Making connections | Photo by Marianne Lozano

What We Can Learn from a Natural Connector

By Liese Gardner

Someone once said that the greatest pick up line of all time is “Hello.” True isn’t it? That first step toward communication is so difficult and yet can be so rewarding. Although today, as people look up less and less from digital devices to even say hello, we are on the verge of losing the art of conversation.

An article in the New York Times recently called The Flight from Conversation talked about how we now take “sips” of conversation on line. Face-to-face conversation has become intimidating. “In conversation,” the writer says, “We are called upon to see things from another person’s point of view. Face-to-face conversations unfold slowly. It teaches patience.”

One place you might find a connector...Haute Tea With E | Photo by Marianne Lozano

There is hope, of course. At an event last week I noticed that everyone was patiently discovering one another. No one was typing. Not a Tweet nor a Facebook post went out until after the event. Everyone was engaged in the moment of being. The fact that I even noticed that no one was Tweeting is perhaps more telling than anything.

Moving through the crowd with ease was a new face to this event industry crowd; that of Harwood “Woodie” Hamilton. He looked familiar, and instantly felt like an old friend. That’s his gift. If the news is that there is a flight from conversation going on in the world today, Hamilton hasn’t heard it. With the personality of a “connector,” communication is his stock in trade.

An ex boxer who has parlayed a lifetime of the physical into a profession of the verbal, Hamilton now is in the business of community relations, building strategic and creative partnerships between companies and people.

“In the process of promoting my own gym,” he explains, “And later as a private trainer listening to the ups and downs of my clients’ lives, I discovered that I had a knack for connecting with people.”

At the event where I met him — Haute Tea with E (Eddie Zaratsian’s annual tea party) — Hamilton was representing one of his clients, Tikkun, a spa in Santa Monica, to the wedding planning market. We all knew the space. Under a different ownership, it was “Ground Zero” of Los Angeles’ spa culture years ago. As we all chatted about our recent projects, he brought up the spa. In a very genuine, understated way, he invited myself and others to come in and experience it, complimentary. Certainly, that’s nothing new in marketing. What was new, at least to me, was that the next day – not the next week or month as so often happens — he called each person and then followed up with an e-mail to make good on that offer and tell them how to make their reservation.

Pow Wow Final Night ... Filled with Connectors | Watch the next issue of Event Solutions for the full story | Event produced by Event Works | Photo by Nadine Froger

“The phone is so much more personal,” Hamilton says. “It’s hard to say no to someone on the phone.”  Or in person. What Hamilton does many nights of the week at various events for clients is like cold calling on steroids. It takes finesse and an understanding of the crowd. For instance, facing a group of wedding and event professionals is a lot different than a group of corporate suits.

“In the case of corporate events, I always go with someone who knows someone there and can make the introductions,” he says. But there have been times that he’s been left to fend for himself. “In that case, I fall back on some lessons I learned from boxing. In the ring, someone has to make the first move. So I do. In my heart I feel I have to interact and make the first move. I feel it’s what I need to do to properly me forward in some shape or fashion.” And all it takes to move forward, for anyone, anywhere, is simply to say hello and be open to the possibilities.

Woodie Hamilton

Lessons from a Connector

by Woodie Hamilton

+Look for a friendly face, smile and say hello.

+Find a way to interject a comment or a compliment.

+Try to find another connector who can make introductions.

+Understand the crowd and what they will respond to.

+Take the connection further by offering some sort of invitation and then follow through.

+Phone first, then e-mail.

+Create evangelists. For instance, the exercise brand LuluLemon makes top yoga instructors ambassadors who become evangelists for it — extending the brand and the conversation about their clothes directly into the yoga studio.

+Remember that connections take place on many planes — verbal, intuitive, cerebral and physical (a handshake, an appropriate touch).

+Always listen to what the needs are of the other person and find away to connect them to someone you may know.

+Be yourself. When you are genuine it shows, establishing trust.

+People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

+The energy we share is everything; keep love in your heart when talking to someone new or entering a room where you might now know anyone.

+Understand that once you help enough people get what they want, that in time you’ll get what you want. Be patient.

+Think of the world as a connection tool, be it a gym, restaurant, airport, or line at the post office.

