Creativebug This week, Courtney and I are decompressing from an amazing trip to ALT Summit in Salt Lake City. Along with attending some of the fun events (I met my art school design crush, Stefan Sagmeister, squeee!), we helped throw a Friday night party for attendees with our friends at Go Mighty. It was a lovey-dovey “Crush On You” theme which was exactly how we felt about Go Mighty + Red Envelope, the party sponsors. Here’s what we got up to at the gorgeous Grand America Hotel…
Courtney wanted to make a BIG splash and design the main art feature in our assigned party room. She came up with a 20’x8′ free standing wall (WALL!) that spelled out the theme “Crush On You” in retro modern string art. The drawings and sketches she came up with did the final piece zero justice. This was a massive undertaking, and one we were very proud to share with everyone who attended.
We knew we’d need a ton of yarn to get this puppy realized, so we reached out to our friends at Red Heart Yarn (even the brand name was on theme!) who generously donated all the red and pink yarn our little hearts could handle. Their hot pink yarn, “Pretty N’ Pink”, stole the show and was the perfect foil to the rich red color scheme of the room.
On Thursday morning we upholstered 5 giant 4’x8′ foam core boards with linen like industrial drop cloths to create a free standing wall in the party room. After attaching the boards together with wood braces, we fixed the makeshift wall to a standing metal frame traditionally used for decorative drapery at events.
Next up was the tacking. Courtney traced giant letters in her favorite font to help with the tack placement. Once she was pleased with the placement, we outlined the letters with 1/2 inch spaced red map tacks. This perforated the tracing paper enough to tear it away after each letter was fully pinned. 2,200 map tacks were used over the course of one very long evening.
The next morning we dove into the yarn! I wrapped cardboard cut out letters that spelled “on you” in thick red yarn. The Os were the most difficult, but turned out the prettiest in the end!
Courtney used her discerning eye to space out and criss cross the yarns that would outline the giant “CRUSH”. It was magical how it all came together. She has such an eye for color and scale. It was a treat to watch her work with the nearly 600 yards of yarn she ended up using.
We finished the installation about an hour before the party started. Enough time for the two of us to freshen up and get ready for our guests. And maybe a champagne toast or two ; ) We donned our finest ALT Summit camo (stripes of course!) and pink and red tights to drive the theme home.
Guests crafted little love notes to their crushes, and pinned them on the wall with extra red map tacks. Red Envelope treated each participant to a little surprise gift, and we all devoured strawberry-based desserts.
Balloons were popped with tipsy heels, the most clever business cards I’ve ever seen were exchanged, and our party rocked the hotel floor. Tearing down the wall at the end of the night was bittersweet. Sad to see all that work wrapped up into one dumpster trip, but happy to know there will be many more installations to come. Thanks to everyone who came out to share the evening with us, and thanks again to Go Mighty for the amazing attention to detail. To many more fétes in our future!
