Orla Kiely- Sweet Dreams!

I'm really excited about the partnership of Orla Kiely with Bed Bath & Beyond. I have a few of Orla's products and just love them. I think these comforters would be so fun in a girls room or a guest bedroom.

  If you are not into color but love her design, this comforter is a home run!

Her sheets are super fun too!

Subscribe to Bed Bath & Beyond and get a 20% off coupon to use on your purchase. Sweet Dreams!

-Danielle

The Mix Mashup

The Mix Mashup... From the Eyes of a Summer Intern

As a current fourth-year college student studying recreation, parks, and tourism at Cal Poly, I have had some great experience putting on events. During my first week at Samantha Smith Productions I was introduced to some of their upcoming events, one of which was The Mix Mashup. 

The Mix Mashup was different from any other event that I have ever attended. This was my first experience with corporate events and I absolutely loved it! Monday was our event set-up day and we got a lot done. The venue, Laurent Studio – an art gallery in San Francisco – was transformed into a corporate meeting place. The different rooms functioned as a meeting and stage area, a break room for lunch and the cocktail hour, and a coffee shop that also allowed attendees to pick up books from their favorite speakers.



Registration started at 7:30 Tuesday morning. Three of us stood outside testing out the new Eventbrite entry application on the iPad. As attendees checked in they would head inside and enjoy the early morning breakfast catered by Paula La Duc. Mini quail egg sandwiches, oatmeal, mini pancakes, and other breakfast appetizers were served. Once breakfast was finished, participants took their seats for the first sequence of speakers.


At the morning break, participants had time to get up and stretch, grab some coffee, and even get some fresh air. After a quick 20-minute break, they headed back in for the next sequence of speakers. During this time our lunch vendors were arriving and setting up their food trucks right outside the studio. Ebbetts, Tacolicious, and Pizza Politana  as well as Paula La Duc served lunch for the participants. 



The event was flowing very smoothly and the transformation of the lunch room to the cocktail room, and the coffee shop to the VIP lounge both followed this smooth pattern. All of the guests had a very enjoyable day and it was a great first event to be a part of! 


A Weekend in the Desert!

The whole team was in Palm Springs a week ago working two different events. Melanie and Merideth were hosting a group at The Parker Palm Springs. What a fabulous hotel, with great spaces to hold events!

A Welcome Reception at the Petanque Courts and Lemonade Stand was the perfect way to start off the weekend. Muddled lemonades, BBQ, and 85 degrees made for a relaxed desert evening!


Once the sun went down and everyone had their fill of BBQ, the group brought out their competitive spirit and had a blast playing in a Petanque tournament (otherwise known as Bocce Ball). 
The second night's event took place in the spa at the hotel. With a beautiful canopy already in place at the venue, we designed the event with a Moroccan feel and brought to life a little Casablanca in the Southern California desert.
We were able to create an elegant and intimate setting for the group to enjoy their Awards Banquet, celebrating their success of the last year.  With music being performed by Gino Antonacci and his band, the magic of the evening came alive!
And what better way to end a weekend of fun and relaxation than with a fire pit and some S'mores!

Happy 50th Birthday Steele

As many of you know we have an office in Todos Santos, Mexico, where Steele and his lovely partner Lynne work. We call the office Samantha Smith Productions Sur. Lynne creates our websites and manages all of the registrations and Steele searches for hotels and negotiates all the hotel contracts.

We were all a bit sad yesterday that Steele was not in our office to celebrate his 50th birthday in SSP style, which includes the birthday boy or girl wearing a crown for the day and going to a big, fun lunch.

As Steele's little sister I am proud to say what a great brother he has been to me and how happy I am that he is part of the SSP team. Steele rocks. So since we could not embarrass him by forcing him to wear the birthday crown, I will share a few pictures of him with you.
Steele with mom

Steele hanging with mom and me

Hip teen




hard at work in SSP south



hard at work at an event with Lynne and I



Steele and Lynne enjoying a sunset

Steele and his daughter Tahryn


Steele zipping away




Love you Steele.

Samantha







Just for fun!

We are huge fans of Paper Source around here at SSP.  They offer a beautiful array of paper supplies, have an endless variety of stamping goods to create custom pieces, carry an inspiring collection of wrapping paper, and have a cheerful staff to name a few of the assets of this wonderful store.

