Exhibitors Show Presentation Chops at Food Fête Food PR & Marketing Event

Nearly twenty exhibitors, including NatureBox, DOVE Chocolate, Kohanna Coffee, ginnybakes, and Kohanna Coffee (full list and more info here), presented new culinary products and accessories during yesterday's Fall 2014 Food Fête PR and Marketing Event. Food Fête was  founded in 2005 by Jeff Davis, and introduces a select group of food PR and marketing professionals to a targeted group of top food writers in an environment that fosters unique connections. Exhibitors showcased their newest food, beverages and kitchenware products - offering some great ideas for food presentation for the less culinary-inclined. Below are a few of the highlights both in food presentation and overall tradeshow layouts.

Gorgeous prosciutto wrapped asparagus on cheese and a wafer cracker.

Cookie grabber tongs were a fun addition for guests at the ginnybakes booth.

Delicious cheese and informative toothpicks from Jarlsberg.

Never tried candied grapes? Neither had we. An inventive offering from California Table Grape Commission.

Gorgeous selection of colorfully patterned straws mix up an overlooked utensil. Hats off to Aardvark Paper Straws!

An impressive (and energizing) display from Kohana Coffee, bringing us back to their Hawaiian roots.

Want to Know More? Check out Food Fete's website.

Planning an upcoming food event or tradeshow? Contact Us for more information about hosting your event at HELEN MILLS.

2014 Women In Wine Leadership Symposium

This past week, HELEN MILLS hosted the 3rd annual Women in Wine Leadership Symposium. The day consisted of a networking breakfast, a keynote by Ruth Reichl (a food writer) and three panel discussions with leading ladies in their industries, all before lunch with a walk-around wine tasting.

This annual symposium is hosted by The Winebow Group, which is made up of national importer and distribution houses that offer comprehensive portfolios of fine wine and craft spirits from around the world. They represent some of the most established, family-owned properties in popular areas, as well as a new generation of winemakers and distillers who are dedicated to innovation and quality. To learn more about The Winebow Group, please click here.

Cornerstone Communications has produced Winebow’s annual symposium at HELEN MILLS for the past three years. They are a New York-based full service public relations and event management agency specializing in wine, food and luxury lifestyle clients. To learn more about Cornerstone Communications, please click here.

The first panel discussion in the HELEN MILLS Theater was about “Creating and Defining Work-Life Balance”. The speakers included Marianne Ruggiero from Optima Careers, Jordan Salcito from Momofuku, Cynthia Tom from Whole Foods and Kristen Wolfe Bieler from Beverage Media.

The second panel was in the HELEN MILLS Event Space, which was set-up in a classroom style setting with about 120 seats. It was a “Guided Tasting” of four different wines (one was a sparkling cider), with representatives from each of the wineries. The four wines included were Autumn’s Gold from Eve’s Cidery, Tokaji Furmint 2012, Vila Santa Reserva 2011 and Turriga Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 2010.

For the final panel, guests were brought back down to the Theater for a discussion on “Pathways and Strategies for Success”, while the Event Space was being transitioned for a walk-around tasting and lunch buffet. The last panel’s speakers included Cynthia Emrich for Catalyst, Shelley Lindgren from A16 and SPQR, Marika Vida-Arnold from the Ritz Carlton and Deborah Hansen from Taberna De Haro. All of the panel discussions were moderated by Madeline Triffon, a wine specialist and sommelier.

If you are planning an upcoming wine tasting event or a meeting, please contact us for more information about hosting your event at HELEN MILLS.

Dress for Success Pop-Up Shop: Accessories Edition

Dress for Success (DFS) hosted its fourth annual “Shop for Success” benefit this October at HELEN MILLS. DFS transformed the room into a pop-up store featuring shoes, bags, jewelry, and other accessories. In addition to raising money for a great cause, DFS did a great job of getting the details right for the event. Take a look below for photos:

DFS kicked off its three-day event with a VIP reception. Attendees could pre-shop the sale while sipping on specialty cocktails sponsored by Malibu.

The pop-up store featured products donated by a number of top-tier designers including Gucci, Coach, and Marc Jacobs.

DFS created a stylish outfitting lounge area where shoppers could try on shoes and accessories.

To learn more about DFS and find out about upcoming events in your area, visit DFS's website here.

The Hub Live: A Magazine's Take On Brand Experience

With the recent festival hosted by the New Yorker, other magazines are seeing how it’s important to produce their own events to engage better with their clients and sponsors. The Hub Magazine hosted their 2nd annual Hub Live: The Brand Experience Symposium last week at the HELEN MILLS Event Space and Theater with two full days packed with great speakers. A few of the many speakers included Steve Battista from Under Armour, Tom Boyles from Disney Parks & Resorts, Simon Bradley from Virgin Atlantic, Lisa Macpherson from Hallmark and Mike Senackerib from Campbell’s Soup.

With an event targeted towards brand executives, you can bet that there was plenty of branding throughout the two days!

The branding started the moment guests arrived with a banner hanging outside and display posters with key speakers.

The lunch table linens added a nice touch for The Hub’s brand colors – yellow and blue. (Those are Tim Tams at the center of each table – desserts from Campbell’s.)

