Luncheon

The weather has been beautiful and sunny all week, what a surprise for San Francisco. We've all been taking advantage of the sunshine and getting outside at lunchtime.

  
We visited Salumeria on 20th Street in the Mission a couple of times this week. The spring menu is fresh and anything you order is delicious! Besides the amazing food, I enjoyed the lively atmosphere of the outside patio.


My obsession with Salumeria's chopped salad has begun! Not to mention, the presentation of the salad is very appealing. 

On Tuesday we headed over to SoMa StrEat Food Park. It seemed everyone had the same idea because it was packed with people out enjoying the various foods. There was music playing, patio seating, and all-around great vibes. 


It was a special treat on Wednesday when Samantha brought the team a fresh salad and a chilled glass of Pinot Blanc Mendocino. We all ate and caught up with each other on various topics and future plans. 


#foodie
-Ashlie

New kid on the block


Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery opens in the Dogpatch!




20 beers on tap and BBQ gastrique from its very own restaurant, Smokestack.

Get the inside scoop right here and see our very own Samantha's 
 featured photo on Instagram. 

Friday happy hour is looking happier for SSP...

Cheers! Melanie

Field Trip! San Francisco Decorator Showcase


Last week, SSP took a field trip to the San Francisco Decorator Showcase. The showcase is only open until May 26. So RUN, DON'T WALK over there to check it out!

The story of the San Francisco Decorator Showcase began in 1977, when Nan Rosenblatt, a former San Francisco University High School parent and an accomplished interior designer, and Philip Fernandez, the first president of the school’s Parents Association, conceived the first showcase to raise funds for the university’s financial aid program. In its first year, the showcase netted $26,000; in 2013, it raised over $622,565. The showcase has taken place at some of the most prestigious addresses in some of the most breathtaking neighborhoods of San Francisco.

This year's showcase house is located in Presidio Heights at 3660 Jackson Street, between Maple and Spruce. The stately mansion, originally built in 1907 for Rose and Alfred Sutro, will be transformed into the West Coast's premier showcase by the region's top interior and landscape designers.

This exceptional estate in the middle of Presidio Heights has extensive gardens that extend to the Presidio. The nearly 9,000-square-foot home features exquisitely detailed woodwork, a gracious entry with a three-story staircase and coffered skylight, a beautiful wood-paneled library, a formal wine cellar, a spacious gourmet kitchen, a music room, and several rooms with expansive views of the Presidio and San Francisco Bay.

Here are some highlights of our trip...





Some of my favorites at the showcase:
The little boy Blu room designed by Shelley & Company
The "Little roamer" boy's bedroom designed by Regan Baker Design
The women's office designed by Laura Larkin Interiors
The gentleman's bar nook designed by Sunny K Merry Interior Design
Congrats to everyone who was a part of the collaborative design team for a job well done!
- Danielle

La Tavola: New Additions Party

   La Tavola   

3401 Sacramento Street, San Francisco

Danielle and I were lucky enough to attend La Tavola's party for their new fabulous 2014 additions. 
We were warmly greeted and offered a small glass of wine. The whole store was beautifully set up with yellow roses and spring colors.

Picture perfect


This spring display really caught our eyes! It was elegantly set up for an outdoor lunch. We admired the unique lamp fixture that was designed from a wooden basket.  

It was a perfect spring day for the gathering – we enjoyed the warm weather while getting lots of great ideas to use when planning our upcoming events.

Until next time!

~Ashlie   

All In

Last week in Ohio we worked with DSW to help their store managers be "All In."  While we were on this journey, we met motivational speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez. 

I felt like I had met a friend when I met Gian Paul. He was warm, approachable, and a really good guy. We hope to be able to work with him again in the near future.

Check out his video.

Check out his website.

Here are a few pictures of Gian Paul.

With Carrie

With Kari

With our very own Melanie

With SSP's Jessie

We were all in with Gian Paul!

Have a great day. 

Samantha

The colors of London


Accents of purple could be seen all around London. It started at the airport where all the employees were wearing purple. The train to London was wrapped in purple. Once in London we saw it continue with hints of purple everywhere we looked. 
  
Another color we saw a lot of was white. I have never been to a city where so many of the buildings were white. Streets and streets of white buildings – which made them even prettier on the days that it rained.


I saw other pops of color everywhere; check out this cute and sunny juice package and this beautiful blue-grey public restroom entrance.


I cannot wait to get back there in May. 

