Buffet Installations

What would be a better way to debut buffet installations than at the Gallery at Interlachen; and what better audience to attend than the who’s who of Orlando event professionals?

This buffet installation is part of a series designed to meet chef demands for functionality, safety and to revolutionize food presentation. This new service makes a great addition to Unique Option’s extensive collection of furniture and cutting edge accessories

This multi-faceted product line is going to make its mark on the way event spaces are designed and implemented.

New Opportunities for You in 2010!

In December we participated in several photo shoots. At one shoot in particular, we setup furniture and décor pieces at a local hotel demonstrating the versatility available at the property; from a corporate event to a private function. At one end of the spectrum, we showed how our product can be used for a wedding ceremony and reception with help from BBJ Linen, Kirby Rentals and TS Productions. Inside, we created a large conference table setup, with enough room to seat 24 executives comfortably!






A HUGE thank you and kudos to Jason and Sara Martin of Concept Photography who produced these amazing images for us! This is a new opportunity we are presenting to all of our event partners- to participate in a photo shoot at your venue/hotel with setups for a corporate or social event. The photos will be used as mutual collateral; a win-win for everyone!

ISES Gives Back II

Tuesday night we had the pleasure of hosting the second annual ISES Gives Back meeting and working with great vendors! Attendees were asked to bring donations for The Mustard Seed (furniture and clothing bank) and Ton by Ten (canned foods) so they can do their part in paying it forward.

Ben and his team from Kaleidoscope Production Services did an awesome job lighting up the space with market lights, LEDs and spotlights.

Barfly rocked the bar and served up some nice cocktails for everyone.

TS Productions provided a solid stage for the entertainment and black drape around the perimeter.







Vice President of Programs and Education, Jason Logan, did a terrific job emceeing the evening and kept everything rolling.



Levan’s Catering dished up delicious sliders, potstickers, scallop and chicken skewers, prosciutto, and different spreads.

Peyton & Day Entertainment rounded up the creative improv music and comedy team that is Jeremy and Shalisa James of Songs on the Spot. They took everyone back to their “Dirty Dancing” days and involved ISES members in some of their songs.

Votive candles complimented our Pacific collection with ambient mood lighting. It was truly showcased by the focal point of the room; a gazebo with fabric treatment, chandelier and extended Pacific sectional. Everyone looked comfortable, relaxed and happy- looking forward to the next meeting!

Headdress Ball 2009

The Hope & Help Center of Central Florida's annual Headdress Ball was in full swing this past Saturday, October 3rd at the new Hilton Orlando International Drive. The charity event raised over $270,000 a successful result despite the current state of the economy.

The event theme - Red Carpet, Red Ribbon & Red Lipstick inspired the VIP cocktail reception. I incorporated a 24 x 24 foot custom bar in the center of the reception, complete with a back bar and overhead canopy giving that permanent installation signature of my design.

The bar was flanked to one side by the mermaid lounge which was adorned by the beautiful Mertailor land & sea creatures in and out of the water. Situated to the other side of the bar, the dance club, where American Audio Visual's designer Tommy Hart wow'ed guests with his dramatic reveal of the dance floor hidden behind Moss Inc's fabric walls. Guests danced to the music of DJ Joanie who had a commanding position within a custom built scaffold/ industrial stage and DJ booth surrounded by water walls.

The party went all night long, "ABSOLUTELY", says DJ Joanie- I loved the layout you created for me. The dance floor was perfect and kept the energy high and made people stay in the area. Hope to work with you again in the near future and to see ya out soon!

To make a donation to this very important cause visit:

http://hopeandhelp.org

-Awny K

Friend us on Facebook to view more photos from the event.
http://tiny.cc/uofacebook

What's Hot in Rental Furniture

Furniture in events definitely make a great impression and impact on any environment. Serving as functional decor and setting the layout of the space and the flow of the event.

In the latest August/September edition of Event Design Magazine, our Creative Director, Awny contributes to What's Hot in rental furniture:

Rental furniture specialists are on top of the latest trends, materials, and what’s next in this arena, so read on and see what’s hot in rentals, and what everyone will be talking about next year.

Temporary Elements
What's Hot in Rental Furniture


“In is out and out is in as a design concept. A lot of people are leveraging outdoor furniture indoors with natural organic materials like wicker. When you use it indoors it can become a theme—it adds an element of surprise, you’re not expecting it so you notice it,” says Awny Khashoggi, creative director at Unique Option. Khashoggi says 30 percent of Unique Options’ rentals this year have been for outdoor furniture for indoor use.





Up Ahead. Khashoggi says the event design world is heading toward the use of electronic graphic presentation as the main form of theme delivery, and furniture will reflect that. “You’ll see themes delivered electronically through plasmas and screens, while furniture becomes a functional complement to that theme. Media, furniture, and lighting are the tripod of the future of event design,” Khashoggi says.


CLICK HERE to Check out the full article for more trends and insight..

Customized Solutions

Customized branded solutions from Unique Option! Furniture and accessories can play as the perfect frame for your logo, monogram or customized screen prints, whether on Pillows, waterfalls, coffee, bar, end and conference tables, the possibilities are endless!

