To launch its new partnership with interior designer Sarah Richardson, host of HGTV's Sarah's House, and to mark the company's recent collaboration with Lowe's Canada, Para Paints hosted a Canadian-themed cocktail reception for 150 corporate and media guests at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art on Wednesday.
"We are Canadian, and we have been around since 1915," said Para Paints senior brand manager Garry Belfall. "We’re proud of it, so what better way to kick off the rebirth of our company than with an event like this."
Para Paints called on Christine Faulhaber of Faulhaber PR to plan the event. "It's all about chic Canadiana," she said. "Sarah is Canadian and Para is a Canadian brand."
Faulhaber chose the museum's Terrace Room, which houses Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner. "We wanted a Canadian venue, and nothing is more Canadian than a Canadian museum. We also wanted something chic and beautiful. And, the fact that Jamie Kennedy’s food is green and local, we wanted that feeling as well, so it all came together," Faulhaber said.
On Kennedy's themed menu were hors d'oeuvres including beef brisket poutine with aged Canadian cheddar, confit duck and potato with rhubarb compote, and rye- and maple-smoked wild sockeye salmon on brioche crisp with wild leek mignonette. Specialty drinks included the JK Kir and the Maple Leaf.
Faulhaber dressed the space with poster displays surrounded by tins of paint and called on Jackie O to create floral arrangements that complemented Richardson's new paint collection, called the Sarah Richardson Designer Palette. The finished product included lots of tulips, small blue rocks (a nod to the invitation design), and birch branches.
Press kits also included a Canadian touch: Para Paints branded stones that guests could use to build their own inuksuk, a traditional stone landmark used by the Inuit.