+Finally … never, ever give up! Remember Abraham Lincoln meet temporary defeat very early in his life countless times, but diligently moved forward and kept a burning desire for his vision to succeed.

So today, as I began to remove the notes which were no longer relevant, I had to laugh when I saw the one that said “Pay Attention.” Clearly I had stopped paying attention to the state of my computer and to these mini-missives.

As kids, the words “Pay Attention” came off sounding more like a threat than the helpful advice it was. More importantly, we might not have realized that paying attention is a learned skill. Buddhist philosophy teaches that an attentive life is lived in the present; each moment being experienced for what it is. But being present is not always easy, especially today when paying attention to one thing at a time seems a sweet, old-fashioned notion.

And yet, we need those moments of silence — a space between actions, a pause in a conversation, a blank spot on a painted canvas. Much more than we imagine is happening in these seemingly empty moments.

Saying so much without words

One of the reasons I loved the film The Artist so much is that it is an exploration of these mute moments, and shows us how much can be said without words. Younger viewers raised on iPods might have had some trepidations about spending almost two hours in silence, but as director, Michel Hazanavicius, told Maureen Dowd, columnist for the New York Times, a group of teenagers at a screening actually thanked him for letting them hear silence. “It was touching … that they could like real silence. I compare it to the zero in mathematics. People think it’s nothing but actually it’s not. It can be very powerful.”

Powerful because silence allows us to refuel in order to pay attention to what Virginia Woolf called “moments of being.” It gives us the space between so that sensations stand apart from the every day. Time to re-think, re-evaluate, re-adjust, and re-invent; time to be ready for what comes next. In this regard, silence is truly golden.

Last week I wrote about companies that are too big to succeed; meaning too locked into their one big money maker to shift with the market. The day after I wrote that I attended HauteTea with E. The “E” stands for Eddie Zaratsian, owner and creative force of tic-tock Couture Florals. It was held at Restoration Hardware West Hollywood on Beverly Boulevard in the heart of Los Angeles’s interior design neighborhood.

Restoration Hardware | Photo By Marianne Lozano Photography

I hadn’t really been paying attention to what had been going on with Restoration Hardware’s brand of late, although I knew that the company is big in terms of locations and popularity. What I hadn’t realized was that it had been taking steps to think small.

It was thinking “community” when it teamed with Eddie to create a line of seasonal retail floral pieces and containers. And it was thinking that same thing (only on a bigger scale philosophically) when, in its new catalog it stated “OK. We heard you. One size doesn’t fit all. So for those of you who choose to live in smaller yet no less stylish environs, we’ve scaled down our entire collection to offer sizes that work.”

Although not as mega as Restoration Hardware, Town & Country Party & Event Rentals in Los Angeles is certainly large as event rental firms go. Its warehouse and showroom is now 125,000 square feet and owner Richard LoGuercio employs a small army to not only build new inventory, but to maintain it.

But Los Angeles has become a series of separate regions cut off from one another at times by debilitating traffic, as well as lifestyles and aesthetics. Not everyone can, or wants to, get to the Van Nuys showroom. Its sprawling nature, so perfect for that community, might not emotionally connect with the client from Pasadena, an upscale area with many tony weddings and at-home events.

Large windows, flowers, and awnings invite visitors.

But what does connect is the  showroom Town & Country opened there in June 2011. And this May, LoGuercio will be opening another showroom in a geographically opposite and yet economically similar area — Santa Barbara.

Clients often find one thing they like and build a look around that. | Photo By Jen O'Sullivan

Like Restoration Hardware, Town & Country heard its clientele. The Town & Country Pasadena showroom is housed in a beautiful old brick building. Situated on a major thoroughfare, it invites visitors (at times 15 people a day) in with large windows, shutter doors, awnings and flower boxes. Inside it has high, exposed-beam ceilings and is packed to the gills with beautiful vignettes so visitors bump into a new look at every turn.

And to complete the community aspect, the two design consultants who oversee the showroom and attend to this clientele are not from the rental industry, but lifelong residents of the area.

Kelly Dunn and Marilyn Bednar had separately met Richard during his brief retirement from the rental world. Both had been involved with the schools and the area’s nonprofit organizations.

