Event Experts

A High-Heeled Blog of the Week

Last night I decided to treat my gorgeous 11 year old daughter to Gold Class at Village Cinema. We went to see Julie & Julia and it really inspired me to get up this morning and write my blog post. Just the thought that there could be 100’s of people out there reading my blog that I don’t know about sends shivers up my spine. As you know, Christine and I post at least 4 posts a week on our blog here and aim to do 5 or more. Unfortunately life often catches up with us and things can get pretty hectic at the Academy, so it isn’t always possible. Having been completely inspired last night by the stirling efforts of Julie Powell I jumped out of bed this grey, Melbourne Sunday morning to give away some pearls of wisdom, that hopefully are being read out there in the stratosphere somewhere.

My inspiration for ‘Blog of the Week’ this week comes in the form of a fabulous interior design blog High-Heeled Foot in the Door. This caught my attention first of all with it’s nifty title, but as I dug a little deeper I became really interested in the content and read further. As you all know there are alot of comparisons drawn between event design and interior design. In the world of special events we take alot of our inspiration from fashion and interior style and are quite led by what is happening commercially within those fields. We spend alot of time pouring through fashion magazines and interior decorating catalogues to get a handle on which colours are in vogue, and hopefully get some ideas for our next large event.

With this in mind, and with the fact that are quite literally hundreds of fashion & design inspired blogs out there, I try to be very selective in my blog reading list. Blogs don’t easily make it into this list and they have to really offer me something in return. What I love about this blog is the way it is written. This combined with the fabulous tips and information that can be found within it make it a great alternative to the Sunday paper. There is a fabulous post on there under Design Advice, that talks about how when you are on a tight budget you really need to make a statement with what you have. In this case she focusses on front doors and how with a tin of paint and relatively low cost you can completely transform the look of your house. Why is this important? Because first impressions count.

It is the same in events. When you are designing a theme it is the initial WOW factor that you are trying to create. Once your guests have been in the space for 10 minutes the effect looses it’s importance and becomes more about the food, company and entertainment. So, the next time you are asked to create something spectacular on a moreorless non existent budget then think about how you can create that first impression with your entrance. Make a statement with it and set the scene for your guests from the minute they step foot in the building or even before that. Think about the pathway leading to the entrance. Alot can be done with some simple lighting that will completely transform the area. Take a look at the picture below of a front door featured on the High-Heeled Foot in the Door blog. It might not be your cup of tea, but my goodness doesn’t it make a fabulous statement about the person that lives there, and for those of you that know me well, how could I resist the chance to insert a picture with such a blatant use of the colour pink?.