Once in a while, there are people who come along in your life and make such an impact, that you are forever grateful and indebted to them. For some, it’s a teacher who inspired them.
For me, it’s Lisa Vorce with Oh How Charming. Although she is one of the most talented and sought after event designers, she remains the sweetest and most humble person I know. Lisa has been a constant inspiration for me as a person and in shaping my career. I only wish that one day I can help someone succeed, the way she helped me!
So I sat down with Lisa to have her share some thoughts with us about her work.
SMW: What inspires you in your work?
OHC: My primary source of inspiration really comes from understanding my clients. I spend a lot of time listening to my clients and getting to know them so I can infuse their personalities, style, culture, etc into their event. When I design – I am designing with each personality in mind. I truly understand who my clients are at their core – so it’s easy to pull together elements that I know will move them and will be beautiful to them. Most of my clients have a very “non-bridal” sensibility to them – so my events tend to take more of a hip dinner party vibe, than a wedding vibe. When I’m pulling together design elements for my clients – I get my inspiration from so many different sources — fabrics, jewelry, china patterns, architecture, interior design, art, etc. My brain is constantly translating every day elements into event concepts. For example – I’ll see a beautiful pattern on a dress and my brain automatically starts to translate it into something like an amazing patterned aisle runner!
SMW: What do you think is going to be “hot” for 2009?
OHC: Oddly enough — I actually very rarely follow the trends or pay attention to what everyone else is doing. I try to not to get too involved in that otherwise I feel like I will end up doing what everyone else is doing!! For me personally…what’s “hot” for our studio in 2009 is textiles!! We’ve been designing our events with textiles being the primary focus. Using fabrics and things like vintage wallpapers in alternative ways. Less focus on the traditional elements like florals, and more focus on non traditional elements. For example — using hand torn fabrics as a “ribbon” treatment for a napkin, or using fabric swatches to create beautiful mosaic backdrops. In our business…you have to keep looking for creative and alternative uses for everyday things. It’s my job to stay AHEAD of the trends!
SMW: Is there a wedding location or design idea that you have yet to do, but would love to get a chance to work on?
OHC: There are a million wedding locations I want to work at…most of them being out of the country. I’m pretty daring, so I’d love to do something crazy like a wedding at the Ice Hotel in Sweden. Or…something in Dubai! In terms of a design idea…in light of my new found obsession with textiles…I would LOVE to do a wedding using only textiles for the decor. For example…beautiful wall-papered paneled walls, all hand made fabric florals, masses of flowing draping ribbons, etc. Would take a very daring client to let me do it, but I know they’re out there!!
As a special treat, Lisa has shared one of her weddings with us. Below is a preview of the wedding feature for tomorrow. (photo credit: Laura Kleinhenz with Docuvitae)
by simplymodernweddings
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