A Spring table display | Photos Jen O'Sullivan

The showroom is a collaboration of Richard’s larger design vision and their daily aesthetics. The tabletop designs in the large picture windows change seasonally and have a definite retail feel. “People come in from seeing the windows,” Kelly says. “At night the building is lit like a retail shop and there is a lot of traffic from two really nice restaurants nearby. One of the first things they say is the look of the place makes them want to throw a party.”

The Vineyard Collection is located in the center of the showroom layout

And although there are many vignettes everywhere – with Vineyard and Amalfi collections remaining on the “most popular” list – often, Kelly says, it is one item that will catch a person’s attention and from that an entire look is born.

“Then we shop our own showroom, looking for things that complement each other to bring our vision to life,” says Marilyn.

They may have taken different avenues to get there, but both Restoration Hardware and Town & Country have discovered at least one of the secrets to making an emotional connection with a client that truly is about lifestyle. In the process of appearing small, no doubt each will grow even more.

The Making of a Successful Showroom

• Vignettes designed around seasons and themes give clients the vision they need. Include as many details as possible.
• Create a good flow so people can move around easily. The flow of this showroom is somewhat similar to a pinwheel, with one outside circle with a variety of routes leading into a center.
• Create an edge of discovery. Dividers – either solid or sheer fabric or larger set pieces — block the view from one look to the next and give people the sense there is something just around the corner to discover anew.
• Abundance. More is more. In this space, with its high, dramatic, a row of colorful wood chairs gives visitors a reason to look up. Small vignettes within vignettes make them feel as though they can’t possibly take it all in and should return another day.

My gate was in trouble. Layers and layers of varnish over the years were starting to blister and peel. I knew in my heart what had to happen but if you’ve ever done any sanding, the phrase, “Take it back to the wood” has to strike a certain amount of fear. But as you can see, there was no way around it.

And so it began. Slowly. I thought a little sander could do the job, but I had to bring out the bad boy.

Almost there. Both sides sanded, one side stained.

Some old stain remained, but once the final coat was applied it added a beautiful patina.

Ah… (and now onto the back side, but at least the front is looking good!)

Lessons learned:

Acceptance of imperfection. A little age is a thing of beauty, especially when it comes to woodworking.

Go all out, all the time! Don’t be afraid to turn up the power with decisive action.

Commit. Once you start, there is no turning back.

Reward. Be sure there is a glass of wine, a massage or jacuzzi (or all three) waiting at the end of the day.

An article in the New York Times on Monday explored this issue.Nick Bilton writes: “In a 2008 talk at the Yale School of Management, Gary T. DiCamillo, a former chief executive at Polaroid, said one of the reasons the company went out of business was that the revenue it was reaping from film sales acted like a blockade to any experimentation with new business models.

‘We knew we needed to change the fan belt but we could not stop the engine.’”

Reason being – instant film drove the economics of the company and if something as virtual as Instagram had been proposed, Bilton surmises, in all likelihood, it would never gotten past Phase I.

“The challenge of creating something small and disruptive inside a large company is one that many face today,” Bilton writes.

Disruptions. They are the entrepreneur’s strength. The two guys who started Instagram and ran it with 13 employees were able to build Instagram because they had nothing to lose. Can you imagine bringing an idea like this to a corporate executive – a business plan with no prospect of revenue?

And yet, some corporations have been able to make the shift and survive. The New York Times article sites Netflix as trying to change the fan and getting a few fingers cut off in the process as it went from $16 billion to $4 billion, weaning customers off DVDs and onto streaming video. But it did survive.

And in an unusual turnabout, Nike changed the way it looked at itself and rocketed to even greater heights. In 1992, CEO Phil Knight said, “For years we thought of ourselves as a production oriented company, meaning we put all our emphasis on designing and manufacturing the product. But now we understand that most important thing we do is market the product. We’ve come around to saying Nike is a marketing-oriented company, and the product is our most important marketing tool.”

The other day at a WIPA (Wedding Industry Professionals Association) meeting, I heard Pauline Parry, owner of Good Gracious! Events and immediate past president of WIPA, say, “WIPA is an education-driven organization.” To me, that puts the priorities right. Of course members are important, but when we create quality education that matters and puts the needs of members first, success can only follow.It’s about a simple shift in perception. Time and time again, the disruptors – those people and companies that think differently, that create an emotional connection and become part of peoples’ lives are the ones that remain successful and relevant.