Samantha

Gallo Azul


On our last night in Todos Santos we had the pleasure of dining at Gallo Azul, a newly opened restaurant and bar. Alan, who has worked in other restaurants around town, has opened up his own place and it is delightful.

Alan






The pizzas were great!



We had one of the best salads I have ever had in Todos Santos, but the space was the star. Alan thought out all the details including murals by local artists. Check out the bathroom murals which are fashioned after famous Mexican movie stars; the mural on the front wall was cool as well. 



I also loved the diffused lighting throughout the space.



Keep up the good work and we will see you in June.


Samantha

Poppin


We ordered a few basic office supplies the other day from Poppin and we were all charmed when our supplies arrived. 

When the package came to the office it made us all smile, instantly. It was so smartly done. As we unpacked the box we got to talking about what we saw and how it made us laugh. 

Not only was the product great, but they put thought into the packaging. 

Take a look.




Our favorite new product was this large-scale binder clip that doubles as a purse holder.
Now I am going to look at our supply closet differently. 

Have a great week!

Samantha

Ashlie's first 2 weeks with SSP!


Welcome to SSP!
So excited to sign the official paperwork. No, it was not an April Fool's joke, April 1st was my first day with SSP! I worked with Samantha and Danielle and was greeted with beautiful orange tulips.
One of the many reasons I love working for SSP is the location. The open office and tall windows make it an enjoyable place to do your work.


Tuesday was a beautiful sunny day. Samantha took the team out to lunch at the The Ramp. I had such a great time laughing and listening to all the stories they shared with me.


(missing a few!)
I am very excited to be working with a creative and inspiring group of people. From the past two weeks, I can tell that this hard-working team enjoys what they do and being with each other.  I am looking forward to my future and fun with Samantha Smith Productions!

~Ashlie  


Luv La Tavola

A few weeks ago I drove myself down to the La Tavola warehouse sale
in hopes of being the first person on line!

 Well, I wasn't the first, but I was near front of the line. 
The gates opened and I charged in hoping to get the best of the lot.


Panoramic view of the sale.



My favorite rack – Glitter Linens!


 My final purchases!

 I decided to go with neutrals – linens and napkins.
 It was a safe choice since I am still building my home.


-Danielle

A Story of Details


I love when you can see the vision behind an event, when the vision comes out in everything you experience – a vision created and the details thought through from start to finish. Last year we were lucky enough to be guests at one such event. 

It started with a fabulous save-the-date email from the Paula LeDuc team that opened up like a magazine.

Then to bring the experience to life, our Paula LeDuc sales team visited our office with a special delivery. Check out this fully loaded basket of treats. It made our day.



The party was at Beaulieu Garden in Napa. 


Once we arrived we quickly realized this party was not only beautiful, but it focused on our favorite foods of summer: corn, tomatoes, and peaches. Each ingredient had its own area and both the food and cocktails in these areas were made from that ingredient – delicious and creative. The setup made you want to explore each area to see how everything was made. 







Upon departure, we were once again presented with a wonderful basket, this time filled with – you guessed it – peaches, corn, and tomato seeds so we could grow our own tomatoes.


Thank you to the Paula LeDuc team, not only for inviting us to a great party, but for showing us that the pleasure lies within the details that our guests experience. Thank you, Thank you!

Samantha



Emma's View at "The Park"


 The idea of this event was conceived with the goal of bringing together our client's 750+ international employees and creating a more unified global team. Throughout the four-day event, their employees worked together, learned together, served together, and laughed together. 

As part of the production team, working with this company's staff was energizing and refreshing; the employees we interacted with during the event were motivated, creative, inspired, and kind. This company has a wonderful way of keeping the atmosphere friendly and open. SSP's team worked on the event for only five weeks and the end result was pretty fantastic. 



Each foreign office had their own bright yellow folly that was constructed to look like a famous landmark from their city and served as a classroom, presentation area, and workspace for employees. Keeping with the picnic theme, there were bean bags and fold-out seating for group break-outs and classes. All that was missing was a campfire! 



The attendees' jam-packed schedules included activities that fostered leadership and examined corporate goals, as well as fun learning experiences like soap-making classes, dance groups, and cooking tutorials. 

Between activities, "general sessions" brought together all employees at the large stage area (dubbed "The Great Lawn" to keep with the picnic theme of the event) to hear keynote speakers. The layout and agenda for the event promoted sharing, openness, learning, and bonding among team members.


Lunch is served! Food trucks from around San Francisco brought in local flavor for the international employees. 


