Zen Genius News and Updates

Steem Away

2009-08-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

We recently completed an event for Stanley Steemer's Award Dinner.
Our fabulous Project Manager, Michael Bova, pulled together a beautiful and elegant evening of jewel tones and rich fabrics.
Thanks to all of our gurus who tied chairs bows, arranged flowers and assisted in making the event a smashing affair.

Business2Business

2009-06-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

ZenGenius recently became a member of the Columbus Chamber. For less than a month now we've been navigating their site and learning of all these wonderful networking opportunities offered to their members. You know us we love to go out and mingle.
After an introduction meeting with one of the chamber organizers we learned of an opportunity to attend what would be our first official Chamber Expo.

Held Tuesday the 23 at Nationwide Arena was the Chambers' Business2Business Expo.
Set up on what should have been the ice, we had two larger than life tables, one featuring our event planning and the other displaying a bit of ZG visual merchandising.

In less than a few hours Joe Baer, yes he created and installed the tablescape all by himself, had created another ZG masterpiece.

With Twizzlers at our side and our mannequins packing glue guns, we enlightened our new Chamber friends with the wonder of ZenGenius.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and introduced themselves. We look forward to attending more events like the Business2Business Expo in the future. Next time we'll give you all a heads up so you know when and where to find us.

PS-Tracy, our florist extraordinaire had created two amazing arrangements, which weren't around when we snapped these shots. They were displayed behind the black and white, round ZG graphics and they offered a great sense of height and scale to the middle of the tables.

They can still be found in the office for the next week or so, if you wish to stop in and see her handy work.

Erin and Danny sittin’ in a tree…

2009-06-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I went to the most amazing wedding and reception. It was not amazing due to copious amounts of calla lilies carried by bridesmaids, shiny pin tuck satin linens with perfectly placed complicated centerpieces, or a wedding cake that looked like a creation from The Ace of Cakes. Nor did the bride don a fabulous Vera Wang dress.

Their event had all of the beauty and attention to detail that one would expect on this special day with none of the pretense and over-spending that can come with such occasions. This was a true reminder that a wonderful wedding and reception does not have to break the bank.

Some of the most memorable details included:

The Programs: Printed on brown recycled paper that reflected the aesthetic style and eco-sensibilities of the couple.

The Ceremony: The couple had two friends sing and play guitar to a beautiful original song. Another friend officiated the ceremony. Both were meaningful and cost effective.

The Dress: The bride wore a stunning 1940’s style silver duchesse satin gown embellished with white feathers at the bottom of the dress. Think: modern flapper dress with gorgeous details.

The Bouquets: My favorite thing: Bunches of ORIGAMI PAPER FLOWERS were carried by the bride and her bridesmaids. Perfect example of thinking outside of the box. As a floral designer, I know exactly how expensive flowers can be. I thought this was the coolest idea. Made from recycled magazine pages, they were also eco-chic.

The Centerpiece & Favors: In the reception room, the first thing we saw were piñatas of all types as centerpieces on the tables. We had Godzilla. The table next to us had a monkey. After dinner, the couple told us to bust open the piñatas on the floor to find the party favors. To our utter delight, we found dozens of stick-on mustaches and thick caterpillar-like eyebrows inside. You could not hear the person next to you over the laughter of everyone in the room. We exchanged mustaches, changing from The Frenchman, to The Handlebar, to The Professor. With memories like those, who needs a take-home favor?

The Linens: Rather than splurging on satin or custom linens, they chose to use the basic white cotton linens that the venue provided, and rented colored napkins from a linen company. This is a great way to have an impact without blowing the budget.

The Cake: Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were chosen over a wedding cake for a cost savings and a cute modern departure from tradition.

The entire event was as lovely, authentic, and original as the couple themselves. They found the balance between making sure that their guests had a great time while also respecting their own bank account. A great way to start off a life together, I think! I will upload some photos here when I get them.

Consider some of these alternative ‘out of the box’ ideas and others for your next event and remember that ZenGenius can help with events of ANY budget- from $500 to $500,000. Call us to set up a consultation for a brainstorm for your event!

