Upcycled Spring Showroom at Affairs to Remember
The Showroom re-design at Affairs to Remember is especially exciting this time around, because of the local flavor we added to the mix. Beginning with re-purposed, adding a dash of upcycled, and mixing in a cup of vintage modern, we transformed the vault space at the Atlanta catering company into a high-style recycle center.
The spool table sits front and center an industrial piece of art. Recently crafted from an actual wire spool found here in West Midtown, these tables are the perfect piece for your next party. Even better, top the tables with these rustic wood risers made from actual shipping pallets. This look represents a current trend which incorporates industrial pieces into an elegant motif. We’ve also featured Dwayne Bass’ Rubblox furniture, a line of upcycled, shredded rubber molded into cylinders, cubes and benches. And let’s not forget the GIANT wooden frame which we’ve decorated here with ribbon in a geometric pattern, but could easily house your step and repeat or chalk drawing. Of course, all of these statement pieces are available from our friends at Peachtree Tents and Events.
Beyond the big pieces in the room, we’ve added a few vintage finds from around town to spice up the scenery. Porcelain birds painted white, antique Atlanta-themed bar wear, lamp shade skeletons, and milk glass vases all add that touch of whimsy to a fun, eclectic room. Let us know if WM Events can help you design your next function.
-William Fogler
WM Events
How To: Lighting Your Event
Let’s face it. It’s a lot more fun to visit your Caterer or Cake Designer for an afternoon tasting than to visit some hidden warehouse to talk about gel colors, gobos, and fresnels. What are those things anyways? We can complain about cold chicken any day of the week, but developing a lighting design is a complex, multi-dimensional, exercise that takes talent, skill, and a discerning eye. Yet, despite these intricacies and mood-altering affects, any event’s lighting budget is usually the last to add on and the first to slash.
Sometimes breaking the vocabulary wall in the lighting world can do wonders in the eventual success of an event. So, let’s put the spotlight on some commonly used terms.
1. Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight (Leko & Source Four)
These fixed lighting instruments collect and direct light through a barrel that contains a lens. ERS instruments come in all shapes and sizes. While each particular model of ERS has its own set of characteristics, every one contains a) an adjustable lens that can change the focus (softness or hardness) of the beam of light projected by the unit, b) a set of brackets on the end of the lens tube for the insertion of gel frames, c) a series of four shutters that allow for precise shaping and sizing of the unit’s beam as lines, and d) a slot for the insertion of metal gobos.
2. Gel
Lighting gel is a transparent thin sheet of polycarbonate or polyester that is placed at the end of a lighting fixture in order to color the light. There are a few different companies that manufacture gel, each using a different code to signify the color profile of each piece (like Rosco 39 and GAM 841. Swatch books (as seen above) give lighting designers a better idea of the end result, just like interior designers use paint color pallets. Also similar to painting, it is best to use smaller combination of colors or stay in a color family when lighting your event. Too many oranges, blues, purples, and yellows, and your lighting concept will appear muddled and fight with your decor.
3.Gobo
Derived from the phrase “Go between”, a gobo is a thin, round piece of metal with patterned holes placed in front of a light source that controls the shape of the light. The gobo stops some light from passing through, while letting the cut out pattern continue for an interesting effect. Situated at the instrument’s point of focus in a holder (as seen above), the gobo can be crisply focused for logos and details, or softened for patterned breakups or geometric designs. Perhaps you might want to add stars to your venue’s ceiling, or a tree pattern (with green gel) for your jungle themed party. Brides, corporations, and guests of honor can all benefit from having a customized gobo cut for around $100.
4. LED Lights
The items detailed above have been around for a long time, but developing technology seems to be focused in the world of LED lighting instruments (mainly because they have high light output with lower power consumption). LED instruments can contain a number of different colored LEDs, often Red, Green and Blue, and different light output colors can be achieved by adjusting the intensity of each LED color group. LED instruments have a long life relative to other options, without the expense of color gel or replacement lamps. The three types of LEDs are a) Round PAR cans that house a round circuit board of light, b) Strip lights that use a long, narrow source of LEDs, and c) Intelligent LED lights that can move positions around an axis.
Check in for our next blog post with lighting experts, Todd Finch and Julian Bradley.
