A very special thank you

I’m writing this blog on the road. Kara and I are on a quick business trip, and as usual, things are going a zillion miles an hour. But often in the last few days, my thoughts have been with The Honolulu Advertiser, and the people who have become our friends.

Two and a half years ago, when Lissa and I met Lee Webber for the first time, we were a tiny business with a ton of determination and not a lot of history. He listened to our vision, asked a few questions and while he didn’t say much, from that day he put his support behind us. As we’ve grown, the Honolulu Advertiser has been there, and I cannot say how much that has meant to us.

With his decision, Lee and the Honolulu Advertiser were not just supporting a fledgling local business. Lee also became a friend and mentor whose door was always open for me to get advice from and bounce ideas off. The sale of the Advertiser means Lee is retiring, but to me he will always remain a friend and mentor.

Clint Schroeder, Tom Kunz and his wife Amy, Mark and Sara Platte all have a special place in our hearts as well. In the ad department, Stella and Dora have been more than patient with our many requests for deadline extensions—and believe me, this has been appreciated!

For Lissa especially, having left the Advertiser’s IT department to start up RSVPstyle with me, the end of the paper hits close to home. Like a lot of people, neither of us would ever have believed that our hometown would one day lose a newspaper that not only we, but our parents and grandparents grew up reading. And like a lot of people, we look forward to what the new paper will bring.

As the Advertiser merges with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin into a new Honolulu Star-Advertiser, we want to say a very heartfelt and personal thank you to all our friends at the Advertiser. From all of us at RSVPstyle, best wishes and good luck to everyone.

All about scale and proportion

I am not completely packed yet and we’re leaving in a few hours for our first trip to the Big Apple. I’m so excited!

Darrell, Nicki and I are headed to the New York City Wine & Food Festival. It’s going to be a short trip because Nicki’s going back to school on Monday. We’ve got tickets to the sold-out Burger Bash that Rachael Ray is hosting. I love Rachael Ray, I’m so excited! And we’re going to Godiva’s SWEET tasting, hosted by Duff Goldman.

We’ll see all of the sights—the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty—and we scored tickets to the show Wicked. And with all the things I’m doing with Macy’s, I’m looking forward to seeing their flagship store on 34^th Street with the original wooden escalators.

So I was deleting pictures to clear space on my memory card, and I came across some from Sacred Hearts Academy’s 100-year gala last month. It’s a great visual tip to share with you all. When they asked me to design the stage, I thought, are you kidding? I’ve never done a stage before! But it’s for my alma mater, and Lee Webber of the Honolulu Advertiser was the honorary chair—how could I say no?

Anyone who’s been to our workshops knows it’s about layering colors and textures and considering scale and proportion. For a 24 x 18 foot stage at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, I was going to need a lot of scale and proportion.

I designed these tall gold planters with cascading yellow popcorn orchids and asparagus and other ferns to give them height and width proportional to the size of the stage and ballroom. With a Batman-like light shining on the backdrop drapes, we could create any color backdrop.

When people first walked in, the backdrop was amber. Throughout the evening it changed: With Cathy Foy entertaining, you saw lavender, and with Jason Segundo it was royal blue.

Boy, the RSVPstyle fundamentals sure do come in handy! It was a great event for a great cause.

Anyway, I know you’ve probably forgotten about Top Design, but I hope you’ll forgive me for this delay. I have to say I agree with the judges—they picked the right winner, who as you know by now is Antonio.

Poor Dan! Overall, he is the better designer. He knocked the final challenge, designing an entire home for a family, out of the park. I thought his house was completely pulled together. What won the contest for Antonio was his hosting ability—after all, they were looking for the next Design Star, not designer. But Dan has a huge future, and Antonio’s going to be fun to watch.

Gotta get back to my packing. I’m looking forward to a great first trip to New York City, but I’ll check back with you real soon … promise!