Artistry and Styling

Previously I wrote about Plumage and Dazzle, and how we need to be mindful of it here in Canmore. You might say, "But Marty, Canmore is beautiful enough on its own. We don't want to take away from the view."

Looking for evidence, I stumbled on a fantastic wedding blog, Wedding Obsession, that shows how an eye for styling and artistry can contribute to creating the perfect ambiance by adding to the sense of place--celebrating the place along with the occasion. Author, Melissa Liu Gorman, really knows her stuff when it comes to the sheer entertainment and artistic merit fashioning a fabulous wedding, which, after all, is THE occasion in the life of many.

Melissa of 3 blog entries caught me:

1) I am blown away by the deft hand-eye coordination shown by Tara Whittaker, a Calgary photographer, who specializes in weddings. Her Retro Appeal Wedding photo shoot conjures whimsy and wholesome fun. As a promoter of Downtown Canmore, I'm thinking Scrabble-ads, billboards, skill-testing questions, competitions...

Who else wants to decorate their home in these colours?

2) Tara's Spring Zing Wedding which would be PERFECT situated here in Canmore. It also makes me want to meet Tara as she's clearly got a great sense of humour and an evolved aesthetic sense.

Mirror mirror on the...

 

3) A Burberry Styled,  winterscape wedding in a rustic setting with barn board and reddened foliage. Stunning mix of bark, burnished tones, and black iron accessories. Wow!

I love the Bride's dog "gown"!

Lovely details.

Pine cones are not just for Christmas any more.

The credits for stylists, event design, and photography are all on Wedding Obsession. Please go to Melissa's blog. You will be inspired! It's full of luscious creative juice. Pour a glass of wine, and enjoy!

Now do you get where I'm coming from? Plumage and Dazzle require creating a sense of occasion by celebrating the people and the space. Event Design pure and not so simple.

Plumage and Dazzle

At a meeting tonight for an annual event held here in Canmore, I blurted out that we needed more plumage and dazzle in the event plan. It's my way of saying, we need to dress our events up a bit to show that there's something magical happening here.

Drag queens and Diana Ross stole a page from the showgirls' playbook who sure know how to work some marabou feathers and well-placed glitter to great effect. In this town, my town, we can be a bit...um...understated. We wear fleece jackets to eat a $35 entree or go to a concert. We dress for comfort or function not fashion.  Except for the cyclists in their crazy bright and busy jerseys: they know how to attract attention.

That's all I want to do here in town, dress to attract attention, pimp our rides a bit.

When Cirque du Soleil first started out way back in the mid 80's the posters they designed to advertize their spectacles were spectacular! As INCREDIBLE as the shows themselves. They caused you to stare because they were so beautiful. They made you wonder. They were an invitation that made you want to find out what was going to happen. And people bought tickets.

Circus of the Sun poster from late 1980's Photo credit Wolfgangsvault.com

We need to show the world what it is we are becoming. To dress ourselves up for success. To put on a show before we put on the show. Why? So that we become magnetic and draw people to us.
Posters, media photos, event listings, requests for volunteers, volunteer uniforms, festival grounds...they all need to be dressed up, decorated, show there is a celebration happening here. Banners, flags, signage, dancers, drummers, lights, fireworks, chalk art, gateways, and tents are all plumage and dazzle. A table can be just a table, or it can be an invitation to linger. Let's bring more artistry to how we show ourselves to the world.