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This Beauty Conference Totally Aced Planning Their Educational Event
As the host of an educational event your focus, of course, is to make sure attendees receive a valuable experience full of new, insightful learning opportunities, but that doesn't mean they can't have fun along the...
Weddings | Tips + Advice
photo by Alissa Noelle Photography

As the host of an educational event your focus, of course, is to make sure attendees receive a valuable experience full of new, insightful learning opportunities, but that doesn't mean they can't have fun along the way! 

Take it from the team at The Ruby Street who recently hosted Beauty 101, an afternoon of beauty tutorials and activations at the historic Highland Park. The event design, inspired by summer fashion hues and early 90s art deco, instantly let attendees know this was not their typical convention center event. 

We caught up Sabrina Zeile of Heliotype Creative and the event designer, Abby Pendergrast, who shared all their best tips that they utilized during the fun-filled event. From craft cocktails to CBD massages, here are all the ways to take your educational event from a boring lecture to a fun, interactive party.

Reporter: The Venue Report

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Let the Concept Grow as You Plan

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“The Ruby Street, a creative event space in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park, came to us with a concept for a unique community showcase event. Beauty 101 would feature tutorials led by local beauty experts, along with fun interactive activities like massages and facials.” – Sabrina Zeile

“After chatting with friends about being too overwhelmed for beauty conferences, the idea sparked that we'd scour high and low for our favorite local LA beauty experts and gathered our group together in an intimate and relaxed setting to pamper and learn about the latest beauty trends.” – Abby Pendergrast
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Cater to Multiple Levels of Expertise

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“We carefully curated a team of local beauty experts and established different topics relating to current beauty trends. Nikki Parish, Esthetician and Makeup Artist at Resting Witch Facials, discussed How to Glow: basics of skin and a routine with tips on how to activate that glow; while Celebrity Makeup Artist, Courtney Hart, taught Contour and Highlight for Real Life: understanding the why for each and breaking down the best tricks for achieving natural results.

We also brought on Odacité to teach guests about the gua sha beauty trend and how to incorporate this ancient ritual into their at-home routine. Each topic was designed to be general enough that attendees of all different skin types and knowledge levels could relate while going into enough detail for everyone to walk away feeling like they learned new skills to apply at home.” – Sabrina Zeile

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Pull Inspiration from the Event Space

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“When I design for an event, I always like to create a mood board for the look and feel. We pulled colors from the architecture of the venue and then turned it up a notch with 90s inspired elements like out of this world florals, vintage inspired caboodles, and a custom photobooth created by local artist Erin Elyse Long.” – Abby Pendergrast
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Create a Cohesive Vendor Floor Plan

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“When organizing the vendors, we started by creating a layout to ensure there would be a good flow throughout the space. Once the layout is finalized, it’s important to create a production timeline in order to stay organized for coordinating load-in, load-out, and for keeping track of flow during the actual event. Communication is truly key for making sure all of the vendors know where to be and when, and what to bring with them.” – Sabrina Zeile
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Organize Multiple Activities to Choose From

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“It’s important to make sure there is variety and that every activation is both varied in style and spread out in a way that allows people to flow through the space. Guests tend to prefer being able to chose their own adventure and offering a wide variety ensures that there is something for everyone. Oh and good cocktails and music never hurts!” – Abby Pendergrast
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Design a Menu that Complements Your Itinerary

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“The last thing we want at any of our events are hungry guests! Since we weren’t having a seated dinner, Hank and Bean suggested offering Middle Eastern hors d’oeuvres as a light bite option. We also offered a matcha station from Tenzo Tea for a healthy energy boost and coconuts from CoCo & Co to keep guests hydrated in the summertime. It was important to us that the food and drink integrated well with our theme, which we accomplished by offering light, fresh, and flavorful items. And in order to make sure we had enough service staff on hand, we hired our go-to, Tend.” – Sabrina Zeile

“People love a casual option for an educational event. Since we had various stations and activations, we chose light bites that are healthy and easy to snack on!” – Abby Pendergrast
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Create a Lasting Impression

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"Gift bags are a great way to make a final impression and keep guests reminiscing on their experience for months to come! We provided nostalgic caboodle goodie bags from Ban.do, along with fun items from our vendors and hair products from Benjamin Salon. One lucky guest also got to take home a $100 Gift Card from GBY Beauty.” – Sabrina Zeile
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Vendor Credits

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Venue: The Ruby Street | Event Design: Abby Pendergrast | PR Agency: Heliotype Creative | Beauty Experts: Nikki Parish & Courtney Hart | Gua Sha Expert + Activation: Odacité | Bar: The Know Where Bar | Coconuts: CoCo & Co | Matcha: Tenzo Tea | Catering: Hank and Bean | CBD Massages: The MOTA Group | Intro to Oils Activation: Heavy Oil | Lash Extensions: IRIS + WEST | Freckle Bar: Freck | Tarot Reader: Tarot By Sophia | Installation Artist: Erin Elyse Long | Photographer: Alissa Noelle Photography | DJ: Supermoon DJs | Florist: Going Steady Studios | Servers: Tend | Rentals: La Piñata

Products:

YOLA Mezcal | AMASS | Apothecanna | Ban.do | Benjamin Salon | GBY Beauty

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