Beautiful and elegant for interior spaces, birch décor creates stunning backdrops and accent pieces to bring the outside in. Birch tree bark peels off in thin, scroll-like peels and makes an interesting textured column. Exceptionally versatile, birch trees grow up to 70 feet tall, so the sky’s the limit if you have a big ‘ol truck!

For a recent holiday event in Calgary with MacGillivray & Associates, Greenscape created distinctive birch screens, planters and backdrops that were up to 16’ tall. The natural white colour of the birch poles allowed for high impact lighting and created an inviting atmosphere in the room.

               

Greenscape Design & Décor was the proud recipient of the award for Best Theme Décor $15 000 to $40 000 presented November 4th, 2011 by the BC Event Awards.

This is a regional awards program recognizing outstanding achievements in special events, meeting management, and conference planning and exhibition management.

This was truly exciting for our team, as the event we chose to feature was The RIMS Opening Night Reception, one of the largest events we’ve worked on yet! The theme was “Rainforests of the World” and we truly created a magical and interactive event for guests to enjoy.

With the design concept headed by our Creative Director, Christine Cox, this was a significant achievement for us, as we transformed an empty exhibition hall into a 40 000 sq foot rainforest experience, featuring four distinct landscapes: Pacific Northwest, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. Every team member, and beyond, was called upon to bring forth their creativity and strength (20’ tall trees aren’t light!) and it was a privilege to have our design and teamwork recognized.

For a special treat, CLICK to view the gal on the right rapping a sweet acceptance speech!

The BC Event Awards were presented as part of the CSEME 2011 Conference where we showcased our newly launched Westcoast Modern themed booth, which featured our birch products and luxurious linens and chair covers from Chair Décor.

  

We also were excited to have received top honours for our participation in the CSEME Theme Décor Challenge. This is a design challenge in which you have a 10 x 10 space that must include a table setting useable for actual dining and include at least 4 chairs. It is an over the top design extravaganza. Our team created a Mexican inspired “Day of the Dead” (Dia de Muertes) table display was super sexy, fun and featured an explosion of colour!

From 40 000 square feet to a table set for 4, we can do it all! What design challenge would you like to see us create? Tweet us your ideas! @GreenscapeVan.

When I first entered the room for the first session of Event Camp Vancouver 2011, I knew I was entering a thought-changing landscape for learning, interaction, and innovative formats. With the chairs arranged in a giant circle, as if around a massive bonfire of ideas and energy, face-to-face engagement was set as the standard for the weekend. We talked, we sang, we danced, we “sexercised!”

Event Camp asked questions. Lots of them.

• What is the purpose?
• What is the objective?
• What are you trying to achieve?
• What do you want to learn in this moment?
• What do you want to experience?
• What way do you want to engage?
• What level of technology are you able or willing to embrace?
• What have you done that is sustainable today?
• What can you do to be sustainable everyday?
• What can we do to design better?
• What can we control and what can we influence?
• What are our resources?
• What can we do to design event experiences that don’t yet exist?
• What is your twitter handle?
• What change can you make to motivate yourself and others?

There were no right answers, but rather an overwhelming wealth of contributions and ideas from people all over the world who were excited about possibility, change and collaboration.  It was a dynamic and transforming dialogue.

In addition to attending this industry-changing experience – Greenscape contributed sustainable décor options for the Room for Thought. This “white space” was a green space designed to encourage participants to have a place to reflect and rejuvenate. We focused on creating an interactive and highly sustainable space. Every item was sustainable through our manufacturing process or had been refurbished, reclaimed, or repurposed with all items returning to our rental inventory to be endlessly reused.

               

For me, Event Camp created a legacy of new friendships, deeper connections, and bigger thoughts. I am inspired to be a better leader, a more creative designer, a more collaborative colleague. I will drive my company towards greater sustainability and higher levels of technological advances and innovation.  I want an app.  I want greener options.  I want to eliminate fear, fail, and fine from my vocabulary (I need to keep fake folks, until I change my tagline – Sometimes Fake Is Better!)  I want to learn more.  I want to be a champion for enthusiasm and change.  I want to help.