5 Things Instagram Got Right That Others Could Not by Appboy.com

1. True Social Integration

2. Pictures on Foursquare

3. Utter Simplicity

4. Simply Photo Sharing

5. Scalability

Note: This article was just published in the April/May issue of Event Solutions magazine along with more photos of show coverage. This post also includes the list of projection equipment used by BARTKRESA Design.

There was a moment during the production of the 2012 Event Solutions Spotlight Awards / ICA CATIE Awards when Creative Director Bart Kresa, mused, “This medium – video projection – is technical, but at the same time it can be warm and dreamlike. We don’t have to be governed by traditional narrative.”

And so Kresa’s design theme, based around the subtitle, What Dreams May Come, began to percolate and then come to a boil as the entire team(see March 13 post for information on the entire team) raced to pack months of work into one month. After Kresa chose and created the graphic images that would be projected across the 100-foot-long screen at Caesars Palace on February 28.

The look began with the Art Nouveau styling of the screen frames Kresa chose. From that small detail, his imagination turned to France in the twenties to Jules Verne and journeys under the sea, into space and through our own, modern world of city skylines. …

The entire show look was then loosely unified by that classic awards show motif – chandeliers.

Kresa has been at the forefront of digital art installations, working in large-scale projection environments for years. As the technology develops, artists like him move with it, using the latest, brightest projectors, finding ways to take the process of projection to new uses such as architectural 3D mapping to even mapping moving people which Kresa did for a live show in Japan.

“Why this is so different from an LED,” Kresa explains, “Is that when you use that medium, all you see is an LED wall with an image on it. With large-scale projection art, you see only the effect, not the medium. When done correctly it transforms a space by making the technology invisible.”

While this technology and its terms are becoming somewhat more common at events, it is important to note that it is still a very specialized art form that takes a team of experts to produce and run it. Yet, like technology that has come before, digital experts predict that the day will soon come when this medium is also more widespread and affordable for one-time events.

As the Spotlight Award’s Executive Producer Beth Stephenson of Extraordinary Events observed, “Technology updates so much quicker than we are able to process. We are still human and trick ourselves into thinking we can keep up with and understand technological change. Even though we are all talking about video mapping, it is still a highly specialized technique that requires a lot of time on the front end and a team of experts both in production and on site to make it really come together and work.”

As the final kaleidoscope image was projected and the virtual red curtain came down, the audience at this year’s Spotlights had journeyed through a digital dream. Yet, unlike a dream, no one’s eyes were closed. They were now wide open to the possibilities of this technology.

From BARTKRESA Design:

EQUIPMENT LIST FOR PROJECTION SYSTEM

OF THE 2012 SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

FROM VER

4 Christie Roadster HD18K Projector

4 Christie 3.0kw Xenon Lamp (HD18K/S+20K)

4 Roadster Heat Shield

4 Remote Christie HD 18K/20K/30K/35K (Dual Frequency)

4 Case Christie HD 18K Projector (47x31x29)

4 Christie Dual SD/HD SDI Module 38-804656

4 Christie Twist (Warp) Manual

4 Manual Christie HD18K Projector

4 20’ Stereo Mini Cable

16 Christie HD 18K/S+20K Clamp

4 Christie 2.0-2.8SX/1.8-2.6 HD Lens (HD 18K/S+20K)

4 Case Christie 1.8-2.6 Lens (18K/20K) (21x12x12)

1 (4) L2130 (4) L630 Camlock Pass-Through Distro (Red Band) (CFT720-L2130-Z)

4 50’ L630 AC Extension Cable

4 100’ L630 AC Extension Cable

4 100m DVI (m-m) Fiber Optic Cable

4 DVI Fiber Power Supply

FROM CHRISTIE DIGITAL

1 Spyder X20

 FROM BARTKRESA DESIGN

6 primary Watchout Video servers

4 backup Watchout video servers

2 control Watchout video servers

2 Ethernet hubs + Ethernet cables

6 HD monitors+ DVI cables

Achor’s Boot Camp for the Brain: Two Minutes, 21 Days to Retrain the Brain for Happiness

1. Write down three new things for which you are grateful each day.

2. Journal about one positive experience that has happened to you in the past 24 hours.

3. Exercise to teach your brain that your behavior matters.

4. Meditate to help your brain get over our cultural ADHD and focus on the task at hand.

5. Practice random, conscious acts of kindness by writing one positive e-mail each day that praises or thanks someone in your social support network.

