When Sabine Lenz of PaperSpecs reached out to us with a fresh idea she wanted to try to bring to life, we were thrilled to jump on board! She has an incredible amount of energy and creativity, and her events always bring an element of fun. For this event, she was working with a national planning team as well, so we were helping source local vendors and providing some on-site assistance for event day.
We were able to pop over to a new venue in West Town called The Fairlie when Sabine was in town for another trade show earlier in the year, and she fell in love! The high ceilings, visual interest, and open space for creativity checked off some very important boxes for the PaperSpecs Road Show. There were some great features already built in that helped save room in the budget, while also providing show-stopping effects — a beautiful bar, curtain dividers to separate different activities, and beautiful wood tables large enough for vendors to showcase their materials.
A big part of this event was networking with other like-minded professionals, so we knew having some great food and drinks would be a must. We always love working with Jordan’s Food of Distinction and Spritzology, and this event proved no exception! The appetizers and drinks were a hit.
When it came to audio visual needs, we kept it very local! Ivan Carlson Event Design is just down the street from The Fairlie, and provided us with the setup we needed to amplify the sound and visuals for the event presentations. Sabine gave a great presentation on the latest trends to keep an eye out for in paper, and Justin Ahrens of Rule 29 spoke about the creative process. (His charity, Wheels4Water, was also onsite with virtual reality goggles to explain some of the work their charity does.)
We sourced simple black linens from Bbj Linen, as vendors needed to have some covering on the tables to hide their extra samples beneath, while also providing a clean backdrop to help their gorgeous paper samples pop!
When it came to capturing the photos and video for the night, RoboToaster was an easy choice. We teamed up with them on the PaperSpecs event a few years ago, and their understanding of the client was an added bonus. We always love working with their team!
It was fun to walk around and see all the different offerings, and we certainly learned a lot about the world of paper! We were thrilled to see some friends from Chicago’s Artistry Engraving, too — they even had one of their presses at their booth, so attendees could hand-press their own notecard with a beautifully lined envelope. (If you are looking for some truly unique print pieces or invitations, definitely check them out!)
Thank you, Sabine, for trusting us with the vendor sourcing for this great event! We hope the rest of the Road Show was as successful as the first stop in Chicago!
