Super Bowl 50 Inspiration Day

We took some time away from the office to go to Super Bowl City. It is always good to go to an event as a guest and remember what the guest experience is like. We also get to see what inspires us.

Hello is one of our favorite words at Samantha Smith Productions and orange is one of our favorite colors so this was so fun to see. We tried to sneak it out of the booth, but it did not fit into our backpack!

 

Here are a few other photos from our day. 


Samantha 




Time Flies

Time Flies

I like the clean start that January offers, but it is already over. January flew by. We were busy and had some great events, but I am always sad when January is finished.  

Well we are on to February and it is off to a good start. We love Valentines day at SSP and can't wait to see what fun we drum up. Have a great February and remember this year is a leap year, so you have one extra day to enjoy. 

Samantha

Shotgun Floral Studio Does Not Disappoint

There is nothing we love more than talented and creative vendors!

Last week we visited Shotgun Floral Studio to see a mock-up they had prepared for us for an upcoming ocean-themed party.

IMG_5219.JPG

We had asked them to create arrangements playing off the theme of the Great Barrier Reef and the deep sea.

They nailed it with these colors and textures, everything from the vases to the materials in the arrangements. What they came up with could not be more spot on!

These floral arrangements are the perfect accents to bring our ocean theme from an idea to a reality! 


Stay tuned to see the final product...

Best,

Michelle

Naked Kitchen SF

This week our team headed over to the Mission to check out a unique venue on Valencia Street called 

Naked Kitchen

. It is a great space used for pop-up dinners, team meetings, private dinners, cooking demos, and so much more!

This property has a lot of beautiful character as it is set in a Victorian house built in the 1800s. We loved the venue from the second we walked in. The dining room was spacious and the kitchen was state of the art. We also loved the backyard space! 

We also found these table settings very creative, yet simple! (No, we did not meet Bruce Springsteen, unfortunately.)

Like any well-executed event, the venue had amazing food. The delicious canapes were prepared by Chef Anthony Wang. One of our favorites was this chilled sweet corn soup.

We also did a bit of wine tasting with Ari Heavner, the winemaker at 

Idle Cellars

, the chosen winery of Naked Kitchen.

We are very excited to plan an event at Naked Kitchen in the future! Its charm and thoughtful touches make it a perfect place for us. 

Best, 

Christy 

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

You know what we love? Small family weddings. Sure, weddings are all about the pre-planning details, but they are more importantly about love, relationships, and capturing all the beautiful moments with the people you care about most. 

A member of Samantha Smith Productions has recently been invited to a beautiful fall farm wedding on the East Coast. 

Paperless Post

 did a beautiful job with these simple, yet tasteful wedding invitations.  

We love their use of stamps for the RSVP envelope. It adds a personal touch from the bride and groom, to the recipient.  

We look forward to hearing more after Labor Day weekend and we will be more than happy to share how well our SSP member did in the wedding talent show!

Cheers!

Paige

More Than Music | Outside Lands 2015

This weekend, I put my layers on and ventured to Golden Gate Park for Outside Lands music festival. 

Being an event planner, I made sure my group got the very most out of our day by creating a game plan. 

Some of the highlights were performances by Tame Impala and Cold War Kids. They had awesome stage presence and engaging visuals. 

But, we can't forget about the food and beverages! Some of the main attractions were Winelands and Chocolands. One of the most intriguing menu items of the weekend was this donut cheeseburger from 

Straw

. 

Outside Lands 2015 did not disappoint! 

Best,

Christy

'Twas the July before Christmas

The holidays came early last Friday at Blueprint Studio's Winter Wonderland showroom!

We loved these overhead lights above this unique gold-plated bar...

and this tree designed to use fresh florals from the flower market as the branches.

One of our favorite rooms was this Narnia-themed dining room, complete with an extra dinner guest!

We also liked how warm and inviting this retro living room felt.

Thank you,

Blueprint Studios

, for inspiring us and getting us excited about the upcoming holiday party season!

Best,

Christy

Marlowe Burger

We can’t stop thinking about the amazing burgers we had for lunch from Marlowe Burger.

Our team is a big fan of Marlowe and we are adding Marlowe Burger to our list.

The burger and the fried chicken sandwich were equally scrumptious.

As you can see, we all love their deviled eggs, with pickled jalapeno, bacon, and salsa verde. So delicious!

Do not be surprised if you see us scarfing down one of the many delicious items on their menu!

Bon appétit,

Paige

From Pinterest to Party

We saw this great image on Pinterest (below left) and showed it to our client. He loved it for his Gatsby party, so we set out to create it ourselves. We made three of these and they were the talk of the party. More about the party in a future blog...


Have a great day!

Samantha

Handwritten Notes

Thank you,

Canary Marketing

, for the great holiday gift. Yes, we know it is July and we are just getting around to saying thank you.

When we received your gift we oohed and aahed over the packaging and the cards were beautiful. 

We loved that the cards were so on your brand and how much we just wanted to start writing nice notes. They have been used many times since January. Your gift has spread good cheer to others.

Thank you so much for the very thoughtful gift.

Write more letters, everyone. 

Samantha

Inspiration from Design*Sponge!

Our

Design*Sponge

by Grace Bonny Box #2 arrived this morning. As we opened the box, which celebrates and supports independent artists and their small-scale design items, we learned the theme of this box was COLOR – with pops of pink, orange, and yellow.