-William Fogler
WM Events
WM Events and Peachtree Tents & Events Win at NACE Design Trends
Congratulations to the Peachtree Tents and Events Table Top at the NACE Design Trends competition and the Bridal Extravaganza. Held at 200 Peachtree this past Sunday and Monday, the event was a major success. We partnered with Peachtree Tents and Events, Dwayne Bass with his innovative Rubblox furniture, Christian Ruffin at One Stop Productions, and Dee Lane Eades at Graceful Tables to make a lively table covered in moss, succulents, ferns, and other greenery. Mixing a stainless steel table, an antique barn door, rubber furniture, and lots of living plants was an inventive twist that added visual and textural interest. Tell us what you think in the comments below!
-William Fogler
WM Events
AmericasMart Atlanta Gift Show
Atlanta is no stranger to landmarks. With the worlds largest aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, the busiest airport in the world, and Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta is steeped in a rich history and a modern progression. But the average Atlantan and the world at large might not know of a certain gem in the heart of downtown known as AmericasMart. The Mart is comprised of four integrated, John Portman designed buildings that offer over 7.7 million square feet of showrooms, tradeshow floors, and meetings spaces. With 15 annual markets, over 500,000 visitors come from all over the world to shop and sell wholesale products in various categories like High Design, Apparel, Gift, Rug, and Furniture.
If you’ve never been before, it can be quite overwhelming, most likely because your are in Building 1 on the 22nd floor trying to get to the 10th floor of Building 2 West Wing. Bridges connect between the buildings, but only on certain floors! So you really have no know where you’re going, or else your shopping will be all screwed up. AmericasMart is not open to the public. In order to be admitted, a buyer must provide proof of a valid business license and show identification at a registration office. We went to the Mart this past week to shop for various clients of ours. So be expecting a few updates of the great new products we found!
-William Fogler
WM Events
Spring 2012 At Affairs to Remember Showroom
It’s that time again! Flipping the showroom at Affairs to Remember is a great exercise for us as designers. We get to push our limits, incorporate trends, and flex our creativity muscles. The current look in the vault is all white, using textures and layers to add visual interest. The main room showcases the three different looks (Classic, Gallery, & Artisan) with color continuity.
We’d like to thank all of our vendors that made the Spring 2012 look possible- -Monte Carlo Productions, Lounge Art, Peachtree Tents and Events, BBJ Linens, Classic Party Rentals, Party Tables, Graceful Tables, and Newberry Brothers. Check out our pictures below (also available at our Facebook Page and Consulting Page), and leave your thoughts in our comment section.
-William Fogler
WM Events
WM Events Plans Chipotle Holiday Party
We’re no stranger to planning a certain amazingly delicious Mexican Grill’s Holiday party. There is a bright spot on our calendar every December for this fun, exciting corporate affair. This year, we decided to play off of Chipotle’s recently announced Southeast Asian concept, Shop House, and create a unique experience employees would enjoy. Director and Co-CEO, Monty Moran offered a warm welcome and thanks, while guests partied the night away.
We’d like to offer a special thanks to all our vendors that made it happen: Four Seasons Denver for a great venue and suburb food, Newberry Brothers Greenhouse & Florist for the beautiful arrangements, Charming Chairs for the comfortable lounge furniture, Julian Bradley at ESP for a spectacular lighting design, Starkey Productions for entertaining dragon dancers, DJ Rex Buchanan for his outstanding mixes, and Indigo Sky Productions for a delightful decor job! Check out David Wegwart’s stunning pictures below and on our Corporate Services page, and tell us what you think!
-William Fogler
WM Events
A WM Events 2011 In Review
*YAWN* Now that we’ve finally woken up from our holiday hibernation, it’s time to take a good look back on what happened this past year. 2011 was certainly a year for celebrating absurdities (read: Charlie Sheen’s Tiger Blood), and incredible changes (Lybia, anyone?). But let’s scale all that happened down to our two favorite categories, Entertainment & Events. So let’s dig in to the interesting events that made 2011 a year to remember.