Evening of Hope Pictures

2009-06-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Two of the lovely event Co-Chairs, Brooke O'Neill and Sarah Windels Ziegler
Ice station inspired by the event invitation

The crudite and appetizers station

The entertainment tent from S&G Tent Rental with dynamic lighting my LIVE! Tech.

Evening of Hope at Easton Town Center

2009-04-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

For the sixth year, ZenGenius had the pleasure of assisting Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation in producing “Evening of Hope” benefiting the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

The Center for Child and Family Advocacy (CCFA) is a unique and first-of-it’s-kind organization that is serving as a National model. CCFA serves kids and families that have experienced sexual abuse. CCFA is a one-stop-shop for treatment, counseling, investigation and prosecution of sexual and violent crimes against children. It's the first, but CCFA partners everyday with organizations around the country to set up similar programs. It's truly a jewel in Columbus's crown. We are honored to support their critical works!

“Evening of Hope” is held at Bon Vie at Easton Town Center. We work with S&G Tent Rental to install a one-of-a-kind 3,000 sq. ft. modular tent on the patio and street in front of the restaurant. LIVE! Technologies provides A/V services and excellent sound for the band. This year, we were entertained by the body-moving sounds of Conspiracy, who truly rocked the house (tent)!

Guests dined on awesome nibbles from Bon Vie, including a beautiful raw bar by Paul Ahrens of Precise Ice. Please stay tuned for another update with pictures from the event. Again, we would like to thank everyone that makes this evening such a rousing success including event co-chairs, Rachel and Scott Friedman, Brooke and Brendan O’Neill, and Sarah Windels Ziegler. Without their efforts to promote the event, “Evening of Hope” would not be such a hit!

“Evening of Hope” is produced in conjunction with Abigail and Leslie Wexner with the generous support of Premier Sponsor Grange Insurance and Presenting Sponsors Easton Community Foundation and Bravo Development, Inc. With the support of Time Warner Cable.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Zen Genius celebrates Earth day 365 days a year.
We try our best to live a green lifestyle at our office by recycling our paper, ink cartridges and magazines. You can find us emailing each other often to cut down on paper consumption. We scheme up creative ways to keep items out of land fills. For instance, we recently found ourselves sitting on thousands of used votive holders with wax still crusted inside them. Instead of throwing them all away we asked our gurus to step forward and help us clean them. Now we have gleaming votives for years and years to come.
We are also proud to have completed our application for Columbus GreenSpot, a local effort encouraging individuals and companies to create a more sustainable city.
This month we even had one of our visual gurus, Tim Levan, create a green scape at the front window in our office building. Repurposing items found in our storage space Tim truelly turned trash into treasure.
They are little steps but it's the little things that count! What little steps are you taking?

Are we having fun yet?

2009-04-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Of course we are having fun! That's one of our favorite things about our unique and passionate team at ZenGenius. We enjoy having fun, bonding and growing together as a team.

One of the unique ways we work to improve our team synergy and purpose is by working with a Business Coach. We choose Victoria Vetere from Enlightened Life Coaching to work with us throughout the year to focus on improving communication, collaboration and defining and focusing on our goals. This has been a new experience for us all and a great chance to grow.

Victoria lead us through a workshop at the creative SPARK space in Downtown Columbus. What a wonderful space to explore our goals and have fun at the same time. Yes, this is work.

We took some time to focus our intentions, define our goals and express our individual and team goals. In the end we came out with a clearly focused set of objectives that everyone believed in.

We also had a chance to feed our faces and load up on all of the snacks and candy we wanted.

Working with Victoria has been a great experience. Not only has it been fun but it has also been a great reminder to balance our lives and remember we are here for a purpose. Remembering
to balance our work and travel with moments to allow the inspiration to find us as well.
Our clients often tell us we bring a sense of calm and reassurance to all of our projects.
That's certainly a wonderful compliment and our goal is to help our clients sleep better at night knowing that we are here to help and can accomplish miracles. We are a creative rock!

