Aye Ye Land Lubbers!

Arrrgghhhh! Last week I had the extreme joy of adding pirate decor to the Cooper Booth Wholesale Trade Show, hosted at the Toyota Arena, York Fairgrounds. About 130 vendors gather to showcase their merchandise for clients of Cooper Booth Wholesale during this event. Ace the Party Place and I were asked to provide some frivolity to this pirate themed event.

Guests gathered for registration in the lobby prior to entering the arena, where they were greeted by a 7' x 13' pirate map (created by yours truly) and a 4'x4' authentic pirate greeting. Adding barrels, courtesy of Grand Events, palms (courtesy of Royers Flowers) and coins and jewels, along with various fabrics, we were able to create quite a welcoming sight for the land lubbers arriving that morning!

Guests entered the arena and were corralled by our chrome stanchions and velour ropes, topped with holey cloth adding an authentic pirate feel to the entry. To the right of the entry was a massive pile of pirate loot, comprised of a trio of antique treasure chests, jewels, coins, fabrics and various trinkets. To add a bit of whimsy to this vignette, we incorporated a dressed pirate wench mannequin. The entire vignette was completed with luscious green palms.

The Cooper Booth Wholesale company raffles off quite a few fabulous prizes throughout the event, and we provided them with a really fun prize table. We used an 8' table flanked by two 6' round tables, topped with custom pirate masts. These masts measured about 10' tall and added a fabulous note of height to the area.

As guests meandered through the event, they were greeted by our functioning robotic pirate mannequin, housed in our 4'x4'x8' jail. The front of the jail was created by using our large foam arch, adding some iron bars, and completing it with "stone" walls. Adding some potted palms, coins, and a few jewels creates the perfect pirate jail.

Complimenting Rileighs great pipe and drape boothing was our guest seating area. We utilized hightop tables, adorned with gold spandex undercloths and black and white striped top cloths. We added 4' and 5' round tables to the area, clothing the 4' round tables in black linen to the floor and the 5' round tables with black linen to the floor and red and white striped top cloths. The 4' round tables were tricked out with small live tabletop ferns, while the 5' tables were adorned with silver and gold goblets, coins, and jewels.

The coordinator of the event, Eric, added great entertainment to the event by hiring favorites of mine, Round Table Productions. This group of incredibly talented actors adds a flair of interactivity and realism to any event -- complete with sword fights and all! Kate and the crew came dressed and armed for entertainment!

Thanks to Eric and Dillon from Cooper Booth Wholesale for inviting us to add some swashbucklin' fun to this event!

A Spot of Tea

'Ello Darlings! Stanny and I had the pleasure of adding a few fun touches to a Nurses Recognition Tea held at Lancaster General Hospital this week. I had the pleasure of working with Carolyn at LGH, which was really fun!

We were asked to provide some hightop tables, linen, florals, and tea and coffee samovars. The feel of the event was "An Afternoon Tea," so we chose a light lilac shade of linen, and our fine white china collection to add to the delicate nature of the event. Our German white china collection is quite fine, and our art-deco style Silvermax Coffee/Tea Urns added just the right touch on the food boutique.

I utilized 120" round cloths on the hightop tables, cinching them loosely in the center with a white sheer wired ribbon. I asked Royers Flowers to create arrangements for both the buffets and the hightop tables. Royers supplied 4"x4" square glass purple vases with white hydrangea for the hightops. The buffet arrangements contained a variety of purple, lilac, and white florals, creating a soft yet sophisticated look for this affair.

The event was held to recognize the great many fantastic and hard working nurses that LGH employs. It is great to know that our products and services helped to make the affair an afternoon to remember!

Special thanks to the fabulous floral fanatics at Royers Flowers and Carolyn at LGH!

BE INSPIRED!

Hello friends! Stanford and I join you this morning excited and energized for the upcoming wedding and event season! We had the pleasure of attending the annual linen seminar hosted by Special Occasions, my favorite linen divas!

We were invited to beautiful Franklin and Marshall College to attend this educational event, and what a beautiful campus! F & M College is a great client of ours and its always nice to visit and soak in the beauty of such a historic campus.

