Off to Cape May!!

Our tradition every summer is to go to Cape May! We love it....the beautiful beach, making sand castles, collecting shells, swimming in the ocean, watching the dolphins chase boats, the arcade, the fish shack, the lobster house, the Victorian architecture, wine and cheese, and time with my husband and 2 beautiful children! Off we go......!!

Design, Food and Charity under the stars

                                                                                                                                                               photo credit: Marco Bollinger

Picnic by Design was a hip soiree last night!! Food and design, what a great mix for a New York City charity event hosted by DIFFA, the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. DIFFA is known for raising awareness about HIV/AIDS through unique events like Architectural Digest's Dining by Design, an event that showcases styled table vignettes by premier designers. 

photo credit: Marco Bollinger

Not unlike picnicking at Central Park, guests were sprawled out on Mima's urban roof-deck, designed by DIFFA’s own co-chair David Rockwell. Creative juices were flowing...thirty designers, including myself, crafted a picnic experience  ($250) equipped with wine glasses, plates, utensils, napkins, a corkscrew, a blanket and other quirky surprises. In addition, three VIP “Chef Choice” packages ($500) were designed by celebrity-chef teams: Marchesa by Lenox/Chef Geoffrey, Marie Aiello/Chef Eric Ripert and Whoopi Goldberg/ TUG Studio/Chef Paul Liebrand. The brain of this casual-chic event was coordinated by the following young designers: Brooke Lichtenstein, Yiannos Vrousgos, Dwayne Clark, Bob Gaynor, Nigel Sielegar, Dee Kemper and Mary Davis. They did a marvelous job!

Had a great time speaking with some fun designers....

Dwanye Clark and Bob Gaynor from RDYC and Yiannos Vrousgos from Input creative studiosphoto credit: Marco Bollinge

                                                      and

  Me, quirky Jane Fondant and Dee Kemper of Domoore designs

                           

and 

Some hilarious entertainment:

photo credit: Marco Bollinger

Guests were entertained by dancing men dressed in red checkered tablecloths!

Now for some design which was a feast for the eyes....some designers deconstructed the given Scout bag and crafted a watermelon wagon, an English inspired trunk, a tee-pee, a romantic get-away and so much more!

All images above photo credit: Marco Bollinger

(see my picnic basket bag in the distance)

Dwanye Clark and Bob Gaynor from RDYC purchased my bag!!

photo credit: Marco Bollinger

                                     My designed picnic basket above

photo credit: Marco Bollinger

After all the oohs and aahs, guests were entertained by an exclusive movie screening of the documentary Making the Boys, addressing the serious issues of gay rights and social stigma. 

Thank you DIFFA, it was a blast!!

Part 2-

See my design process in crafting my basket:

Each designer was given a Scout tote bag to “trick” out. 

My basket was inspired by the industrial forms and materials of Richard Serra’s sculptures. All my materials were found at Home Depot. While shopping, I felt like I was on one of those reality design shows hunting for materials. After scouring the aisles, I decided to construct the bag out of woven-vinyl hanger strap used in plumbing and electrical speaker wire. And a way we go....

photo credit: Marco Bollinger

DIFFA's PICNIC BY DESIGN EVENT

I am so excited to design a basket for DIFFA's Picnic by Design, a NYC summer soiree benefiting DIFFA, Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Guests will enjoy an urban rooftop picnic and exclusive movie screening of “Making the Boys” with their designer picnic basket for two!!

 

The sculptures of Richard Serra inspire the design of my basket. Here are some images to get you excited. My basket is available for purchase HERE. 

            Richard Serra - 'Sequence' 2007 MOMA  and   'Matter of Time' 2005 at Guggengheim Bilbao

Top Ten List of My Favorite Moments at BlogHer’12

BlogHer’12 was my very first blogger conference and I loved every minute! It was filled with an interactive expo floor, informative panels, inspirational keynotes, fun parties, brilliant women and tons of conversations and networking!

I always love the REHASH after a big event; well, lets get real, I mostly love any kind of rehash..... so here is my 

Top Ten Favorite Moments at BlogHer ’12:

10. 

The Expo hall,wowser! Sorta overwhelming at first; but it is an engaging and colorful environment that brings together bloggers and brands.

9. 

Getting silly at the Expo with Zamzee! I really enjoyed talking with the Zamzee team who has developed some hip technology that helps families make physical activity a fun part of daily life! It is called the Zamzee meter and online experience. I got to take one home, so I will have an update post about Zamzee!

8.

I also enjoyed speaking with Bankrupting America, a non-profit organization that cuts through all the clutter and sheds light on economic policies. In their booth they had Jon Casey, a talented caricature artist doodling away. Scary, but this caricature looks just like me! 

7.

Extra Space Storage, brand all about storage, offered back massages in their Expo booth. I couldn't resist! 

6.

Keynote speaker, Martha Stewart, my idol, offered inspirational words:
”Be personal, be passionate and be real.” 

5.

The informative panels!! Learning how to leverage Facebook and Twitter was eye-opening! You must find creative ways to engage your audience in-order to keep your variable AFFINITY up! What the heck is Affinity, you ask? Well, Facebook has an EdgeRank # that weights who messages you or likes your content the most. Those who do not, will not get your news-feed as much. Crazy, right?  

4.

All the swag! I lugged around a bag filled of free creams, candles, Lysol products, etc but the most helpful was that Boiron homeopathic cream called Arnicare. It really works! I had an aching back ache carrying all that stuff but I feel great now! Go Boiron!!

3.

The powerful stories heard at Voices of the Year were moving!

2.

Blogher party! I was truly inspired by the incredibly funny and fabulous women I met. First, Big Hugs to Sheryl of Peace Love Cupcakes, all about cupcakes, who I shared the day with! Really loved talking to Anita, the Chief Enchilada of DenverGreenChili, guide to everything green chili. Also author of Pintactics! a quick Pinterest start workbook; Kathryn of Women Launch. Also developer of Skripz, a photostory sharing App coming soon!; Meghan of Acceleration-partners, marketing and strategy; Lisa of Mogulbaby, baby related fabulous finds;  Sandy of MomlifeTV, a lifestyle network for Mom's; Annie of Peach Prenni, family life stories; Robin of Robin's Chicks, humor columnist documenting her family life; Fausta of Fausta's blog, political content; Bren of BCgarden, all about gardening; Erin of aparentingproduction, all about her family life. Muah ladies!! 

1. 

Building a foundation of strong relationships! Good vibes, good time,and positive energy! My creative juices are flowing!