How do our products differ? Why choose us?
Our high quality products and furniture enhanced with your branding will be executed in a tasteful, accurate and professional treatment. As our creative director, Awny Khashoggi points out- "Branding products is a detail that requires all the attention to detail, after all it represents our client's image and our company assures that."

Orange Appeal - Headdress Ball Photoshoot

A purposefully transformed showroom acted as the perfect backdrop last week, as we hosted a photoshoot for Orange Appeal Magazine& The Hope & Help Center.

The editorial spread will be featured in next month's September/October issue of the magazine, all in preparation for Central Florida's most anticipated charity event- Headdress Ball. A decadent Vegas style, black tie event benefiting the Hope & Help Center of Central Florida and their fight against AIDS and HIV.

Headdress Ball Founders- Sam Ewing & Hattie Wolfe, along side with the event's long time supporter and hostess -Jackie London, TV anchor from Local 6 and the event signature, showgirl posed for the cameras looking elegant and fabulous.

Hope & Help's Development Director, Maggie King commented "Thanks again for allowing us to use your venue for the Orange Appeal photo shoot, as long standing sponsors of the event and with Awny serving on the board of directors for the charity, we are excited and enthusiastic about this year's event entitled- Red Carpet, Red Ribbon and Red Lipstick.

For more information on the event and to purchase
tickets visit:
http://www.headdressball.org/

Wedding Style Magazine Fall 09

Modern Furniture groupings are all the rage and a new necessity for every bride's reception, after party, cocktail hour or to act as a great focal point to tie together the event's theme and create a central area that is comfortable and inviting to all guests.

A recent wedding we collaborated on with one of our Tennessee planners was amazingly executed and featured in the Fall 2009 edition of Grace Ormonde's Wedding Style magazine. Our white leather eccentric line accented with custom screened lime green pillows and pedestals added a great punch of color to the groupings.

We are pleased to announce Unique Option now offers customized branded pillows, furniture items and accents to add that perfect touch of personalization to your next event.

*photo credit by Meggie Velasco Photography

WOW Awards!

July 17th, 2009, the best contributions from Central Florida's event industry were honored at the WOW Awards at Orlando's World Center Marriott, presented by ISES Orlando. All of Orlando's event, convention, meeting and hospitality association professionals convened for the event.

Unique Option is pleased to announce our award for Best Event Support for the May 2008 WD-40 Surprise birthday event.

For this 80's inspired 40th birthday, Unique Option creative director Awny Khashoggi was called upon to add authenticity in the re-creation of the various environments created for this event, the areas worked on to recreate the night club, which was set to be reminiscent of an era when people cared more about enjoying themselves than being seen, the 80’s was truly brought back with the layout of the furniture and decor items. The furniture groupings provided included lavish lime green sofas contrasting club chairs in red, cobalt blue, and lime as those colors reflected on the black glossy cocktail tables.



We congratulate all the winners this year and are honored to be in such company. Awny commented"Event support is coveted by Unique Option since it is what we excel in. And of course could not been successfully done without our client and colleagues.

For more information on the winners and nominees check out:

WOW Awards 2009

Consistency of a Brand

Unique Option along with graphic design agency- Treefrog Cinegraphix, LLC collaborated last Summer on the re-branding of our company’s logo and corporate identity. The design and execution of this project were crucial as we wanted to capture the essence of our company, past, present and highlight the new direction of Unique Option.

We strategized on the best way to add impact, longevity and most importantly reflect our company’s business values and our mission to provide success to our clients and vendors.

Our owner, Awny Khashoggi explains the rationale behind our new branding- "The new logo with a revised font and presentation, embodies the strong foundation represented by Event Partner and the soaring aspirations of the company. The color on color executed beautifully with UV coating is a graphic display of the harmonious varying textures exhibited by our talented team."

The end result- An award winning corporate identity package!

We celebrate today as we just learned that we were awarded the 2009 Communicator Creative Excellence Award in the category of print / Corporate Identity – for the best Identity Program Campaign.

The winning new logo, featuring a modified font & orientation along with the business tag of Event Partner is presented here as it appeared on the collateral.

Now that they are retired, we wanted to share our past identity which was an award winner at the time, presented here for your viewing pleasure:

Tough Times Make Planners Stretch Decor Budgets

Lisa Hurley, Editor of Special Events Magazine writes in this week's Eventline E-newsletter on event designers tips, including a unique perspective from Unique Option's President, Awny Khashoggi on how to effectively stretch budgets without eliminating decor elements:

Check it out.... CLICK HERE for the full story

NACE Jacksonville

May 13, 2009, We had the pleasure of speaking to the Jacksonville National Association of Catering Executives. The topic-

DESIGN & SPACE PLANNING FOR HIGHER PROFIT MARGINS

A topic on a lot of catering executives and industry professionals minds, as the state of the marketplace is becoming more and more competitive and with client's expectations increasing the challenge is to win the job, so you keep winning jobs and make your offering unparalleled to your competition. In this 30 minute presentation our creative industry expert, Awny Khashoggi discusses how to position your team to incorporate effective design, space planning and your Black book of resources for higher profit margins in your business.

The lunch meeting was hosted at the Selva Marina Country Club in Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville, a classic country club, the Jacksonville NACE committee greeted us for a delightful luncheon. Thanks goes out to Chapter President- Robert Capers and VP of Programs and Education- Kevan Wilson.