Every bride wants a one-of-a-kind look for her special day just as the corporate client wants to blow away their guests with an unparalleled party. It’s this type of challenge that Event Producer, Phil Cooper, thrives on. With a background in theatre and set design, he’s always thinking how he might create something absolutely singular by blending custom design applications with cleverly repurposed inventory. “Even from early childhood, I loved to make things,” says Phil, “from building sandcastles, constructing forts, to rearranging my grandmother’s knick knacks, I was always building and creating.” Teaming up with our in-house artisans, he continues to draw on this natural proclivity to produce, devising event environments that fuse his clients’ vision with tailor-made designs. The result? Unforgettable signature looks, like the three we’ve featured below.

The Jeweler’s Daughter

When your bride-to-be walks in the showroom and has been to at least thirty of the weddings shown in your photos, you know you’ve got your work cut out for you. She has seen it all and, rightly so, wants her wedding day to feel unique and to represent her personal style. “I knew we needed to come up with something completely original,” says Phil. “What immediately inspired me was that our bride’s father is a jeweler and she herself has her own jewelry line, called Dana Rebecca Designs. We had already decided upon a romantic color palette of soft grey, taupe, champagne and ivory.” From there, Phil and the designers came up with the idea of a completely custom wedding canopy suspending hundreds and hundreds of satin ribbon strands to a grid top. To give it that touch of extra sparkle, a crystal pendant was fastened to the end of each ribbon. “With it being an outdoor wedding, there was also the magic of the wind blown effect, where light moved through the dancing crystals. And with the legs a silvery grey on the outside and silky ivory on the inside, it was as if you were looking into a lined jewelry box.”

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A Family’s Last Bar Mitzvah

A lovely family, who Kehoe Designs had already designed many a party for, was about to celebrate their youngest son’s Bar Mitzvah. Rather than the typical themed party, the family wanted something upscale and elegant. “Our starting point was their son’s favorite colors of purple and green. From there, much of the inspiration came from the space itself, the Harold Washington Library, with its metal finishes, large trees and glass dome. To keep it masculine and impactful, the design team used towering, rectangular metal frames with generous cascades of purple and citron orchids. Sleek silver boxes filled with floral, bended metal candle holders, and natural wood tabletops echoed the mix of hard and soft elements. As Orthodox Jews, another feature important to the family was the Mechitzah wall. “The inspiration for our custom panels came from a card I saw with birch trees in the fog, an illustration we were able to replicate on a large scale with our CNC router. The piece was particularly special in that it blended function with a beautifully signature, tailor-made form,” says Phil.

Peak Performance

Corporate parties give an opportunity to show more of the fun side of a company’s culture. Whether its to thank their own team or impress their clients, the goal is to create an unforgettable experience. For our friends at Peak 6, the stakes started high with a performance by world class musician, Gavin DeGraw. “We wanted to play off the chill ‘rock & roll’ feeling of a pop-up warehouse performance,” explains Phil. Large structural elements, like oversized windows, served as an entrance focal and as stage decor, adding a raw, industrial edge. “We even created vintage concert posters to give it that authentic, grungy concert feel,” says Phil. Shades of denim and sexy indigo blue light, laser cut tables, finely upholstered velvet sofas, and motley metallic gears and finishes all came together to set the mood for the soulful sounds of the evening’s performance.

Phil Cooper
Event Producer
Kehoe Designs
312.421.0030
www.kehoedesigns.com