We loved the simple tag wrapped around this Karen Kimmel Furoshiki cloth. This was inspired by patterned paper and intended to be used as a reusable gift wrap. 

These Llbuav Choy Duerr Colorwheel cards are so simple, yet fun! They are blank inside so they are perfect for any occasion. 

We really fell in love with this Banquet Heart poster. With a thick frame around, it could be a fun addition to an accent wall. 

Thanks for our color box, Design*Sponge!

SF Girl By Bay

Every day we are reminded of how great San Francisco is by simply walking outside our door. A huge part of this city's culture is the awesome people who live here!

Meet Victoria Smith, a San Francisco-based blogger, stylist, photographer, and designer. Her blog, SF Girl by Bay, covers everything from what to eat to what to wear, staying true to her "bohemian-modern style."

We absolutely love these postcards the SF Girl by Bay team sent us along with our purchase of Victoria's fabulous book, See San Francisco: Through the Lens of SFGirlbyBay.



The Samantha Smith Productions team is a huge fan! Thank you for our gifts. You make us proud to be from this amazing city!

Cheers,

Christy



Our Day at Casa Madrona of Sausalito


Today we ventured out of the San Francisco gloom and visited Casa Madrona, a boutique hotel in sunny Sausalito!


The hotel's mixture of modern elements and classic San Francisco Victorian design captured us all. 


But, that was just the beginning! The highlight of our visit was lunch in the Alexandrite Suite. Poggio’s chef, Benjamin Balesteri, prepared a beautiful spread of refreshing salads, flavorful meats, and rich desserts that had us all going back for seconds (maybe thirds)!


We loved this unique Italian marble mantel, subtle beach-inspired décor, and breathtaking views of the bay. 


It is a destination within itself and I am sure the team will be back in the future.
Thanks again for your wonderful hospitality. 

 Check out Casa Madrona, you will not be disappointed.

 Can't wait to do an event here! 
Best, 
Christy


Tis the Season

Tis the Season

2014 Holiday Party @ TheLab

'Twas a beautiful and cozy private dinner for a SSP holiday party.

Tales were told and laughs were shared. What better way to spread cheer then to celebrate a great SSP year?

After the toasts, we continued to wine and dine. 

Although much of the night turned into a blur from all the delicious wine

The night started to end and we said our good-byes. Goodnight to all and cheers to a fun night!

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

~Ashlie

The perks of our job

We have many perks in our line of work – one of which is staying in nice hotels. 

A few weeks ago I got to go to Napa and stay at Bardessono.

It was early October and you could feel fall in the air. 

The drive in 

The hotel

My bath

– which I did use!

The couch where I did a lot of work

I loved all the little touches, like lemon in your water at night

Pool....

Cabana

–

could have spent a whole day here!

Reflecting pool

Let's not forget where we are

So when I complain about working too hard, I'm just going to reflect on my time here.

#LoveLocalSF

we 

heart

 sf

With all the interesting, inspiring, creative, exciting, innovative, artistic, clever, musical, quirky, and tasty local offerings, hardly a day goes by when we're not insanely 

IN LOVE WITH SAN FRANCISCO!

Not to mention, the city is ridiculously beautiful (duh),

even when @karlthefog rolls in to charm us with all his foggy presence at the GG bridge and around the bay. 

So when SFGate announced 

#LoveLocalSF

 day, 

we were primed to jump right in and celebrate all over town, all day long. 

#LoveLocalSF

is a city-wide celebration of San Francisco. Held on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, this was a day to honor all of the things that make our great city so unique – be it our diverse communities, our eclectic history, our trendsetting nature, or our commitment to innovation. San Francisco showed its pride through events, art, music, special promotions, parties, and, of course, by wearing the signature color, red. 

(Did you know red is the signature color of SF? Neither did we! Consider yourself informed.)

Check out how we celebrated 

#LoveLocalSF

First stop, breakfast in the Mission at

Craftsman & Wolves

– yum!

Next, we worked a little, checked in with our clients, kicked butt on a few events, and then stopped for lunch in SOMA at

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

for a Mousetrap and a Moscone – yum! Throw in the iconic and eclectic grilled cheese wall art and (bam!) you're in grilled cheese heaven in SF.

With happy bellies, we headed to

826 Valencia

to write

Love Notes

because SF reminds us that when you give love, you get love. 

A quick stroll through

Dog Eared Books

reminded us to enjoy the feel and smell of real books 

(remember that?) 

and to 

slow down for

the art of reading...

Aldea

 home was a new find for us. 

It was really, really, really hard for us to leave behind the inspiring home-décor ideas. We'll be back! 

Paxton Gate

for the ever-so-curious wonders of taxidermy and air plants...

with an occasional skull or shrunken head... a must-see in SF!

Finally, we topped off the night under the stars in the Presidio at the grand finale event: food trucks, picnic blankets, photo ops with drag queens, and a lively performance 

by

Wonder Bread 5

.

Loved 

#LoveLocalSF

 2014. 

Now, get out and go celebrate next year!

~ Melanie

Boo-tiful

Thank you to 

Paula LeDuc

for a surprise delivery to our door to celebrate All Hallow's Eve...

boo-tifully designed treats

clever, handcrafted potions

old-fashioned childhood favorites, reinvented with a twist

and a little something to last 'til the bitter end...

We enjoyed every bite of our very special gourmet Halloween treats. It's 

never a scary surprise from the ever-so-crafty PLD team.

Happy Halloween in 2014!

~ Melanie