With the heat, humidity, and exhaust, summer in the city can really stink. French skincare and fragrance company L'Occitane did a bit to alleviate the seasonal smells when it brought its Lavender Harvest promotion to Rockefeller Center.
Chris Burke, vice president of marketing at L’Occitane, planned the event to coincide with the lavender harvest in the company's hometown of Provence, and to promote its line of lavender-scented products. (This was its first harvest in the United States after a series of similar events in Paris.)
Horticultural Creations planted a lavender field on one side of the Channel Gardens—the strip of retail stores leading to the steps of the Rink Bar—with 450,000 pieces of lavender. A Provencal village setting occupied the other side of the garden, with a pentanque court and strolling musicians. Carts displayed L'Occitane products, and experts were on hand to explain the arts of soapmaking and extracting essential oils from plants. (An actual distillation machine, called an alembic, was shipped from Provence to display in front of L'Occitane's Rockefeller Center store.) The soapy diversions were offset by chocolate, olive oil, tapenade, and wine tastings.
A cocktail party the evening of August 22 at the Rink Bar kicked off the four-day promotion. Urban Events decorated the space with lavender-colored fabrics, covering the cocktail tables, lounge seats, and pillows. Old-fashioned wheelbarrows, bunches of lavender, bales of hay, and dried plant stalks filled the space for a summer-in-Provence atmosphere. Lavender martinis—which were blueberry-flavored—were served with the Sea Grill's hors d'oeuvres.
Now if they could only bring a midsummer lavender field to Chinatown.
—Kristen Haunss
Photos: Patrick McMullan
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Chris Burke, vice president of marketing at L’Occitane, planned the event to coincide with the lavender harvest in the company's hometown of Provence, and to promote its line of lavender-scented products. (This was its first harvest in the United States after a series of similar events in Paris.)
Horticultural Creations planted a lavender field on one side of the Channel Gardens—the strip of retail stores leading to the steps of the Rink Bar—with 450,000 pieces of lavender. A Provencal village setting occupied the other side of the garden, with a pentanque court and strolling musicians. Carts displayed L'Occitane products, and experts were on hand to explain the arts of soapmaking and extracting essential oils from plants. (An actual distillation machine, called an alembic, was shipped from Provence to display in front of L'Occitane's Rockefeller Center store.) The soapy diversions were offset by chocolate, olive oil, tapenade, and wine tastings.
A cocktail party the evening of August 22 at the Rink Bar kicked off the four-day promotion. Urban Events decorated the space with lavender-colored fabrics, covering the cocktail tables, lounge seats, and pillows. Old-fashioned wheelbarrows, bunches of lavender, bales of hay, and dried plant stalks filled the space for a summer-in-Provence atmosphere. Lavender martinis—which were blueberry-flavored—were served with the Sea Grill's hors d'oeuvres.
Now if they could only bring a midsummer lavender field to Chinatown.
—Kristen Haunss
Photos: Patrick McMullan
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Landscape company Horticultural Creations created a lavender field on one side of Rockefeller Center's Channel Gardens—the strip of retail stores that leads to the steps of the Rink Bar—with 450,000 pieces of lavender for L'Occitane's Lavender Harvest promotion.
Carts laden with L'Occitane products were on display throughout the four-day promotion.
For the opening reception, Urban Events decorated the Rink Bar with old-fashioned wheelbarrows, barn chairs, bunches of lavender, bales of hay, and dried plant stalks for a summer-in-Provence atmosphere.
Lavender martinis—lavender-colored, but blueberry-flavored—were served at the cocktail reception at the Rink Bar.