In their latest catalog, I found the perfect items for a Desert Chic Welcome Reception that is being planned for a client event in May at the Parker Palm Springs.  The setting for the event is the Lemonade Stand and Petanque Courts at the hotel – a fun, outdoor space surrounded by lush landscaping and filled with activities.  From the classic dirt Petanque courts to life-size Chess to Ping Pong, our guests are going to enjoy a great evening in the warm desert air playing to their competitive sides!  Games are fun...and the prizes should be fun too! Who wouldn't love a set of Mustache Beer Glasses or a Dining Room Table Ping Pong set?

Check out the website for Paper Source and maybe you will be inspired by something too!





43




43
(the address for the day and the year to celebrate, with a generous per diem)


To celebrate Danielle's birthday, the SSP gals hit the latest talk of the 
SF restaurant scene for a fun lunch at Per Diem restaurant in the Financial District.

Per Diem’s stunning floor-to-ceiling dark woods, exposed concrete, steel beams, wood-wrapped marble bar, large pillars, and a historic-alluding chandelier encased 
in an over-sized glass lantern are among the restaurant’s striking features, 
all of which illuminate a traditional, cozy atmosphere.

Per Diem’s head chef, Adam Hinojosa, formerly of Osteria and Café des Amis, 
came to our table to wish Danielle a happy birthday and to say hello to our fabulous crew.

Our menu:
Roasted cauliflower soup
Roasted Pear and Chickories with bacon lardons, Shaft bleu cheese, sherry vinaigrette
Buccatini with Schmitz Ranch pork ragu ala arrabiatta, shaved pecorino, crispy basil leaf
Margherita pizzetta with burrata, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil
Tagliatelle with mussels, chervil breadcrumbs in saffron broth
Truffle and Tomato Brisket lasangetta with bloomsdale spinach and house made ricotta
Desserts didn’t miss a beat, including a deliciously creamy and tangy panna cotta!
 
We give Per Diem and Danielle 43 stars for being beyond spectacular.
Happy Birthday Danielle!

Los Angeles with A Lot To Say!

During our business trip to Los Angeles, we stopped by Fred Segal to get a little bit of inspiration.

What caught my eye most were the products from A Lot To Say. This Danville, California-based company is creating a range of products that they hope will help to facilitate important change in our planet, our politics, our world, and our future.
  • Every single product they create is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles that are broken down into incredible fabrics. (Just one single tee saves over 60 bottles from going to landfill.)
  • In addition, they use an exclusive no water dye technology. (One traditional cotton tee takes over 700 gallons of fresh water to create).
  • This means every item is 100% toxin-free, wears up to six times longer, and will never return to landfill.
And to top it off, all products are made in the United States!

Here is my favorite. I thought this was a great T-shirt for tourists and locals from my home town.





 -Danielle

Inspiration




I never know where or when I will find inspiration for an invitation or packaging. Today my son Jack and I were walking to Peet's Coffee and Tea to get some tea and I heard Jack say to me, "Mom, what are you doing picking up that bag off the street?" I said, "I like the font and the shapes on the bag." 

Ten minutes later after I took some photos and threw the bag out, Jack said, "What are you going to do with that photo?"  I said, "I am going to blog about it and then I will put it up on Pinterest so I can keep it in mind for when I want to design an invitation or a backdrop for a stage." Jack said, "Well, we never eat at fast food places, so you might as well be inspired by them mom."


Yes, Jack in the Box, I love your logo. Good job. 





Samantha

Bacon, Bacon






Do I have your attention now? I said, "bacon, bacon!"

The Samantha Smith Productions team finally made it to the Bacon Bacon food truck this week and it was worth the wait. We shared a few items so we could try more than one thing, but frankly, it was also because everything looked so good. 


We had the Triple B Taco (pork butte, pork belly, bacon, Momma Lil’s Peppers, and goat cheese). Yum!





We had the bacon cheeseburger – great!





                                              We had the bacon grill cheese – good!






                      Lastly we had the chocolate-covered bacon with peanuts – amazing!!!









We met the owner, Jim Angelus. He was cool and so were all of his employees, especially the girl who let us try her lemon Twinkie that she had procured from another food truck. 

To sum it up, it was great food prepared by fun people – no wonder it is so popular!




We hope to use them for an event soon. 


To check them out, click here.




Samantha

Urban Winery

What better way to spend an afternoon than going to look at an event space that happens to be a winery?!  Bluxome Street Winery – San Francisco's newest urban winery – is a hidden gem tucked away in the heart of SOMA. 