One of my most enduring personal and professional passions in life has been learning about others, interviewing them, and writing about them. But as a 20-year-old just starting out in journalism, it was daunting to enter someone else’s world, have to understand it, gleen the most important, and interesting, points about them, their work and their lives, then write about it with a combination of sensitivity and authority.

I had my mentors in journalism school yet was truly inspired by Barbara Walters and her book, How to Talk to Practically Anybody About Practically Anything. At the time she wrote it in 1970, she had already interviewed a diverse amount of famous (and infamous) people. The techniques she used then, and continues to use, bring the best out in her interview subjects.

To this day I remember the main three points whether I’m interviewing someone, in a business meeting or at a dinner party.

1. Do your research. An interviewer might do this beforehand, but even at a dinner party, when you ask questions of the other person that don’t start with “what do you do for a living” the conversation will take flight. Find out what they do on the weekends, where have they been, and what they are passionate about. The result will be far more rewarding and meaningful than merely scratching the surface.

2. Listen carefully to learn quickly who they are and how they think. Based on this, formulate your questions. In the same vein, leave your opinions aside until you feel that the other person can graciously accept your opinion if it’s different from theirs.

3. Be curious. For several years, when she was producing the Women’s Conference, I had the pleasure of watching Maria Shriver interview a wide range of people from celebrities to CEO’s to small business owners to Supreme Court Justices. I loved how she physically leaned in to whoever it was that was talking. I could see in her face and hear in her remarks that she was busy processing everything. What struck me the most was that she seemed genuinely hungry for the information she was receiving.

Active listening is not easy but becomes more so with practice. Leave your phone or tablet behind when you are with someone else. Connect. Process. Retain. Set aside judgement. Enjoy the moment. Whether you are on a date, on the job or at a dinner party, the more you do these things, the more you ask — and care — about the other person, the smarter they will actually think you are. And by listening, you really will be.

The Tribe: Bart Kresa (creative designer), Beth Stephenson, Ruth Moyte (script writer), me, Raymond Thompson

The group that formed to produce the Spotlight Awards was one of my tribes for a short while; we were connected by a common goal. Becoming part of this tribe made me realize what event professionals go through on a routine basis. I understand now what keeps you coming back for more. All those clichés come to mind…slogging through thick and thin, having each others’ backs, speaking a common language.

But it’s that last cliché wherein the biggest hurdle of tribalism lies – finding a common tongue in order to speak event-ese. For instance, on a site inspection for the Spotlight Awards, myself, lighting designer Ray Thompson of Images by Lighting, and Beth Stephenson, senior account manager of Extraordinary Events and our executive producer for the Spotlights, were talking with the audio-visual team. As Beth and I listened in, Ray and the techs kept going around the circles. Beth astutely observed, “They are saying the same thing but using different words.” Eventually, of course, they found the same words, but it took patience and time.

Certainly tech and lighting might have more slang phrases than most factions of the industry, but the moment did make it clear – communication is never easy even when you speak the same language.

See the April/May issue of Event Solutions for more of my musings on going tribal, on the making of the Spotlight Awards and a recap of the entire Event Solutions conference. To subscribe to this FREE industry magazine, click here.

It all began about three months ago when, as consultant to Event Solutions magazine, I approached Bart Kresa, Bart Kresa Design, and Ray Thompson, Images by Lighting, with the idea of producing a totally different style of awards show for the Event Solutions Spotlight Awards and ICA CATIEs.

I had seen what Bart and Ray had done for the FIDM fashion show and awards, and was inspired by Bart’s digital mapping artistry (for more on that click here). They made it seem easy, but I should have known from experience that something that looks easy most often is not. It takes a lot of talent to create the illusion of seamless ease, especially when it comes to anything based in technology. With the addition of more talent in the “dynamite-comes-in-small-packages” personage of Beth Stephenson, Extraordinary Events, as our Executive Producer, we were a team, come what may.*

This was not the most complicated show any of these pros had done, but as with every new thing, there is always a different set of challenges and this event was no different. Throughout the process I was fueled by the personalities of these three very different and yet very similar professionals. They are all very focused yet super professional and for the amount of pressure they are under, super calm and always, always nice (which should always be a prerequisite when considering a career in event production).