PROUDLY INTWITTERING THE "ZG FLY GIRLS"

2009-04-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

"Yes, we are sexy. But, we are not just pretty, plastic or fancy fiberglass girls.
We care deeply about our environment and the world around us."

ZenGenius is proud to intwitter the ZG Fly Girls. These
gorgeous Patina mannequins will be the new hosts and
spokesmodels for the ZenGenius Twitter site.
The ZG Fly Girls were selected from a range of mannequins, forms and other inanimate
but highly sophisticated freeze models and objects that turned out for the auditions.
The ZG Fly Girls were selected for their natural beauty, passion for fashion, pop culture and their whole hearted intention to use their new found voices to help improve our planet.
"It's not just to help all of the millions of mannequins and abstract forms that are out there,
it's to help all of the other dolls, appliances, furniture, toys, plants, animals and even the people that co-exist together. We believe if we everyone continues talking about and believing in changing the way we do things we can improve the way we ultimately function and live together on the Earth and within our vast Universe" stated Sophia, the wisest Fly Girl.
You can follow the ZG FlyGirls at http://twitter.com/zengenius

"Essentially we are pleased that mannequins are finally finding a voice and getting some credit. We have nothing against the Old Navy mannequins that are receiving all of the press as of late. We just feel that if you are going to use the power to communicate you should focus on working to make the world better and educate the people that do not get it. Yes, we are hotter than the Old Navy mannequins. And they may have won the popularity contest and have a larger audience and all. But we are still Fly!" added Envia, the slightly bitter and jealous fly girl.

The ZG Fly Girls are classic Patina mannequins from one of the worlds greatest manufacturers of fashion mannequins, forms and decoratives. Check them out:
http://www.patinav.com/

Mannequins across the world are doing their part to speak up. New mannequins are being introduced made from new materials and packed and shipped with eco-friendly materials.
Mannequins made from Soy Beans?
http://grenekersolutions.com/green.cfm

Lightweight, affordable and recyclable mannequins made in the USA from!
http://www.ozmannequins.com/

Want to learn more about mannequins? Visit the VM+SD website and do a search on Mannequins. You'll discover hundreds of articles and vendors!
http://vmsd.com/search/node/mannequins

Homeless mannequins? Yes, this is a growing concern. There are thousands of homeless and miscared for mannequins all across the world. Although mannequins have ended up in the landfills for centuries that is no longer an option. Mannequins have often been bruttally compacted, shredded and even tossed and left in dumpsters. This madness has to end. This is an easy solution to keep another substantial item from filling our landfills.
If you know of a homeless, abused or orphaned mannequin looking for a home. Drop us a note or send us a picture to: info@zengenius.com or call (614) 220-9040.

Don't forget to follow the ZG Fly Girls! Twitter.com/zengenius

ZG Celebrates 10 Years - With a Little Toast

2009-01-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

Visual created by ZenGenius co Founder: Paul Cook

"Welcome to the WONDERful World of ZenGenius!"
Exclaimed the Patina V mannequin generously provided on loan from
Victorias Secret. She stood proudly chic-ly dressed in a halter top created from
locally produced Wonder Bread Bags by ZG Co founder, Paul Cook. The lovely
model accessorized herself for the evening with the signature "little toasts" ZenGenius
used to invite guests to the event.

The Invite was co-created with LabelBrandGraphics.com and the ZG Team!
Little toasts were hand glued and delivered with 95% crumb free success.
Envelopes were hand addressed by the HandwritingDiva.com

On January 23, 2009 ZenGenius celebrated their 10th anniversary
with a little toast at the Wexner Center for the Arts- Black Box.
This is an amazing venue tucked into the Wexner and as you can tell from the name
this is a great space to transform for any event.
The ZenGenius team created an atmosphere that was welcoming, energizing and showcased both the Event Design talent but also the Visual Merchandising strength that makes this a unique and innovative company. The Wex team worked hard to help set the evening an layered the venue with perfect lighting. The mood was set and pre-determined a special night.