Campbell’s Soup provided soups, Goldfish and Tim Tams for the first day’s lunch.

Catapult sponsored the first night’s reception with a specialty cocktail.

They also branded the reception with a gobo of their logo projected onto the floors with a wall wash in the color of their brand.

The second day involved a break with some popcorn and light-up “snowballs” provided by Hallmark. Fun and timeless ideas for holiday gifting!

The final night included an awards presentation in the same space where guests enjoyed a buffet dinner and cocktails provided by CIBO.

Branding from CIBO included a gobo of their logo projected over the bar and branded “Cards Against Humanity” at each of the cocktail tables.

To find out more information on The Hub Live, please visit their website. We hope to see you at next year’s event!

For more information on hosting a meeting or conference at HELEN MILLS, please contact us.

3rd Annual CBGB Music and Film Festival at HELEN MILLS

The HELEN MILLS Theater is excited to be a part of the 3rd Annual CBGB Music and Film Festival this week! There will be two film screenings on Thursday, October 9th and talks on Friday, October 10th. Below is the schedule for the upcoming CBGB events held at the HELEN MILLS Theater.

Thursday, October 9th (screenings)

• 7:30PM – “It’s Who You Know” (episodes) More information and tickets are available here.

• 9:30PM – “Find Your Way: A Busker’s Documentary” More information and tickets are available here.

Friday, October 10th (talks)

• 6:00PM – Music Discussions with Galadrielle Allman; Erin Davis & Vince Wilburn Jr.; and Stephen Trask. More information and tickets are available here.

More information about the CBGB Music and Film Festival can be found on their website – cbgbfest.com

Looking for a Theater to host your film screening or panel discussion? Contact us or download our ebook for more information.

Tia Cibani Spring / Summer 2015 Fashion Presentation

Kicking off last week's shows at HELEN MILLS, Designer Tia Cibani showed her NYFW Spring / Summer 2015 Collection. The September 3rd show featured not only a gorgeous and well-received collection, but also a beautifully executed set. The looks were inspired by "1970s exoticism and North African Tuareg craft," according to the program, and featured "spice colors of Saffron, Anise, Tuurmeric, Cumin and Cayenne." Check out the photos below for more.

SETTING THE STAGE

 

THE LOOKS

 

THE EXPERIENCE

For more reviews and insights on the collection, check out Style.com, Refinery29, or Fashionista.

Planning an event or fashion show? Contact us or download our ebook for more information.

Britax Press Reveal Wins on Event Branding

Britax was at HELEN MILLS last week to unveil their new ClickTight Car Seat Installation System. Based on early reviews, it looks like the new design is a winner. Check out the #BritaxGameChanger blogger buzz on Twitter here. Also winning was how Britax took full advantage of event branding and signage opportunities inside and outside of the venue. Below are some peeks into how they did it:

1. Flag, portholes, and sidewalk display showcase outside of the venue

2. Live twitter feed projection above the bar

3. Column clings with Britax branding and event hashtag

4. Wall hangings from gallery molding, ceiling hangings from pipe grid, easel displays, and wall clings

5. Step and repeat as presentation backdrop, wall hanging from gallery molding, and product display on raised platform

HELEN MILLS Event Series: July 25th Recap

On July 25th, we had the first event in a series of events at the HELEN MILLS Event Space and Theater. The morning talk explored the state of data privacy. It was a thought-provoking discussion with delicious pastries, intriguing speakers and presentations. Thank you to everyone who attended, co-producer, Contagious, sponsor Flamingo, and all the great speakers! Below is a quick recap (with pictures!) for anyone who wasn't able to attend or who'd like more information about the speakers, their projects, and additional resources to explore. Enjoy!

HELEN MILLS Theater decorated with logos in portholes.

Arwa Mahdawi of Contagious (pictured below), moderated the discussion and panel. Arwa is the North American Strategy Director for Contagious and led the quantitative and qualitative research projects on privacy that Contagious recently undertook in conjunction with Flamingo and Opinium. Find the full report here. Arwa can also be found tweeting at ArwaM.

Kyle McDonald is an artist who works with open code. He started off the event by discussing the numerous projects he's worked on includuing one that involved an eavesdropping with a lightbulb that livetweets conversations via Mechanical Turk transcription. More of Kyle's work and thoughts can be found here and here.

Adam Harvey (pictured below, center), is an artist who spoke about his work in developing counter-surveillance designs. His Privacy Gift Shop will be premiering in the fall as part of the NEW INC, a museum led incubator located next door to the New Museum. More about Adam's projects here.

Eliza Esquivel (photo below), VP Global Brand Strategy at Mondelēz International, gave an inspiring talk about Focus: Life Gear by Trident, a project that explores the intersection between fashion, technology, a distraction-free lifestyle, and of course...gum. More about Eliza here.

Dee de Lara, associate director of Flamingo, wrapped up the presentations with her talk about work the agency has done on qualitatively studying privacy, what kind of consumers privacy want, and how brands can deliver it. Flamingo's study on data privacy can be found in its entirety here. Learn more about the New York Flamingo team here.