The Clairemont team is so proud to be involved with Triangle Family Services, an organization that helps so many people in our community. In addition to being a fun and wonderfully festive event, the Gingerbread Benefit helps local families. ABC 11‘s Angela Hampton shows you what the event is all about. Watch and learn why you should purchase tickets today! Hope to see you at the Umstead tomorrow evening!
Author: Dana Phelps
The Gingerbread Benefit is Almost Here!
If you are in Raleigh or can get to Raleigh on Thursday, the Gingerbread Benefit is a must-do holiday event. I promise you will be amazed at the intricately designed gingerbread houses from the most talented chefs in the Triangle. Plus, you can bid on awesome prizes, see/hear the Sanderson Sandpipers and eat food prepared by the world-renowned Umstead chefs — all while helping area families in need! See the full release below for additional details and buy your tickets tonight! We hope to see you there.
Triangle Family Services’ 9th Annual Gingerbread Benefit on Dec. 1 to Lift Holiday Spirits
— Auction of Gingerbread Houses Designed by Local Chefs to Help Local Families —
Raleigh, N.C. – November 29, 2011 – Local chefs are putting the finishing touches on gingerbread houses as volunteers arrange prize packages donated to Triangle Family Services’ 9th Annual Gingerbread Benefit to be held Thursday, Dec. 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Umstead Hotel and Spa.
“In addition to elaborate gingerbread houses donated by the Triangle’s favorite chefs, there are many attractive prize packages available,” said Sue Rea, co-chair of the benefit. “The event is Thursday, so get your tickets now!”
Items range from a five-day Topsail Island retreat and two first-class AmericanAirlines tickets to stunning amethyst and diamond earrings from Diamonds Direct. For sports fanatics, packages include Carolina Mudcats, North Carolina Tar Heels and Durham Bulls tickets, and an 18-person Carolina Hurricanes suite.
“From an Eye Care Associates gift certificate to a fabulous Holly Aiken handbag, there’s no shortage of desirable auction prizes,” said Dana Hughens, publicity chair for the benefit and CEO of Clairemont Communications.
All proceeds from the evening will support local families in need. The live auction will be conducted by Jason McCoon of Tory Hill Auction Company, who is part of the History Channel’s new series, The Real Deal. The evening’s festivities, emceed by ABC 11’s Angela Hampton, will also include holiday music, drinks, desserts and other savory delicacies prepared by The Umstead’s top chefs.
Tickets can be purchased at www.tfsnc.org and are $85 each.
Platinum sponsors are the Seby B. Jones Family Foundation and The Umstead Hotel and Spa. Gold sponsors are Fifth Third Bank, LORD Corporation, Pierce Brinkley Cease + Lee and AmericanAirlines. Silver sponsors are CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, Carolina Hurricanes, Financial Directions Group Inc., Regency Centers, Vaco and Wells Fargo.
About Triangle Family Services®
For 75 years, Triangle Family Services has been battling critical issues in our community for the most vulnerable families. Its mission, “Building a stronger community by strengthening the family,” is fulfilled by providing programs in three key areas – financial stability, family safety and mental health services. Last year alone, Triangle Family Services served more than 7,000 Triangle area residents with 93 percent living below the poverty level.
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Trends Tuesday: The Return of Lace
Want to know the latest trends? Tune in on Trends Tuesday!
If the word lace conjures up images of your granny’s outdated tablecloth, think again! Lace is back! This is the third post in a series that is inspired by the InStyle article 5 Ways to Wake Up Your Work Wardrobe and explores how each trend is influencing fashion and furniture.
InStyle knows the trick to wearing and/or decorating with lace: Try a touch of Lace. Because it’s a classic, lace plays quite well with conservative clothes. For best results, limit yourself to one piece per look, and choose lined items (or layer with a slip or cami) to avoid showing too much skin.
Earlier this year, I bought a lace-patterned suit at Talbots, but at the time, I didn’t even think of it as lace. Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of traditional lace. That’s what’s so great about this trend this time around — there’s so much more variety. As much as I loved my new suit, it felt like too much for most business meetings and client events.
Enter InStyle’s advice. One piece per look. The suit is lovely, but I’m getting more wear out of it by separating the pieces. I wore the skirt to furniture market in October with a dark navy background, floral blouse from Anthropologie, bare legs (since it was quite warm) and a pair of moss green leather shoes with wooden heels. Inspired by the outfit in the lower right of the InStyle page shown above, I also bought a black turtleneck from J. Jill (a more affordable option to jmclaughlin.com) to wear with the skirt, and I plan to add black tights and black suede, strappy Mary Jane heels.
How does the lace trend work in furniture? The Drexel Heritage (client) product design team says there has been a return to things that are hand-crafted or have a hand-crafted look. I noticed visitors to the Drexel showroom touching the chair in the photograph because it looks like the over-sized doilies sewn onto the fabric, when it is actually part of the upholstery with a smooth texture. If you like this look, you can go with a little or a lot.
Tis the perfect season to add a little lace to your life. I suggest starting with a few basic pieces that can be both dressed up for a festive holiday outfit AND dressed down for office attire. This Banana Republic lace shell easily goes from day to evening, as does this black lace pencil skirt from Anne Taylor. Accessories can make a big difference. I ordered this Bohemian Lace Dress from Garnet Hill that I plan to wear with my great grandma’s crystal necklaces (because sometimes granny’s stuff is hip!) and hose and high heels to a holiday fundraiser. The following week, I’ll layer it on top of leggings, add a scarf and some pretty ankle boots and wear it to the office.