What a treat to visit with so many friends before the seminar began! From floral designers, to venue owners and coordinators, to hip and trendy event designers, what an honor to be in the presence of many of Lancaster's fabulous event professionals.

The hour and a half seminar highlighted new fabrics, new techniques, and the wonderful personalities that create Special Occasions! For detailed photos and their spin on the seminar, check out the gals at Hamilton Events!

Thanks to Special Occasions and Franklin and Marshall College for a creatively energizing and educational seminar!

You Can Always Go Downtown

Recently I had the pleasure of creating a little atmosphere for the opening of the Downtown Pavilion at Lancaster General Hospital. Guests were invited to take tours of the new facility while enjoying hors de oeuvres. The new facility makes outpatient procedures much easier for patients to access, while creating more efficient sign-in procedures and ease of parking.

I was asked to provide a few food boutiques (our new word-du-jour for hors de oeuvres stations, how chic!) and a few simple hightop tables for the space. We utilized serpentine, or curved tables, for the food stations, with a hightop at each station to showcase the divine floral creations by Fries Flowers.

To infuse some color into the space, I chose linens from Special Occasions, my favorite local linen divas. Shiny silk citron cloths draped the tables to the floor, while espresso organza added contrast and visual interest. I chose to use 130” round cloths on the hightop tables, cinching them in the center with a silky brown ribbon. This hourglass silhouette looks sleek and modern, while allowing guests to gather around the tables with ease.

For floral, I consulted with Joanne at Fries Flowers, a flower Goddess! She created a breathtaking lit centerpiece using Floralyte bases and green cymbidium orchids, topped with a chocolate lampshade. Simple, yet chic for this VIP event!

The event was a success according to Kim Shirker, Special Event Specialist at LGH, whom is always a pleasure to work with!

Thanks to Special Occasions and Fries Flowers for great products and fabulous service!

Bridal Show Extravaganza

In the past few months Ace the Party Place and I had the pleasure of participating in two buzzing bridal shows.

The first was at the Lancaster Host Resort, organized by Renee Kopp of Celebrations. I had the pleasure of meeting many smiling and excited brides, all ready to begin planning for their big day. This was my first show back with Ace the Party Place, and so I chose to showcase our new Crown Parian white square plateware and sleek Astragal stainless flatware. These new pieces add flair to any event. I also chose to showcase my own unique design -- from a mound of rock and rubble no less!

As many of you know, we at Ace have been undergoing many changes and various face lifts in our building on Ranck Mill Road in Lancaster. There has been many changes on the grounds of our property, including an upheaval of earth and rock. I park in front of this mound of rock every single day, and one day it occurred to me that I could create a stunning tabletop with a few pieces of the thin rock and some reindeer moss (found at your local craft store or floral wholesaler). What was inspired by rock and rubble become a gorgeously organic tabletop. This design principle amounts to one word: INSPIRATION. Good Event designers get inspiration from magazines, photos and books. GREAT event designers get inspiration from EVERYTHING!

Our second bridal show was held at the Hamilton Club, a prestigious club and stunningly ornate venue. This show was organized by our friend and style guru of many years, Lori Hemphill, of the Perfect Plan. I was uber-excited to participate in this show as it was a tailored show of select, higher end vendors. I chose to showcase our array of china and glassware. Many brides don’t realize that we at Ace stock a huge variety of plateware and glassware, and can accomodate events from 10 persons to 1000! I also chose to cruise through our scrapbook at Ace, highlighting the many advertisements, event photos, and great information we have provided our clients for over 40 years. I still felt as though I needed to add a bit of fabulousness to our display with twig, orchid, and crystal prism centerpieces (all rentable, btw)!

The show was a great success, with many fantastic vendors. My favorites of the day were Fries Flowers, Special Occasion Linen, and the Wiebners photographers. I also loved to see the House of Clarendon Cakes, and Rettews Catering. Kudos to the Hamilton Club and the Perfect Plan for a great show!

Seedlings to Saplings to Mighty Oaks

Hello Darlings! The blog is back, and so am I (Stanford too)!

