Gathered Warehouse: 2019 Open House

Well here we are, friends, weeks into COVID_19 quarantine and the truth is – we really miss parties!! And while we pine for the day when we can kick up our heels once again and deliver our sweet loot to soirees near and far, we thought the best way to get us all through is by delivering the eye candy to your door virtually instead!

Now let me be real for hot minute here you guys – technology is ABSOLUTELY NOT my forte! (Can you hear Scott and Megan simultaneously groaning and laughing at me in the background?? Yeah. I can.) It’s taken me literally forever to put this post together… ok well…. I actually started this post in February, (after putting it off for two months even at that point) got frustrated with my computer and had to go make paper flowers for West Acres Mall for two months before I felt up to trying again…. Now I have no excuse for not blogging and I almost feel like I have a virtual “website mom” sternly shaking her finger at me for neglecting my blog. 

Apparently, blogging also comes with confessions. 

SO here we go!! After hours and hours of threatening every computerized device in my “home office…” – I am so excited to get this virtual party started with eye candy from our Fall Open House!! Yes, that took place in October. Well the END of October! 

I can’t tell you how much gratitude I feel for the incredible growth we have experienced as a company each year, and the milestones we have reached along the journey – not the smallest of which being the expansion of our new warehouse to double its original size just one year after its grand opening in 2018!

Here’s a peek at all the pretties and all the fun we had celebrating that night! So grab a glass of wine and feast your eyes! I hope this helps tide you over until the world is ready to start celebrating life again!! And trust me – that day WILL come!!

We were blessed to have an incredibly beautiful fall night for our party! Especially because I'm pretty sure it snowed the very next day!

Guests were welcomed at the door with beverages from our styled bar and giveaways!

Dazzling the inside of our showroom was our “Dakota Lounge” – one of the pre-styled lounge groupings we introduced at the party that night! And how perfect are our Wakka Macrame Wall Hangings with this grouping??!! The smilax on the macrame was one of our absolute favorite details of the entire night! 

PRE-STYLED GROUPING: THE DAKOTA LOUNGE
NEW LOOT: EX LARGE CHALKBOARD PANELS

Can we just give a HUGE shout-out to the amazing artists and creatives who helped make our open house so cozy and beautiful – Allison at Floret + Foliage for her gorgeous flowers (we were in smilax heaven!), Kayla at Indulgence Baking Co. for the most delectable treats, and Carissa and Gabe of Fernweh + Liebe Photography for capturing all the beautiful details! 

Our showroom has been the perfect place for folks who are looking for a unique, off-the beaten path kind of place to host small events like bridal showers, baby showers, graduation parties, book clubs, wine clubs – and even small weddings! Our space comfortably accommodates groups up to 50 in a social setting, and up to 30 for a seated dinner setting. We can’t wait to be able to create beautiful events for our clients in this space again soon!

PRE-STYLED GROUPING: THE WESTBY LOUNGE

Guests enjoyed sipping on both cold and hot bevs from our new, Homestead Bar, while relaxing in the Westby Lounge and tented Prairie Sand Lounge. Many thanks to our excellent barman, Kelly Linster!

Another new addition to our rental collection that was featured during our open house was our new glamping tent! Perfect for providing shade on a hot day, or keeping the drizzle off when the sun just won’t shine, our glamping tent is just right for a covered lounge! 

For the party, we decided to style up our new tent with another one of our pre-styled groupings – the Prairie Sand Lounge! We LOVED the way the soft colors and rattan elements mesh with vibe of the tent, but you could take any combination of pieces you like to create your own, perfect, tented lounge! 

PRE-STYLED GROUPING: PRAIRIE SAND LOUNGE
Jon Walters provided the perfect, acoustic jams for the evening! (And our Macrame Wall Panel made the perfect background!)

Now for the big reveal: this ENTIRE section of the warehouse was just added last fall and basically, was the entire excuse to throw a party!  After just one year of operating out of our new warehouse (we first moved to this location in June of 2018), we were able to expand and DOUBLE our space! This means more elbow room, easier viewing of our collection, and – more room to expand the collection, you say?? Well I like the way you think, girl. 

And can we just talk for a minute about those LABELS??!! As a company, we are constantly working toward greater organization for the ease of both our clients and our warehouse / loading crew, and I have to tell you that numbering and labelling each row and shelf in the entire warehouse and and getting photos and labels of every single piece in our collection is what DREAMS are made of!! Well – at least OUR dreams!! 

This space USED to hold our entire rental collection - whoah! NOW, it's home to our smallwares, packing station, and a staging studio for photographing inventory, and a rentable space for photographers and folks looking for another unique, indoor space to stage photos!
More new loot! Featured is our new, Hudson Lowboy Harvest Table, accented with our new Knit Floor Cushions, and Odie Bamboo Basket Pendant Lights!

To wrap everything up, we gave our guests a little peek at some holiday styling and rental ideas! We know lots of companies start planning their staff holiday parties early – perhaps not THIS early…. but as long as we’re dreaming of the days when we’ll get to put together fun parties again, why not dream a little about holiday parties while we’re at it?!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the party in person last fall, our awesome team who helped polish and shine the entire warehouse in preparation for the event, and to all of you who are now joining us for the virtual party and reliving all the pretty details with us again!

Next up in our line of virtual parties – we had back-to-back styled shoots with some of our favorite colleagues in the F/M event industry back in February and the photos are IN!!! Can’t wait to show you all the gorgeous details! …If I don’t throw my computer against the wall and do a happy dance on all the little tiny pieces first…. 😉 

 

Floral | Floret + Foliage
Desserts | Indulgence Baking Co.
Photography | Fernweh + Liebe
Music | Jon Walters

If you would like to book a virtual design meeting click here!

URBAN INDUSTRIAL STYLED SHOOT

When Ashley Ham of FloraPine Photography asked if I would be interested in working together on spring styled shoot that wasn’t the typical “spring-y” look – I knew right away that I was in! 

We wanted an urban feel with a touch of industrial – soft, but not too soft – so we chose a place where we could incorporate elements like brick, ceramics, and stone, steel and raw wood. The soft, almost neutral palette with that punch of emerald green speaks to the first creepings of spring and new life. The hardness of winter is hard to break through, but even the softest of flowers find their way and flourish. 

Scroll down for all the early-spring goodness!


 

Vendors:

FloraPine Photography | Your Day by Nicole | Adae Salon
Aendee | Prairie Petals

 

Gathered from our collection:

Emily Sofa |  Copper Washtub Coffee Table | Elizabeth Tea Cart | Salmon Sweater Throw Blanket
Sage Throw Pillows | White & Gold Throw Pillows | Anandale Jute RugAlder Tables | Emerald Glassware
Clear Glassware | Gold Silverware | Gold ChargerCarlisle Pewter Chairs | Laura Blue Crate | Vintage Books