An unassuming entrance opens up onto an exquisitely styled space – every detail thought out to incorporate the history of winemaking in California, surrounded by a modern aesthetic with a rustic edge.











The space has some interesting features such as old wine barrels used to create one of the walls, wine jugs re-purposed as light fixtures, an authentic movie made just before the 1906 earthquake projected on the whitewashed brick wall, a riddling rack used as the hostess stand, and custom-made gift items such as candles and cutting boards.







A fun afternoon, tasting wonderfully crafted wines and chatting about all the possibilities the space has for amazing events!

Happy Mardi Gras!


Laissez les bon temps roulet!

It’s Mardi Gras time.

With a New Orleans native officially and happily now a permanent part of the team,
we will never miss an opportunity to “let the good times roll” at SSP!



King cakes are our sweet indulgence in celebration of Fat Tuesday. This one is cream cheese filled from www.kingkingcakes.com. Serious yum!

Happy Mardi Gras, ya’ll!

RED Decor

I know this post is way after the holiday season, but I really wanted to write about the beautiful holiday party we did for one of our clients.

Although it was a "holiday" party, you can use the ideas from this party for Valentine's Day! Whether you are wrapping a present or throwing a party, get inspired by our decor below.

See my Pinterest page for our inspiration for this party.

 Table decor
 Menus that doubled as an escort card (on the flip side) 
are attached to grapevine napkin rings.
Crafty inexpensive wrapping. 
(The gift was a Himalayan Salt Block)

 Logo candy bar

 Beautifully decorated tables in Laurent Studios 
face an oversized succulent wall of art.
The mini-dessert bar was a big hit 
using the color theme of the party - red and brown

-Danielle

Yum



This weekend we went exploring to see what was happening in Cole Valley.

I love to see what Urban Mercantile has to offer. I ended up buying my husband’s Valentine’s Day card there. I also checked out the new cheeses at Say Cheese.

Then my boys wanted to see the new Ice Cream Bar, which opened in an old grocery store. It was beautiful and besides ice cream it has a full-fledged soda fountain where you can get an egg cream, malted drinks, and almost any other soda concoction you can dream of.

The boys liked it best because the employees are called “jerks,” as in soda jerks. Where else can a 10- and 12-year-old call someone a jerk and get away with it?!

They ended up sharing a banana split and the banana was caramelized right in front of their eyes. Wow.

May your week be sweet.

Samantha

soda choices

more choices

for egg creams



yum

final product



Lights


I always smile when I go by this store. I love the lights they have in their windows. The other day it was rainy and dreary out so I drove by COUP.  I loved the design made by the lights in the window.







One day a few years ago I saw this light in the window, 

I wish I bought it, but knowing that I can still see pictures of it online makes me happy. I have pinned it on Pinterest for my enjoyment.
Today they put this in their window…lovely.



Samantha

Fonts



Fonts inspire me. 

I saw this sign while going through the San Francisco airport a few weeks ago. 



I am sure we will be using a similar font on an invitation or sign soon.

Check out a few pictures of the airport's Television exhibit. 

So next time you are looking around your world, snap a photo when you see something interesting.

Samantha

The New Grand Hyatt SF


The New Grand Hyatt San Francisco

We got a fun invitation a few weeks ago to the re-opening of the Grand Hyatt San Francisco. They did a great remodel. The rooms were hip, yet approachable for our customers.





They even have TVs in the bathroom mirrors, very slick. 






Did I mention the views?! 





Check them out:

http://grandsanfrancisco.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null


Samantha

Halloween Soiree - The Final Product!



I recently blogged about my inspiration for the Halloween Party we created last month.

Well here they are... a few pictures of the final product. Special thanks to all who were involved in putting it together, it was my favorite party to date!

Photos by the wonderful photographer husband and wife team The Why We Love.

Thanks to our vendors that made this possible:
Town & Country Rentals
Martha Stewart - candy bar inspiration
La Tavola Linens
I Love Lucite
Jimmy Dillon Band
Natalie Sanflippo - designer
La Costa Resort & Spa






- Danielle




















Moroccan Party Planning


We were recently lucky enough to put on an event for one of our clients at La Costa Resort and Spa in San Diego, California. The first night of the event we created a Moroccan-inspired party by the pool. We were so happy to have hired The Why We Love photography team to capture the party as it unfolded. They did a fantastic job (and they were so great to work with!).

See a sampling below of the results of our hard work and their wonderful shots.
















-Danielle