABC public relations manager Erin Johnson. The retailer is featured in an upcoming program for “The Green” and offered to host the launch for the Sundance Channel. Nearly 500 guests, including a mix of artsy and activist boldface names (Moby, Isabella Rossellini, Yves Behar, Jennifer Missoni, and Jacqueline Schnabel), filled the second floor of the cavernous showroom, sipping mojitos, green-tea martinis made with organic vodka, and organic wine. ABC and Sundance planned and produced the party together. (The event came three days after a Los Angeles launch in a former Chrysler Jeep showroom.)
Midway through, a group of speakers took the stage to talk about the importance of taking action, but the chatty crowd didn’t want to hear any more. “Shut the fuck up,” said Sundance Channel C.E.O. Larry Aidem as ABC’s owner, Paulette Cole, struggled to speak about corporate responsibility to the environment. Singer Rufus Wainwright ended the evening with a short set of songs, including the first live performance of his new single, “Going to a Town.”
—Leslie Koren
Posted 04.18.07
Photos: BizBash
But the after-party at ABC Carpet & Home was all about shades of green, an Earth Day theme meant to remind people that eco-friendliness can happen in different degrees, said ABC public relations manager Erin Johnson. The retailer is featured in an upcoming program for “The Green” and offered to host the launch for the Sundance Channel. Nearly 500 guests, including a mix of artsy and activist boldface names (Moby, Isabella Rossellini, Yves Behar, Jennifer Missoni, and Jacqueline Schnabel), filled the second floor of the cavernous showroom, sipping mojitos, green-tea martinis made with organic vodka, and organic wine. ABC and Sundance planned and produced the party together. (The event came three days after a Los Angeles launch in a former Chrysler Jeep showroom.)
Midway through, a group of speakers took the stage to talk about the importance of taking action, but the chatty crowd didn’t want to hear any more. “Shut the fuck up,” said Sundance Channel C.E.O. Larry Aidem as ABC’s owner, Paulette Cole, struggled to speak about corporate responsibility to the environment. Singer Rufus Wainwright ended the evening with a short set of songs, including the first live performance of his new single, “Going to a Town.”
—Leslie Koren
Posted 04.18.07
Photos: BizBash
Creative Edge’s colorful farmer’s-market-style crudité station supplemented the passed hors d’oeuvres. The earth-friendly menu included wild salmon on waffle potato chips, faux meatballs made of eggplant, and dolphin-safe spicy tuna rolls, with gluten-free chocolate truffles for dessert. The appetizers were passed on ceramic trays made by Mud Australia (and sold on the store’s first floor).
ABC’s visual team used the store’s sustainable and reclaimed furniture offerings as the base for simple floral decorations in shades of green—the retailer’s theme for Earth Day this year.
Furniture was stacked three and four stories high to create more space for mingling in the aisles.
ABC always uses candles to light its events, but it used the environmentally friendly beeswax variety for launch of “The Green.”
Guests were invited to lounge on a $5,795 wood sofa and indigenous chairs from Uzbekistan ($2,300 plus), but special signs protected certain pieces.
Overhead lighting cast a green tint on the space. Educational signs, screens showing promos for “The Green,” and branch and fabric installations hung from above.
Rufus Wainwright shushed the crowd several times, almost begging for quiet as he debuted a new single. DJ Eve called her soundtrack for the rest of the evening “really positive.”
Awareness was a key aspect of the evening, with stacks of pamphlets from environmental organizations and various books on the subject available to peruse.