Sherri Gelden from the Wexner Center welcomed ZenGenius and introduced Joe Baer for the special toast at 7:30. With glasses raised the crowd listened on the verge of every word:
"Thank you Sherri and the Wexner Center- the adorable Elaine, Claudia, Andy, Jack, Jeff, Chris and the whole team at the Wex. It's an honor to celebrate in an institution that wholeheartedly embraces creativity and the arts. To share an evening with Andy Warhol is unbelievable and we hope he is here with us in spirit this evening.
If this were a formal toast and we were in London this evening we might begin the toast by raising our glasses with a "God Save the Queen" (laughter and comments from crowd) but we are here in the USA and this is also the ending of a historic week so it's also appropriate to raise our glass to include the head of state, President Obama. May each of our individual actions help to make his words a reality as we usher in a new era. This is also a new era for us at ZenGenius. Tonight we toast the past. The accomplishments, daily lessons and victories we have earned. Tonight we toast the present. This moment that brings all of us together tonight to celebrate and live. Tonight we toast the future. A future that allows each of us to use our talent and gifts to bring more peace, beauty, harmony and visual inspiration to benefit all.
This is a toast of thanks. Thank you to each of you. Thank you Paul. Thank you to my family. Thank you Mom. And thank you to all of the inbeleivably talented people that reek of individuality and creativity and make up the incredible team at ZenGenius! Thank you ZenGenius! Cheers!"

The champagne poured from the champagne bar and guests were invited to embellish their flute with a classic sugar cube, strawberry, orange quarter, pommagranite seeds or a stick of cholcolate. Trays of an assortment of mini toast hors d'ouvres were passed and the buffet featured a modern crudite display, a gourmet cheese board and a tasting wall with spoons featuring different delights.

Event Source lit up the evening by supplying great lounge furniture with remote control LED cubes and an LED dj booth where Rainer Zeihm kept the evening hopping with a hip bollywood influence that ignited the diverse crowd of clients, friends, family and ZG gurus. Event Source provided beautiful black candelabras lit with frosted LED votives, great custom linens and ghost chairs to set the stage at the Black Box.
Another key element to the beautiful look were the flowers created by Tracy Elzy and Kim Downs from ZenGenius. Beautiful arrangements adorned the bars and the chic arrangements were added to ZG logo toasters to reinforce the "toast" theme.

Custom Linens from Event Source and toaster florals by Tracy Elzy and Kim Downs from ZenGenius

Live Technologies gifted a lazer cut "ZG" that was featured behind the bar on an Event Source bookcase and also as guests entered by the Wonder Bread lady. Thank you Bonz! Amanda! Rusty! and Sean!!!! You rock!

LazerCut Foam letter from Live Tech. White Bookcase from Event Source
Modern Champagne flutes from Lasting Impressions. Color phasing LEDs from ZenGenius
Design: Matthew Buccilla and Michael Bova, ZenGenius

Lasting Impressions also provided an amazing new line of lounge furniture for events as well as our favorite flute! Lasting also provided a plate that delighted the guests....a plate that has a spot for your glass to sit while you eat. Love it!!!

Lounge Furniture now available from Lasting Impressions.

One final exciting element that added to the pace of the evening was the first annual ZenGenius Iron Merchant Challenge. Six ZG gurus competed to create a display using a mannequin with limited time, limited resources using a special ingredient: a little toast! Guests were then invited to vote on their favorite.
Brain Duran and Barbara Joy led team one creating "Ginger Toast"
Heather Glass Oakes and Joe Lamother led team two and their creation "The Toast Genie"
and the third team of Jen Graven and Angela Siciliano created "Lil' Red Garbage Hood"
The race was close and it came down to a difference of just two votes! Team three Jen Graven and Angela Siciliano were victorious. They proudly sported tiaras, sashes and sceptors! Congratulations!!!!