As many of you know, I had worked for Ace the Party Place/Ace Rents for about six years, beginning in 2000. I had already worked for a rental company in my small little hamlet of Ephrata four years prior, and so I felt that in addition to beginning my college career at Millersville University, I wanted to work for a bigger event and rental company. My love affair with event and wedding rentals and event design flourished over the years, while my eye for event design and style was honed. I was enticed in 2006 to leave my “home away from home,” and did, for a competing and much smaller, rental company (though I met my new best friend, Nicole, while in the midst of my tenure there -- silver lining in every cloud I suppose). After about a year and half, I decided that I missed the fabulous faces at Ace, and was welcomed back with open arms in October of 2008. I have honestly never been happier in my life with my decision to return to my roots!

Whilst writing of roots, I am reminded of the journey that Ace Rents has taken over the last few years. It has been a tough road to navigate, as we were asked to move from our great location on Prince Street to welcome the Clipper Magazine Stadium. We relocated to 1103 Ranck Mill Road in Lancaster (near McCaskey and the Lancaster School of Cosmetology) and struggled to find companies to occupy the huge space. The building chosen is the old Thompson 60 Case Building-- a huge warehouse style building with TONS of options. I am happy to say that we have many companies now sharing the building we own, making the next few years full of regrowth and rebirth for our company.

It is my pleasure and my privilege to assist in that regrowth and rebirth -- we are starting to add new inventory, prepare for our fabulous new showroom, and continue to build on the 40 years of knowledge, experience, and high quality products and services.

Cheers to Regrowth and Rebirth!

Dustyn (and Stanford too!).

My Weekend in "Twilight"

Hello all! I am still recovering from my adventure the first weekend in August. Stanford is a bit miffed (he had to stay at home and miss the trip), but I traveled via train to NYC! Maggie, my partners best friend, is currently working on her PhD in Film and New Media (check out her blog!). Maggie has traveled the world -- she is/has been studying in Wales for years, traveled to historical sites relating to Arthurian legend, and recently found herself on a movie set. This is where our paths crossed as Maggie and I share the same taste in literature. We adore fantasy literature! I love the creativity involved in this literary genre; opening the page and being transported to another world!

Maggie returned home (to Lancaster) a few months ago and chatted about the Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer that she was really excited about. Of course, a few days after Maggie left, Stanford and I traveled to Barnes and Noble to buy the first book in the series. About two days after that we made the same trip for the second book in the series, and finally two days after that I HAD to have the third book. Its a great series -- vampire, love story, suspense, intrigue -- you just HAVE to read them!

Maggie returned from another trip (studying somewhere ... I don't really remember) and I carried the books down the steps, showing her the result of her last visit. She was really excited and explained to me that the fourth and final book in the series was to be released the evening of August 1st, and that the author was creating a concert and book signing around the event in NYC. A few weeks later I found myself submersed in all things Twilight.

The weekend was incredible! The fan following of this series is the largest I've ever seen -- MTV and their correspondent Kim Stoltz (of America's Next Top Model) has been following the series and helping to stir the fandom into a frenzy at the culmination of the fourth book release. I had the pleasure of chatting with Kim for a minute or two as I attempted NOT to gush, but Kim was a favorite model in my household! Maggie was interviewed by MTV about being on the movie set of Twilight, and her experiences following the evolution of the book series into a movie.

My favorite part of the weekend was the concert event prior to the book signing. About 2000 of us filed into the Nokia Theater to hear Justin Furstenfeld of the band Blue October, hear a few words from the author, and go crazy nuts screaming in between. The author of this series has released her "playlists," or music that she feels inspired her as she was crafting each literary work. The fans have attached themselves to these playlists -- so much so that Justin of Blue October played an integral part in the event. He came on stage and played a few songs that spoke of a few of the characters feelings from the book series (this all was completley coincidental; Stephenie explained that she had heard a few of Justin's songs on the radio and felt they were the embodiment of a characters feelings as she was writing the series). Stephenie Meyer was then introduced, and she spoke about the release of the last book and her plans for the future. Then she reintroduced Justin Furstenfeld and the two had an unplugged casual jam session on the stage, where Stephenie mentioned a character and a scene from one of the books and Justin played the song that Stephenie felt embodied that character and moment. What a great time in the midst of a ton of screaming teenagers!

I can't describe the cool factor in this new component of a book release! In the event industry, we are always searching for the new and innovative. I was able to witness a new and innovative event technique while being enchanted with Twilight!