What do you think? Can lace live beyond old curtains and holiday outfits? Let us know how you are incorporating lace into your wardrobe and your home decor.
Trends Tuesday: Bling in the Boardroom?
Want to know the latest trends? Tune in on Trends Tuesday!
Last week we started a series of posts around the InStyle article 5 Ways to Wake Up Your Work Wardrobe! Today we are exploring the second tip and how it fits into the two worlds of fashion and furniture.
Tip #2: Experiment with Sparkle — Shine needn’t be sequestered to the evenings. Make sequined or metallic pieces boardroom-ready by pairing them with subdued shades or layering them under solid fabrics to tone down the bling factor.
I relied on my new found love of Zappos to quickly find some pieces that I think could work in a professional setting. Here’s what I found:
- This sparkle top comes in gold or ivory. I like the gold the best because it looks more neutral than metallic. I’d pair it with a black skirt and a plain black scarf or black chunky beads.
- I love this Betsey Johnson sparkle hinge cuff bracelet. A great accessory to add some bling to the basic black suit or a pretty print dress.
- Kate Spade’s Lots O’ Sparkle Tights come in black and red, for another accessory option to add just a little shimmer.
Under the don’t category, I advise against the UGG Classic Sparklers. If you have to have them, save them for non-work related events! (I’ll admit I once had a hat that matched the gold ones perfectly… but I never wore it to the office.)
I also noticed more shiny objects in the Drexel Heritage (Clairemont client) showroom at High Point Market last month. I especially liked this vignette (see photo) with an upholstered cocktail table that has just the right amount of shimmer in the fabric, topped off with over-sized diamond-like accessories. Just the right amount of bling.
What do you think about bling in the boardroom? How much is too much? How about the bedroom (or other rooms in your home for that matter)? Is a sequined pillow or sequined wallpaper more your style?
Free Advice Friday: Listen Up, Students!
Last month while I was attending PRSA’s International Conference in Orlando, I had the pleasure of finally meeting Mary Deming Barber of The Barber Group who just might be one of the best networked professionals in the communications field. We got to talking about how students connect with professionals and use networking to help secure that first big break into PR.
Wait, I should correct myself. We really talked more about how students are NOT connecting and networking. With nearly 20 years of experience, I was honored to get to sit by Mary during lunch. Imagine my surprise when she told me that a friend’s daughter who aspires to enter the communications field ignored Mary’s email introductions to several other established, well-connected and willing-to-help professionals.
During the same trip, I got to have a little fun by celebrating Abbie Fink‘s birthday with her at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Abbie is another networking queen, and she spied the group of students wearing PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) t-shirts. Abbie exchanged hellos with a few of them, and honestly, I wanted in on the fun! As a former PRSSA member, I was excited to see them, so we attempted to start a dialogue with the larger group of about 10 or 12 students. They were friendly, but not a student out of the group seemed to have the thought that two potential employers were standing in front of them saying, “Hey, tell me about yourself!”
I remember when I was a college junior and attended the PRSSA International Conference, which is held at the same time as the PRSA International Conference, by design. Standing in the buffet line, I found myself in a conversation with a man who had a ribbon on his name badge that read College of Fellows. After asking what that meant, I also learned that he was attending an invite-only College of Fellows dinner that evening.
“Can I go?” I asked. “No. You have to be a Fellow or guest of a Fellow,” he replied. “Can I be your guest?” I asked. “No. I already have a guest,” he answered. “Can you get me a ticket?” I tried again. “Look kid, you can’t go to this event. Why would you even want to go?” he asked. “I thought you might be able to introduce me to some people who might want to hire me next year,” I said, naively confident. He told me I was “nicely assertive” and was chuckling and shaking his head as he walked away. Two years later, he gave me my first agency job.
Mary and I wondered…why do today’s students seem to be missing some networking know-how? Is it not being taught in school? By parents? Is it our responsibility? Like most PR professionals I know, I’m willing to share anything I can to help students and new grads! Let’s start with these three tips:
- If you (or your mom or dad) ask a busy professional like Mary to help you, keep up your end of the bargain. Mary took the time to write email introductions, connecting the student with other people in PR she respects. When the student never responded, she wasted Mary’s time and made Mary look bad for making the recommendation in the first place. Not to mention the fact that the student missed out on making some very influential people part of her life that could have had positive outcomes throughout her career. Learn to follow up now, or you won’t make it.
- Have a few conversation starters ready to go so that when you find yourself with a networking opportunity — whether it is at a business event or a theme park — you can make the connection. With social media, it should be easier now than ever to exchange contact information. Something that could have worked for the students at Disney — “So you are here for the conference, too? That’s great. Are you coming to any of the student events?” I think this would be a good one seeing as we were all communications people….”Hey, are you tweeting about your day here? What’s your Twitter handle so we can follow you?” It also never hurts to ask someone to say her name again if you didn’t get it the first time (most people don’t)… “What is your name again? Do you happen to have a card on you?” That works in any situation, and people are typically flattered that you are making an effort to remember their names and pay attention to who they are and where they work.
- One of my clients and an incredibly smart CMO, Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki, says that curiosity and critical thinking are two of the most important things she looks for when screening candidates. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I didn’t know what College of Fellows was all about, but my curiosity about it was what led to the conversations that landed me my first agency job. Prior to my interview, I did as much research on the firm and its clients as I could, and when I arrived I was armed with lots of questions. I asked about how the agency did its work and why the teams had made certain client decisions.
Now it’s your turn. As PR practitioners, what other pieces of advice do you have for students? And students, we would like to hear from you, too! Take advantage of the comment thread as an opportunity to ask questions — we’re here to answer them!