Iron Merchant Contenders:
Team One- Brian Duran, Barbara Joy "Ginger Toast"
Team Two- Heather Glass Oaks, Joe Lamothe "Ten Years of Wishes!" The Toast Genie!
Team Three- Jen Graven and Jen Siciliano "Lil' Red Garbage Hood"

"Ginger Toast" Brian Duran and Barbara Joy
"The Toast Genie" Heather Glass Oakes and Joe Lamothe

After the champagne poured for a bit and guests were giggling we introduced a hot dog cart with chic little hot dogs and gourmet toppings like mango chutney and spicy ketchup to help balance the alcohol. Our vegetarian friends were also delighted to find out that veggie dogs were included for them as well. Consideration of every guest...another ZenGenius value.
Cameron Mitchell did an amazing job with both the food and the service. The staff was observant and the guests commented on the great service. The Wexner Center bartenders were on top of the night keeping the glasses full and the energy hopping!
Thank you for joining us...for a little toast!

The pictures are rolling in. So stay tuned to see if your mug made it to any of the shots.

First, Thank you to the incredible photography of Ray Lavoie. He captured many beautiful faces and wonderful moments. How does he make everyone look so damn good? If you need a professional photographer or great event photographer. Ray is your man.
Follow this link:
http://raylavoie.com/zengenius_2009/

Mitch Lambert wrote:

Little Red Garbage Hood was looking over the evening from the balcony, with her “first place” smirk on her face and commanding respect from her two runner-ups.

The glow of the ZG logo was like a full moon against a darkened sky and it sparkled in her eyes. The heavy bass of the music pounding deep into her mind thinking ”..not even Andy Warhol can steal my attitude!” However, the night did not belong to her, as she had so conceived, but to an entrepreneur of ten years. So, she scoffed her head and conceded the floor to the “real” celebrity as he took the microphone.

Mr. Zen Genius proceeded to thank his many artist for their contribution to ZG. Smiles and laughter were abound with his “God save the Queen…” statement. A toast for all with raised glasses was the conclusion of his admiration for his friends and family. The tribute was filled with hugs, smiles and champagne that left an everlasting impression. Still, Little red Garbage Hood, with all her self-center narcissism , would not turn her head to acknowledge the evening of Zen Genius. (What a Bitch!)

"Lil' Red Garbage Hood" created by Jen Graven and Angela Siciliano official
winners of the 1st Annual 2009 ZG Iron Merchant Competition!

ZG Holiday Cards

2008-12-23T18:37:00.000-08:00

The 2008 ZenGenius Holiday Card was designed by Paul Cook. This years card honors the inner child that comes out in all of us during the holidays. The card combines two of our favorite things: art and nature. The card is a coloring card encouraging everyone to color in or out of the lines...whatever your belief. Wooden branch colored pencils from Cultural Intrigues were also included in each card. Everyone is invited to send in a picture of the holiday card they colored.
Enjoy the holidays. Peace to the World!

Colored pencils by Cultural Intrigue

The "Joy" Card

The Retro Card

Two or three wooden pencils were sent with
each of the holiday cards.

Windows in New York- Window shopping for Holiday Spirit

2008-12-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

I try to find the holiday spirit while still working in the retail industry. But seriously, when you start think about Holiday for 2009 well...now...it's sometimes hard to muster up the holiday spirit when it comes time to deck your walls and don your gay apparel. Inspiration and spirit usually ignite for me when I tromp down Madison Ave, Park and Lex after midnight to see the holidays in their full and fabulous glory....the Holiday windows in New York City. This is truly where I get inspired to give a little extra or put a little tinsel somewhere to show how excited I am about this time of year. We've all been pounded with the economy from every angle and I had no idea what to expect when I walked down the streets. Would I be left in awe at the outrageous and genius efforts of the towns most fortunate window dressers? Would I have a moment of pure belief that leaves me with no doubt that there is a Santa and he will bring me everything on my list from Bergdorfs, Barneys, Tiffanys and Sony. Will I ever make it on the good list and wake up one Christmas morning to find all of these gifts beautifully wrapped underneath the tree? There are many windows worthy of being put on the extraordinarily good list and I hope those merchants are seeing the benefits of that in traffic and sales.
In the "Takes my breath away" category Bergdorf Goodman once again with a nod to the seasons left me gasping after a "Wow" and an "Oh My God." Lavish and lush with exquisite attention to every detail down to the ruffles on the white monkey butler jackets. A true celebration of nature inspiring beauty and fashion.