Tahira Endean was the loving force behind making Event Camp happen in Vancouver, yet Event Camp grew bigger than any one person or singular contribution. She was the spark behind this massive experience by saying, “Yes, lets” and then it was ignited by a passionate group of people that followed up with “Yes, and.”

The fire burns on…

When approached to create a proposal for the opening reception of the RIMS Conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre in May, we were thrilled. The concept was Rainforests of the World. We knew we would be able to create a stunning, interactive display. After all, when it comes to trees and forests we pride ourselves on being the experts!

We were challenged to create four distinct spaces: the Pacific Northwest, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. Christine, our Creative Director, had a vision. She meticulously sketched out each area to create a stunning floor plan for the 40,000 sq ft ballroom. Scent, sound, touch, and sight were brought together to fill the space and excite our guests.  It was a large undertaking and we had our entire staff onsite!

                    

For the Pacific Northwest, we wanted to create an old growth forest that would allow guests to mix and mingle within the environment. Winding pathways with towering canopies gave guests the feeling of strolling through a pristine piece of land. To showcase the rich diversity of our host city, all the elements of our temperate rain forest were included.

        

As guests moved through the Pacific Northwest they came upon our Southeast Asia themed pod. We included a towering 12’ Buddha head placed upon a 15’ tiered stage set up, which was draped with burlap, filled with bamboo poles and luscious flowers.

In the African display our mission was to capture the mysterious nature of this wild land. Desert sounds and rolling mist were integrated to achieve this effect. To do this we created a 30’ canopy of jungle vines hanging over a pond bed. The pond was even filled with live koi fish!

        

Our South American display was to be the party station for the entire event. South America is known to be alive with energy and we wanted this display to reflect that same passion.

At the end of the day, we had created the World Cafe we had dreamed of. We overcame the challenges and pulled off what would be the event we are most proud of yet.  View our video of our set up and our team in action! Greenscape Design RIMS 2011 Video

Thanks to ThreeSixtyPhotography for the pics!

I spent the last weekend at the four-day, annual Interior Design Show West (IDSwest) at the gorgeous Vancouver Convention Centrewith the Greenscape team showcasing our work and being inspired by amazing designs and designers! So many things I can’t yet afford – all conveniently under one roof! One day….We met some fantastic new people and had a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with our friends and fellow design fans. Our booth featured an interactive Westcoast Modern design, which encouraged people to be playful in the sandy beach floor and walk through the driftwood canopy.  Shoes were definitely optional!

      

Some of our favourite pieces at the show:

We loved the Illuminated tree rings by Judson Beaumont of Straight Line Designs, Inc.  Illuminated from within, these pieces are a playful perch for your feet or drink during the day, and provide bright and lively luminescence at night to transform your space.

A cool freestanding soft shelter partition system by Molo Design offers endless possibilities with shaping intimate spaces within larger open areas  - we thought this would be fantastic for special events!

And a big shout out to the Collaboration booth that was almost as messy as our sandbox with their beautiful moss floor! We will both probably end up with a vacuuming bill! They launched a striking collection of hand-cast planters with a wonderfully irregular silhouette.

What was your favourite exhibitor at IDSwest 2011?

Tweet us @greenscapevan or post here to let us know!

IDS West 2011

The Interior Design Show West (IDSwest) based in Vancouver BC, is Western Canada’s annual premiere design show for contemporary residential design.  From Sept 29 – Oct 2, 2011,  IDSwest tranforms the Vancouver Convention Centre into a mecca for design, showcasing the newest and most exciting top designers, retailers and manufacturers from around the world.  An audience of design-savvy consumers and industry professionals participate in a celebration of design, art and architecture through interactive displays, feature highlights, design competitions, and international keynote presenters. Greenscape is proud to be a 2011 exhibitor - don’t miss our booth!

