WE LOVE: Black, White & Yellow Specialty Bar

July 22, 2010

 

Oh, how we L-O-V-E anything black & white!  It’s a bold duo, always classic and infinitely dramatic.  Pair it with bright yellow and, well, the world goes happy. 

Photos courtesy of Philip Gabriel. Read the rest of this entry »


WE LOVE: Wedding Cakes by Truli Confectionary Arts

February 26, 2010

Can you ever see enough photos of beautiful wedding cakes?  We think not.  We’re definitely obsessed with the ”cake art” from Truli Confectionary Arts.

A simple stacked stunner for an outdoor May wedding we designed at the Appleford Estate.  We placed the cake on a vintage cake stand which sat on top of an antique carved wooden table.  [photo by Rachel McGinn]

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WE LOVE: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

July 30, 2009

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Recently, we had the pleasure of working in the beautiful Samuel Hamilton Building of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.  This building, opened in 2002, houses galleries that are a striking departure from the magnificent galleries located in the original historic building across the street.

PAFA is the oldest museum and school in the country, founded in 1805 by scientist Charles Willson Peale, sculptor William Rush, and other artists and business leaders.  The original building, designed by Frank Furness and George Hewitt, opened in 1876.  It is simply exquisite.

Both the Hamilton and Furness buildings are available for private gatherings after normal museum hours.  They present a rare opportunity to host special events in unique spaces, the likes of which cannot be found anywhere else in the country!  After several hours of preparation, the doors of the Hamilton Building swung open for 700 guests attending the annual BEST OF PHILLY celebration hosted by Philadelphia Magazine.  We filled the various rooms with contemporary furniture, illuminated bars, and striking lounges, each serving up its own particular flavor.  Guests mixed and mingled, moving throughout while noshing on a variety of foods and beverages.  Duffy Catering provided food and service and everything they did was just perfect.  They are a great team and very talented professionals.

Evantine Design has been the recipient of SIX coveted BEST OF PHILLY awards.  We were thrilled to create a fabulous environment to welcome the 2009 winners!  Pick up the August issue of Philadelphia Magazine to discover this year’s winners!

Below are photos of a beautiful wedding we created in which the ceremony was held in the historic and ornate Furness Building, after which the reception took place in the contemporary and sleek Hamilton Building.  Truly, the BEST OF both worlds!

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WE LOVE: Groom’s Cakes

July 8, 2009

Looking at the various wedding magazines and tv shows where fantastic cakes are carved and built with great skill, we thought we might share one of the best we’ve seen in our corner of the world. Below is a photograph taken by Stacey Kane at a wedding we did together at Appleford Estate in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

In true Southern tradition, the bride decided to have a surprise groom’s cake presented to her new husband at the wedding reception.  From the get-go there was absolutely no doubt what the cake would be; an exact replica of the groom’s beloved childhood dog Tripp.  The surprise was successful and the groom and his entire family were incredibly emotional about the tribute.  The cake was the ROCK STAR of the evening and the dance floor was filled with paparazzi rather than dancers for a good 20 minutes until we took the cake away.  But it was TOO life-like for dessert service.

Needless to say, no one had the stomach to nibble on Tripp or his bowl of Kibble.  The cake was enthusiastically and fabulously created by Truli Confectionary Arts.

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WE LOVE: The Sassy World of Ann Scott

June 9, 2009

Launched as recently as March 2009, Ann Scott Design is a hand-illustrated stationery collection that revolves around the whimsical, playful and fashionable character named ”Ann Scott.”  Created by the stylish Deborah Koncan (a graduate of F.I.T. and Parsons) and using only recycled paper and petroleum-free inks.  You can find her entire line at The Papery in Philadelphia.

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WE LOVE: Patterns

June 2, 2009

Some fear them.  Some fear mixing them.  But we say, embrace PATTERNS in your designs!  They are regularly available and widely used on dinner tables with linens, napkins and on invitations, of course.  But at Evantine Design, we ask: why not use pattern on vases, candles, table bases, bar fronts, dance floors, table tops, pillows and other design props?  We love pattern when used boldly and in repetition throughout the design concept.   The photos below (thank you Jana Bannon at Mike Kehr Photography) of a recent bat mitzvah we did in May for the “coolest kid in town”, Arden Rose, at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue ,show how we used a PUCCI fabric in oh-so-many simple  but powerful ways. 

Sometimes the invitation sparks our creativity and sometimes it’s the other way around.  In this instance, the Pucci fabric we found and used as linen, also became the dominant design element used on all paper goods and stationery for the event.   We worked closely with talented local graphic designer, Diane Schaffer, to bring the papers to life with Pucci!  Di, in her usual clever fashion, managed to take the Pucci to new levels of coolness.  And the logos she designed for the event blew us away!

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WE LOVE: New Honeymoon Toy

May 26, 2009

No, not THAT kind of toy.

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The new waterproof, freeze-proof, shock-proof and surprisingly chic Canon Powershot D10 Digital Camera.  Out this month and awesome for our wedding clients heading out on their honeymoons around the globe.  Or, for anyone heading down the shore or skiing in Chile over the summer.  The camera holds up in underwater depths of 33 feet and in temps as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit.  Check it out at Canon.