And so it began. First working in Bart’s techno studio based in Los  Angeles. Below is the  first of seven custom-imagined looks (each one took five days to create) that the 1,200 attendees at the awards would see on a 100-foot long screen in the Palace Ballroom at Caesars.

And in the blink of an eye we were on site and rolling…

Here is Bart programming the digital images on site. They were custom created and mapped to fit the space. Bart is the perfect example of what we can do when our passions drive our art and our life. He created all new images for this show and logged in epic hours behind those computer screens accompanied by a team of techs and artists eager to work with him. He is something of a super hero in the international world of digital mapping and 3D video projection and like a superhero, he keeps his strength up with special potions such as the kale concoction to his right!

Here is Bart’s quick video from the awards show (it was also professionally recorded which will be ready later this month).

2012 Event Solutions Spotlight and Catie Awards from Bart Kresa on Vimeo

We did take breaks to enjoy the quirkiness of Vegas. This noodle restaurant  was like eating inside a wedding veil. The look came from metal that had been cut in lace patterns and then powder-coated white. Behind them, a shadow of gray was painted on the white wall. An oddly calming interior look. The large screens projected images of peaceful environments which offset the hot spice of the dishes!

And the icing on the cake! The beautiful photographer Marianne Lozano from Los Angeles (and a 2012 Event Solutions Rising Star nominee) getting ready to shoot a group portrait of the Spotlight and ICA winners in a style similar to Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue.

Spotlight Winners from left to right: Tricia Schmitt, Marketing Professional of the Year; Greg Zalkin, representing AFR, Event Supplier of the Year; Barbara Oehlerking, Artistry Design Group, Floral Designer of the Year; Sabdy Pacheco, A Joy Wallace Production, Rising Star of the Year; Hillary Harris, representing Warner Bros., Event Site of the Year; Rrivre Davies, Rrivre Works, Designer/Creative Director of the Year; and Janet Elkins, EventWorks, Hall of Fame Inductee.

Winners not pictured: Aaron Kaneicki, Good Gracious Events; Classic Party Rental; Frank Andonoplas, Frank Event Design; Deborah Herrman, Ghostlight Productions; The Water Coolers; Michael Kloss, Emory University; Creative Backstage; Sequoia Productions; and Hall of Fame Inductee Jim Watterson.

And a big thanks to Jose Ramirez from Backdrops Beautiful for the backdrop and the team at AFR Event Furnishings for the furniture!

After that, which was the last day of the show, it was a quick whirl around the floor to see what was new. My first stop was at the SEARCH booth being manned (wo-manned?) by Corinne Dudine and congratulate her on doing such a phenomenal job this year as Director of Education for Event Solutions — great speakers Corinne! Around the corner I found Napa Valley Linen. Owner Sharon Dexmier is a relative newcomer (four years) to the industry and the show. This is her year to shine — she’s the incoming WIPA president, she had her first big bridal photo spread and video shoot in January, and this was her first year exhibiting. Her sample books are gorgeous and her style is truly that easy beauty of Napa (although of course she ships nationally). Sharon partnered with Soulflower from San Francisco to design a booth that showcased three looks including this one that was featured in a photo shoot for a bridal magazine.

There were many other great resources but I was struck this year with how many trees made their appearance in event decor, the tabletop design competition and on the show floor.

I particularly liked the looks from Arclite whose LED trees were used at the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball.

Was it in the Garden of Eden that our love affair with trees began? They bring us sustenance when we are hungry, shade when we are hot and firewood when we are cold. They truly are the source of life.

I know in my life trees represent new growth. Branches are unfurling and flowering now that it is spring. It’s a New Year. Whatever it brings, I’m ready to go out on that limb and grab the most beautiful piece of fruit.

I hope the conference fueled you to do the same.

+  +  +

*On behalf of Event Solutions, a big thank you to all team members of the Spotlights/CATIES:

Ruth Moyte, Red Dandelion Creative, scriptwriter,

Atomic Rental, screen-surround Austrian tiles

Rachel Staples, opera singer

Champagne Creative Group, trophy girls

And all the riggers, techs and a/v people who made it possible!