Domino magazine hosted an eco-friendly cocktail party and shopping event to celebrate the magazine’s March issue—which features a package of earth-friendly furniture, fashion, and food ideas—and to encourage guests to incorporate organic resources into their lives. Despite the intentionally simple look of the event, well-executed elements like a shopping area of sustainable, organic, and locally produced goods (dubbed the “green market”) and tasteful details made for a stylish and fun affair that didn’t feel forced or preachy.The magazine’s special events manager, Michelle Rubel, and event designer Olga Naiman of Aparat made sure that every element of the March 15 event was pro-conservation. “All materials were eco-friendly, recycled, and green in some way,” Naiman said. “Essentially, only four materials were used to create the whole look: steel, Speed-Rail, wheatboard, and eco-friendly lightbulbs.” The planning team sourced nearly everything locally and later donated purchased items to Build it Green, a nonprofit that promotes resource-efficient buildings. Proceeds from the market—more than $15,000—will go to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, an organization that supports health, education, and conservation programs in Kenya.
—Alison Stuart
Photos: Chance Yeh/Patrick McMullan (shelves, walkway, drinks), BiZBash (bags, lights, food, staffers, car)
—Alison Stuart
Photos: Chance Yeh/Patrick McMullan (shelves, walkway, drinks), BiZBash (bags, lights, food, staffers, car)
The centerpiece of the event, wheatboard and steel shelving, displayed 39 environmentally friendly beauty, fashion, housekeeping, and food items that ranged from $2 Seventh Generation paper towels to a $60 organic slip.
Even the entryway stayed true to the cause: Leftover party invitations printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink hung from the ceiling.
Made from hemp and organic cotton, the shopping bags gave eco-cred to the event from the start. (Guests could also check off desired items on a shopping list to pick up later.)
Compact fluorescent lightbulbs, strung together in clusters on repurposed white wiring, lit the space, and a long sheet of recycled paper above the bar listed the night’s refreshments, which included an organic signature cocktail, a local microbrew, and organic red and white wines.
Servers passed organic hors d’oeuvres, such as free-range chicken in pomegranate walnut sauce on crostini with fresh pomegranate seeds, on wheatboard trays. Other canapés included swiss chard and porcini mushroom torta, and Indonesian fish cakes with tamarind sauce.
Domino staffers, who served guests at the event, wore organic navy dresses designed by Vanessa Barrantes. Male servers wore organic tees.
The green theme continued all the way home: OZOcar, an eco-luxury car service, gave guests who spent more than $150 a ride home in a Toyota Prius.
The specialty cocktail of the evening was a pomegranate orange blossom spritzer with fresh pomegranate seeds.
