GLOBAL CITIZEN: AN INTIMATE CONCERT FEATURING METRIC
You know those moments when you say 'YES' and trust everything will fall into place....but just saying yes and committing is the first BIG, and slightly terrifying, step. This project was exactly that. It stretched me creatively and showed me that you don't always need to know the "how" right out of the gate, but instead be willing to follow your intuition and you'll be guided trusting that the right things always show up! I said to myself a few times through this process "everyone starts somewhere" and I trusted that every project and every event I had styled before this had taught me exactly what I needed to know to show up and create. I was happy to donate my time to Global Citizen, a great organization that fights to end extreme poverty, curb climate change and increase gender equality!
The Inspiration
The goal was to transform the Fairmont Chateau Laurier for Global Citizen into an intimate music venue for Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric, as well an inviting space for a fireside chat with the Former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard. Julia spoke of the need to increase access to education for children around the world. I wanted everyone attending to feel differently the moment they crossed that threshold and be fully immersed in the evenings events.
The Canvas
We had a tight budget to work within (as it should be!) so we needed to get creative with the décor and conscious of every penny spent. Lucky for me, the stunning Fairmont Chateau Laurier has an incredible canvas to work with and the rooms have SOUL! Consciously working with the bones of the room I wanted to highlight the chandeliers and sconces, playing with light for the show. Intuitively the first thing that came to mind when I thought of Metric playing an acoustic intimate show was they NEEDED to be surrounded by candles. The more the BETTER! Who doesn’t LOVE candlelight! So moody, romantic and perfect for the lounge vibe I wanted to create.
The jumping off point was finding 15 gorgeous silver candelabras on Kijiji. Kijiji is an incredible resource and almost all the décor came from there. One of the reasons I love Kijiji is you continue the life cycle of a product and secondly and maybe my favourite is all the incredible people I meet because of it. I have met the most genuine people, that LOVED seeing their items put to good use for a great cause. The BEST part was we could sell it all again afterwards which helped stretch the budget.
The black velvet curtain was hung, red uplighting highlighted the architectural details of the Chateau Laurier and cast a beautiful glow. Julia Spoke eloquently about Children's Education and Metric performed their MAGIC for the crowd. It was an incredible evening, see the full event here.
