Great party at ARC The Hotel

I'm really happy I got a chance to attend the Rapture Ball last week to celebrate the North American launch of THANN all-natural hair, skin and body care, as well as 10th anniversary of ARC The.Hotel. There was a great turnout. Over 400 people (according to THANN's blog) including TV personalities such as David Clemmer from Style by Jury,Shannon Kook-Chun and Cory Lee from Degrassi, as well as R&B Singer JDiggz.


The menu prepared by the ARC's executive chef Jason Duffy was Thai-inspired as a nod to the product line. It's too bad I didn't get to try everything, but the mango salad and the soup shooter were really good :) There were also delicious mini cupcakes from Thimble Cakes and plenty of signature cocktails inspired by the THANN collection. Live models were wearing THANN clothing sold in their high-end boutique in Asia.



The event was presented by Blackbook Lifestyle and sponsored by Porter Airlines, Effen Vodka, Bombay Sapphire, Alize, Bacardi, The Small Winemakers of Ontario, Steam Whiltle Brewies, VOSS Water, Angie's Models and Talent, Models International Management, BODE Spa. Consequently the gift bag had awesome items and gift certificates!


I was happily surprised with this event and am planning to check out the ARC's Lounge during their Thursday Grey Goose Cocktail Hour at some point. Hopefully the DJ will be back, I really liked his set.



Check out more photos of the event here, here and here.

Trends in Design : Night 1

The first night of Trends in Design had a great turn out despite the rain, the crazy traffic and the construction mess on Sussex street. The night began with an introduction by David Wex of Urban Capital, then canada.com editor Lara Ceroni spoke about the fashion trends for fall 2010 and beyond, followed by a short fashion show by Schad + Shadblü with great music (I just wish the fashion show lasted a little longer).


David Wex, who came up with the idea, is hoping to repeat this event on an annual basis and expand to other areas of design such as automobile design. I can see this taking off in Ottawa. Wouldn't it be cool if in a couple years from now well known experts from all over the world would come to discuss various design topics with the public here in Ottawa? I'm glad to see this happening in Ottawa.



Lara Ceroni, the editor for ellecanada.com was fun to listen too and has a great sense of humor. The fashion trends this fall are Restraint, Cocooning, 50s Inspired Styling, Neo-Lady, Minimalism, Rebellion, Smart Shopping and Military. She showed some examples for each and explained what it entailed. The future of fashion and is likely to be centered around two main themes: The "Art of silence" and the "Flight of fancy". It was very interesting. There's still a chance to hear Lara's presentation in Toronto on the 20th of January if you missed the first one.


At the end of the event, there was a neat little gift bag on our way out including the latest edition of Azure Magazine, the latest edition of Ottawa Shopping Magazine, a rebate letter from Schad + Shadblü, a gift certificate to SAAB Salon Spa and a ticket to the upcoming gift show.


I also had a chance to chat with some people from Urban Capital and Central, a great bunch with great plans for the future. I'm looking forward to the next evening with George Dark, Head of Ottawa's Downtown Urban Design Strategy who will be talking about designing cities.

source: Urban Capital