I'm including some of the photos I took. However... if you want to see some real photography that will blow you out of this world hop on over to photographer Richard Cadan's site: www.richardcadan.com/holiday08.html Richard has created a Holiday window slide show featuring the best windows in the city. His photos are magical and capture all the great details and dramatic lighting. Check out the Stueben Glass ornament tree! Wow!

Standing firmly in the "Fun and Fab" windows the architectural elements and whimsy tongue and cheek interpretations all while standing in a foot of real plastic snow were the Juicy Couture windows. The only thing that could have made them better would have been to hire Fergie as a live Freeze Model to gather a crowd.

Also in the Fun and Fab category but also add Fabulous and Fantastic! The windows at Barneys. The Hippy Holiday theme was translated into a visual feast. I always prefer to visit the windows late at night after the store is closed and the traffic is low. This year we ventured out after seeing Mary Poppins. It was a practically perfect evening with unexpectedly good last minute seats that offered us a peek up Mary's skirt as she flew over our heads at the finale of the show, followed by a quick subway trip to the wonderful windows at Barney's to start our window tour. The Hippy Holiday windows celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Peace sign and . A miraculous collaboration between designers, window dressers, artists and students working to create a statement about Peace. Yes, the message is strong and more timely than ever and the details and cleverness were exquisite in every imaginable way. Yet a part of me still yearned for more. The big shock! It was a positive message of course and hard to contrast with shock factor but I would have enjoyed seeing a naked love in or some of this years celebs that have reclaimed inner peace (Brittany, Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke)...or a politically correct/incorrect pardadie with President Bush or President Elect Obama... I know, disgusting. Right? Still. I did enjoy the windows thoroughly and spent a good amount of time exploring every visual detail. Each designer interpreted the Peace symbol and the artwork from the children at Harlem elementary. Even late at night and into the morning the windows stop pedestrians and cars as people stop to explore and photograph the windows. (PS- If you want really great photos of the windows it's best to go at night when the reflections are lower. I usually do not use a flash.)
Bravo Barneys and Peace in the New Year!

Fun, Fab, Flawless and Funny? Anthropolige. With their tangled lights, tinsel takeover and vintage ornaments the windows made people passing by laugh and shout comments about their own christmas memories about tinsel and tangled madness. Interactive? In a way. The way they engaged the audience and provoked from people.

I believe. I believe in Macy's. For two years in a row they left me jaw dropped photo/video crazy just like everyone!!!
This year....more later....

more later......blogging takes time doesn't it?

Gallery ZenGenius December Group Show

2008-12-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

The December group show at the ZenGenius Gallery is rounding
out the year with a fabulous show. This completes the first year
of trying out the Gallery concept down the alley from High Street at
44 East Prescott. This non-traditional gallery space has been used to feature
various ZenGenius gurus and friends of ZG throughout the year. Each month the front two rooms are transformed to create an exciting show.
The Short North is known as the Arts District and has always catered to a bohemian and unexpected art culture. Over the years the Short North has evolved and comments are often made that the Short North does not have as many galleries as it once has. There are actually still eighteen galleries within the district and the Gallery ZenGenius brings back some of the unexpected experiences that visitors to the Short North are looking for.
The Gallery is open on Gallery Hop evenings from 6PM-10PM or by appointment (614) 220-9040.
The Gallery ZenGenius will also be open on the evening of December 20th for the first Gallery (S)Hop event 6PM-10PM for all of your last minute gift ideas.
Just take a look at the talented artists that are in the December ZG Show.
Devon Palmer, Paul Cook, Megan Green, Mildred Elzy, Brian Duran, Stephanie Bair-Garant, Mike Boich, Lisa McLymont, Laura Clarke, Eve Warnock, Jay Moffet and Joe Baer