The "family dinner" for all 750 employees was a big hit. The dinner was made by the company's internal kitchen and showcased the incredible food produced at their SF headquarters every day. 



The Sydney office offers a glimpse at their work and life "down unda."
Had tons of fun working on this event! It was incredible to see all the details come together to create such a exceptional corporate event. 

- Emma

The Big Vision

After an extremely busy start to the year that included two major events along with a trip to Columbus, Ohio, we took a day to catch our breath and update our yearly vision boards.

Here is a look at the process...

Danielle was a welcoming host in her brand new Napa home!


Just like at any SSP event, we were well fed.


Including yummy bread.


And good wine.


Getting into the zone with our boards.


Out with the old, in with the new!


We also paused for a small birthday celebration.


SSP is already rocking 2014! Now a more a more honed vision.


Thank you to Danielle and David for sharing their beautiful home with us.


Back to the City, safe and sound.


Until next time.

Jessie -

Happy New Year

Well, we're back to work and January is turning out to be pretty busy. After a quick trip to Columbus, Ohio to meet with a client to plan their April event, we will be working fast and furiously to help another client plan and execute an event for 800 people in early February. 

Let me tell you, it is cold here. 
Jessie, Melanie, and Samantha

Here are a few highlights from 2013 – can’t wait to create 2014 memories.

In December we met a great partner, the Klipptones.


They played for a holiday party that Melanie planned and they were amazing. We highly recommend them for any events you maybe be creating.

Danielle Spinetta became Danielle Gibson in July. We welcomed David into our crazy family and are so happy that their dream house in Napa is done. We hope for the 2014 lunch invite for the team to come soon.







For me, 2013 was the year of photography. I took and posted at least one photograph each day to Instagram. We also used our photography skills for our clients and instead of buying stock footage of San Francisco, Jessie and I went around the city and took photos for one of our clients who used our photos on their website and conference materials. Here is one of my favorite photos from an around-the-city day.





Lastly, here are a few of my favorite photos from our events this year.






Happy New Year. Looking forward to a fun and creative year.

Cheers.


Samantha

That's a wrap!


All wintery warm, radiant with sparkling lights, and wrapped in ribbon. 



Our final holiday event of 2013 was a winter wine dinner at 
Tank 18 – an urban wine bar in the hip and trendy SOMA district of San Francisco. 

 

We designed one long, dramatic, family-style table in the middle of the winery. 
Warm winter white, gold and silver accents, and glowing amber lights created 
an enchanting and festive tablescape for our VIP guests to enjoy.

 
To kick off the evening, our guests enjoyed handcrafted, local wines and 
savory cocktail nibbles. 


Dinner included a three-course menu of local, organic, and seasonal holiday yumminess – winter salad, pancetta wrapped game hen, grilled sea bass, and a modern twist on the classic holiday, red velvet cake – all beautifully paired with wines for each course.


 


The Klipptones, our new favorite six-member band on the SF entertainment scene, 
treated everyone to mellow holiday tunes with swinging 1940s flair.

That’s a wrap for 2013. Cheers to 2014!

~ Melanie

One day at SF80

One of the best parts of working events is witnessing a raw space unfold into something functional and stylish. This week SSP did just that at SF80 in San Francisco's Potrero Hill District.


Here's a look at what we created with some help from our friends at Hartmann Studios. 


        Registration

 Bookstore
 

Coffee Shop supplied by Rebecca Jean Catering.

The theater

Lounging area

Venue selfie


Until next time,

Jessie



Gas Station Reinvented


Kelly's Fuel and Provisions is a MUST STOP and VISIT kind of place in Yountville, CA!

Charming and quaint, Kelly's has raised the bar for gas stations everywhere. It's oozing with wine country charm and boutique-level yumminess.  

Perched on the edge of the block with its Michelin-starred neighbors in Yountville (including the big guns of Napa Valley – French Laundry, Bouchon, and Redd to name few), Kelly's has some muscle to keep enthusiastic visitors coming in for repeat visits.

Whether you're a tourist or a well-heeled, local native, stop for gas or stay to shop in the cheerful corner store.

Kelly's offers an unexpected mix of highly specialized gourmet goods (fine chocolates, hand-crafted wines, Sightglass coffee from San Francicso), unique gifts, and the usual suspect low-end treats (chips, sodas) in the gas station's bright, colorful & airy convenience shop. 

You can even grab a whole, fresh-baked pizza from R+D Kitchen inside if you care to skip dining with the Michelin's. ;)

It is truly a boutique gas station reinvented!