Guilty As Charged

OK--I know, I know. I am a totally delinquent blogger. Apologies to all my fans out there but life has been very busy since last I've blogged but hopefully I'm back on track for the New Year.

Hear that Christian! (Christian is my web designer who always tells me to blog away. See...I'm blogging!) While we are on the subject of Christian, I have received so many compliments on my website, I've decided to share with you all, Christian's contact info since he is such an amazing web designer. His company is Diseno Lopez www.disenolopez.com and he can be reached at (201) 575-6421. OK Christian--I want a commission for all the jobs you get from this. (Just kidding.)

Lots and lots of exciting things going on in the world of C. Brower & Co Creative Events since last we've spoke. I've got plenty of new pictures from events to post, so be on the look out for them on my photo pages and maybe I'll throw in a few here on the blog real soon. I'm still playing catch up from all the events during the holidays so the photos are coming--I promise! December was the busy season and also my favorite time of year. I love designing holiday events.

Anyway, the latest fun is I just got back from The Special Event Conference in beautiful, sunny San Diego, California. What a conference! For those in the events industry--this is the conference to beat all. Jam packed with top notch educational seminars, events and hundreds of vendors at the trade show booths. I've made some great connections and found some new products. I spent time working on the Hands on Hundred Program where I volunteered time to help at The Wedding Gallery event. I got to work with a phenomenal floral designer, Rene van Remes, who is well renowned in California. What a treat that was! For any designer out there, you know what a thrill it is to get to work with some of the masters.

Adding to the fun, I got to work with my favorite team at Total Entertainment, Michael Cerbelli, Julie Estes and Jaclyn Ownes at Michael's course "Hot Event & Entertainment Ideas for 2009 (tm)." This class is where Michael shares all his resources for the hottest new ideas and products in the events industry.

While my husband got to sit in the audience and enjoy the class, somehow I managed to get recruited to work with Team Cerbelli (hmmmm......how did that happen.....but oh what fun it always is!) I worked backstage helping Jaclyn and Julie with entertainment management. As much as I love to design, it always fascinates me what goes on behind the scenes. I love to be a part of it. It's like seeing how the mechanics of a clock works. So...for those new to the industry....a small piece of advice...if you want to be in the forefront, you first have to learn how the back end of the events industry works.

So what's next for C. Brower & Co Creative Events? This weekend we've got a Valentine's Day wedding coming up! Hundreds of red roses and tons of bling. I've got miniature Swarovski Crystals that are going to be attached to the red ribbons on the party favors (totally GORGEOUS!) and lots of bling in the bridal bouquet. I'll post some images and maybe some "how to's" so you all can see how to dress up an otherwise plain bouquet. By the way, the party favors are a great new product courtesy of my friend Alex Virvo of Swingbox. They are the coolest product in the way of party favors--check them out at www.swingbox.com

At the end of the month we've got a Mardi Gras 50th Birthday, but more on that next time. It's been lovely chatting but I'm off to go design another spectacular event!

Sharing Resources

I find that at times the event industry can be very competitive. I attended a class a few years ago at the International Special Events Society Regional Education Conference. This class, Hot Entertainment Ideas, was held by one of the industry leaders, Michael Cerbelli, President of Special Events at Total Entertainment. Though I walked away with a ton of resources for entertainment, the thing I remember most was Michael saying 'share the wealth - don't be afraid to share your resources. We are here to help each other become successful.'
I realized then and there why this man is such a successful person. He is consistenly referring his fellow colleagues to clients to help them grow their business and in turn, has developed an incredibly loyal following where he has become the preferred vendor to these colleagues. I personally have become one of his loyal followers. He has been a mentor to me and has been highly instrumental in helping develop my career. Inspired by his words and his class, I went on to teach my own class, "The Art of Smoke & Mirrors: Design & Decor on a Tight Budget", sharing my resources for decor with my industry colleagues.

This conversation leads me to share with you some of my preferred vendors in the events industry.

My one and only preferred source for entertainment:
Total Entertainment (offices located out of New Jersey, New York and Chicago, serving clients worldwide!) http://www.totalentertainment.com/

My favorite historical venue located in lower Manhattan:
The Broad Street Ballroom http://www.broadstreetballroom.com/

My favorite lighting company with offices out of New York, Washington DC, Florida & Chicago: Frost Lighting http://www.frostlighting.com/

My favorite, and New York's premiere, ice sculpture company:
Okamoto Studio http://www.okamotostudionyc.com/

Loving these invitations:
Bizzy Bee Boutique http://www.bizzybeeboutique.com/products.html

I was also recently introduced to a wonderful furniture rental company located in New York:
American Furniture Rental http://www.afrevents.com/

Last but not least, (and I'm a little bias), my favorite event production & design company:
C. Brower & Co Creative Events!
Thank you for visiting our website and thank you for your business!

Warm regards,
Christine

Creative Events Quote of the Week

This quote goes out there to all my creative designer friends and was sent courtesy of my wonderful, brilliant, science-minded cousin, Bianca.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
--Albert Einstein

It's through our imagination that we have the ability to create the wonderful things that we do for this Event-ful industry.