International Retail Store Design Competition

2008-11-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Every year the Retail Design Industry (RDI) hosts an International Retail Design Competition in which stores and design teams from all around the world submit entries. This year, Joe Baer from ZenGenius, was chosen to be one of the Judges to select winners in several categories. The judging was held at the Macys World Headquarters in Cincinnati. Winners will be announced in January, 2009. Winners will be published in VM+SD (Visual Merchandising and Store Design) Magazine.
http://www.visualstore.com/index.php/channel/11/id/12438

Iron Merchant III

2008-11-20T13:45:00.001-08:00

Zen Genius participates again @ IRDC 2007 in Atlanta! For two years now Joe Baer and the team have lead the IRON MERCHANT CHALLENGE at the International Retail Design Conference. The Iron Merchant Challenge is an interactive visual merchandising session that inspires and challenges leaders in the retail industry to use their creativity in a hands on visual merchandising exercise. The Iron Merchant Challenge is a wonderful ice breaker and out of the box conference session that goes beyond the power point class room into a fun and energizing experience. Each session begins with an inspirational presentation and then participants are divided into teams and led by a leader in the industry. Teams compete and attendees vote for the winner. Every year the competition gets more exciting! Who will be the next Iron Merchant?
www.IRDConline.com
http://www.irdconline.com/speakers

Iron Merchant 2006: Bevan Bloemendaal, Timberland
Iron Merchant 2007: David Kepron, spg3 (pictured)
Iron Merchant 2008: Karen Massey, Macys

SHORT NORTH HIGH BALL HALLOWEEN SLASHER!

2008-11-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM SHORT NORTH'S HIGHBALL HALLOWEEN 2008
It's believed shortly after the costume contest winners were announced an outraged, losing, poorly dressed Drag Queen took off her broken and very sharp stiletto and began slashing innocent people that were simply watching the contest.

Ouch! Joe L had just finished jamming with the Smashing Pumpkins
and made his way all the way to High Ball in the Short North when the horror began.
In lieu of this most unfortunate and inconceivable incident Joe L was awarded the ZenGenius Halloween Contest. Congratulations Joe! Everyone should know that Joe L miraculously recovered overnight. Must be that freaky self healing power like that girl, Claire, and now that villain, Syler, from Hero's have. Whew!
Other ZG contest contenders included the infamous !SockMonkey! who was disqualified for obscene bribes; the lovely and inspiring Priscilla and the KING, two very, very scary characters with unusually odd skin conditions and protruding horns; one pecking and peculiarly popular Chicken girl, the provacative and beautiful Fantasy Bhuto spirit, a Yipey! and Energetic! troupe of fiesty, yet handsome, well dressed Mariachi Band, WHAT THE HELL? KELLY and even an Elvis Bear made a brief, albeit "hot" appearance.
Happy Halloween everyone! Thanks to all of you that celebrated!

ZG Represents at Miss Ohio 2008!

2008-06-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

Not as a contestant, of course! Using his talents to bring more beauty and poise into our world, Matthew B, from the ZG team was one of six judges in this years Miss Ohio Scholarship Competition. Matthew was honored and proud to be a part of this exciting event. Although we all know our Matthew could have taken the sash and the crown with grace and ease, the lovely Karissa Martin was awarded the title Miss Ohio. Congratulations Karissa! If you are interested in booking Miss Ohio to attend an event email: missohio@missohio.org
If you are interested in booking Mr B to design an event email: info@zengenius.com
I'm sure Matthew was a gentleman and a fair judge but according to one bloggers account it wasn't just his wit and charm the women appreciated...
"I guarantee the contestants are all a-twitter about how distracting this guy was in the interview room... :)" abbybollenbacher.blogspot.com

After serving three years in Germany with the United States Army, Matthew Buccilla returned to his childhood home of Columbus, Ohio in 1994. He now combines his extensive background in hospitality management, training in the culinary arts and strong eye for design in his new role as a Creative and Brand Designer for the globally recognized Special Events and Visual Merchandising firm ZenGenius. His designs have literally set the stage for Fashion Shows for Columbus College of Art Design, celebrated the Grand Opening of Dublin Methodist Hospital and framed the welcome of Claude Monet's 'Waterlillies' to the Columbus Museum of Art. He has a Green Code of Standards that guide and influence each and every design.