TRIVIA TWEETS! ENTER TO WIN!

Follow us on twitter @GreenscapeVan and follow the hastag #TriviaTweets to enter to win an IDSwest Evening for 2 package including:

• a $50 Gift Certificate to Joey Restaurant
• 2 tickets to attend the IDSwest tradeshow
• 2 drink tickets at the show!

For our #TriviaTweets contest, we will be testing how well you know Greenscape Design & Décor! Each week for the next three weeks we will send out a new trivia question.  Tweet your answer, mention @GreenscapeVan and include the #TriviaTweets hashtag.  Answer all 3 questions and receive 3 entries into the draw!  The winner will be selected by random draw and announced via Twitter on September 26th, 2011.

Feel free to tweet something like this: “I entered to win an IDSwest Evening for 2 @GreenscapeVan with my answer:  (insert answer) #TriviaTweets”

QUESTION #1 (Sept 5-11) Which of our clients did we create the Pacific Passage exhibit for?

QUESTION #2 (Sept 12-18) What instrument does our Principal play in her band, Los Furios?

QUESTION #3 (Sept 19-24) What is the name of our red rose petal lady?

Enjoy a few pictures from our previous exhibits – however, prepare for the unexpected from our booth this year!

               

Celebrate design and become inspired by some of the world’s most creative people at IDSwest!  Visit our booth and participate in our interactive contest for more chances to win!

Last week I had my first experience at Event Camp. I admit, it was a little less romantic than I had hoped, but left an indelible imprint in my thinking nonetheless.Event Camp Twin Cities was basically a live innovation lab for experimenting with new formats, new presentation methods, new technologies, new applications for social media and new ways of collaboration for hybrid events and conferences. Summary: Event Camp was about looking for new ways to effectively connect and engage.

I had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t truly sure what I was signing up for, but Tahira said it would be good for me.  I am a fake plant expert, and technology is hardly my friend. Event Camp seemed like the perfect place for me to buddy up and make a new acquaintance. I attended Event Camp virtually through the Vancouver Pod (one of 7 small groups of people that gathered in different global locations) lead by Laura Tetzlaff and hosted by the Art Institute Vancouver.  Our team name and motto referenced Vancouvers lovely Peaks ‘N Valleys, so lots of boob puns “busted” through our conversation early in the day.  Irresponsible people gathered in a responsible venue.

Much went wrong.

Technologies failed, 7 Pods clustered on one Skype call did not work, there were issues with the 20 second delay on live feed, and so on. Mostly very high level AV issues that I would have simply dealt with by tilting my head and batting my eyelashes and saying “I’m so pretty.” What was attempted was extraordinary, and the next time it is tried, it will be a wonderful experience when it works seamlessly.

Much went right.

I admit, I was frustrated, I was overwhelmed. My Pod was mostly in disarray for the first day as we tried to deal with technology overload, flipping back and forth between trying to engage in person as a Pod, virtually with the other Pods and following the main conference sessions broadcast from Twin Cities, following the Twitter feed, being mesmerized by the lovely virtual emcee, Emilie Barta and then participating in the Great Event Camp Challenges (a series of social based challenges to complete as a team in order to earn badges – it’s not camp if you can’t earn a badge or two).

Brains hurt. Voices were raised. But everyone hugged before we left.

The risks were great. I am thrilled to have been a part of such a radical attempt at event innovation. Things failed. But so much was learned. If it had all gone smoothly – it would still all be magic to me. Since so much went wrong, I have an understanding of what is involved and engaged in learning with my Pod and event professionals around the world trying to understand how to make it all work together.

There has to be an inexpensive and effectively scalable way to have remote audiences in different locations experience an in room experience. I sure as hell won’t be the one to figure it out, but I certainly want to be close to the person that does! Kinda like Greenscape – we want to be part of bringing the outside in.

Thanks Event Camp Twin Cities Team that put this experience together.