Entertainment
In the Music World, we had a strange start with the introduction of Rebecca Black’s YouTube phenomenon, “Friday“. It’s been covered by everyone imaginable- from the boys on Glee to Stephen Cobert, but it’s silliness was more than most could handle. Then Nicki Minaj won our hearts and the award for most “featuring” spots on just about everyone’s number 1 singles. But it was her super hit, “Super Bass” that really won us over this year thanks to Taylor Swift (not to mention the smaller version, Sophia Grace Brownlee). And lastly, with over 5 million copies sold world wide, the whistling intro of Moves Like Jagger was all I needed to start dancing like a maniac! Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera really knocked it out of the park with this infectious tune. Take me by the tongue and I’ll show you!
The movies of 2011 were less than exciting- that is, of course, unless you’re a Twilight fan or 3D movies don’t give you headaches. So let’s skip over all those Bridesmaids, pretend you actually sat through X-Men: First Class, and move right on to the best TV Shows we waited for each week. It was quite a year for Modern Family, Mad Men, Big Bang Theory, and Community. All of these shows did excellent at the Primetime Emmys, and are slated to do equally as well at the Golden Globes in 2 weeks. And as far as the guilty pleasures go, there’s nothing quite like a marathon of Real Housewives of Atlanta (Congrats Kim!), The Biggest Loser, and Extreme Home Makeover.
Events
Without a doubt, the most exciting event for me to watch this year was William and Kate’s Royal Wedding. The attention to detail, the extravagance, and the world attention (nearly 2 billion tuned in) were altogether fascinating and inspiring. If you really want to know what I thought, read my post for MyWedding.com here! Speaking of weddings, how about a congratulatory hoo-rah for New York state in their legalization of Gay Marriage! Kitty Lambert & Cheryle Rudd became the first same sex couple to wed in NY at Midnight on July 24, 2011. And then, of course, the world grew 6 Billion strong on October 31 (at least, approximately). It was kind of a big year.
There are a few things we intentionally left out- Osama Bin Laden, the Casey Anthony Trial, and that whole Rapture thing that never happened. But let’s not dwell on those events while we look forward to a great 2012. Afterall, this is the year of a 29 day February, the London Summer Olympics, the Presidential Election, and the end of the world (thanks, Mayan Calendar). What could be more exciting than that?!
-William Fogler
WM Events
Neiman Marcus Christmas Book Inspiration
Few things are more magnificent than the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. This year’s 150+ pages of full color compositions flood our minds with inspiration, style, and whimsy. From the over-sized holiday card props, to the “I WANT IT ALL!!” gift list, this book has everything you could want and more. With fantasy catalog options like a $250,000 speed boat ($3,000 of which goes to a good cause), no one would ever suggest that the NM offerings are typical. If you’re lucky enough to pick up one of these pieces of bound artwork, make sure you check out page 71 for a coaster set we’ve been dying to get our hands on!
-William Fogler
WM Events
Count Down To Christmas with Fun Advent Calendars
Today is the first day of December. That means that since all the decorations are hung, it’s time to open that first gift of the advent calendar. They’re great reminders that Christmas is right around the corner. And who doesn’t like receiving presents for 24 days straight!?! Beginning in 19th century Germany, the advent calendar was a daily reminder for those of the Lutheran faith to physically count down each day before Christmas. Today, these festive elements come in all shapes, sizes, and uses. From your traditional card stock illustrations with windows to hanging garlands of mittens, there’s certainly something surprising for everyone. We’ve taken a minute to hunt the internet highways for the most interesting takes on these jolly gadgets, and complied them in a list below. How do you and your family gear up for the holidays?
A Story A Day Advent Calendar App by via Shiny Shiny
Advent Koenecke Sausage by Butter via LovelyPackage
$1 Million Advent Calendar by Porsche Design via BornRich
Worlds Smallest Advent Calendar by University of Regensburg’s Micro- and Nanostructures Group via Royal Society of Chemistry
-William Fogler
WM Events
WM Events Decorates the Fox Theater
Now that everyone is full and fully rested from their Thanksgiving feasts, it’s time to deck the halls in preparation for the Holidays. We were at the Fox Theater yesterday preparing the vintage venue for decadent decorations. See below for some action shots of the dynamic duo fluffing the Fox’s Grand Salon and staircase. Or go to the consulting services page to see the whole gallery! How do you decorate for the holidays? Tell us in the comments below.
-William Fogler
WM Events
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