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Newsletter
October 2016
Volume 6 Issue 2
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Jump into Fall with ZenGenius!
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At ZenGenius, 2016 has been a busy year, filled with an office move, expansion of our sourcing service, and the welcoming of new clients. In addition to several exciting special events, we've also had the opportunity to
merchandise all product displays for the 2016 Avon Repfest
conference in Las Vegas, develop new merchandising concepts for Value City Furniture, and travel around the Unites States doing logo installations for the New York-based fashion company, DKNY.
As the leaves begin to change, and the air cools, we can't wait to see what the rest of 2016 has in store for us!
This fall we are giving many thanks to our hard working employees who continue to bring forth their best work each and every day. We'd also like to thank our wonderful clients, artists, family, and friends who support us and allow us to continue to grow and succeed. Fall is here and we're ready to leave summer behind!
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Zen Spotlight
Congratulations to our Zen Guru, Andrey Regalado for being selected for our Zen Spotlight!
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IRDC 2016
Celebrating the 11th anniversary of the annual Iron Merchant Challenge at the International Retail Design Conference!
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NEW Global Litter Campaign
ZenGenius has started a new global litter campaign called G'litter Done. Together, let's clean up mother nature and G'litter Done!
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Also in this Issue:
Special Congratulations, Global Litter Campaign, Merchandising Training, 2016 Avon Repfest, Mannequin Mapping, Zen Zoo Day, Feeling the Love, Bohemian Dreaming, GIFs by the Foley Brothers, and Zen Pet!
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Andrey Regalado is a talented Visual and Event Merchandiser, and has been with us since October of 2013. This past year, Andrey excepted a full-time contract position with White Barn Candle as a Visual Merchandising Coordinator. There's no better way to say it, Andrey is amazing and we are so fortunate to have him on our team!
My inspiration:
I'm inspired by so much around me! Keeping an eye on industry trends and future forecast helps fuel my vision. I look at my retail and marketing competitors, see what their seasonal trend is and how I can take that to the next level-making big, bigger. I'm constantly challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone and find elements that can be transferred to marketing or visual merchandising for White Barn. I love working with bright colors and playing with these to create different emotions like bright and bubbly or using pastels for relaxed and mellow moods. My inspiration for these things ultimately drives my creative career.
My favorite part about working with ZG:
So many! I appreciate that I've been able to get exposure to different aspects of visual merchandising and event planning in order to build on my transferable skills-this has helped me become more aware of details and planning. Sometimes projects can get messy (aka glitter), and there can be many late nights and early mornings, but there is always the satisfaction of completing a project and making a client happy for their investment in ZenGenius.
A favorite project/experience:
One of the projects I look forward to every year is the holiday installation at LBrands. This time of year is a rare occasion when all Zens get to work together-where we all get to collaborate and catch up right before the holiday craziness. The long hours and hard work really allows team growth and camaraderie to cut through!
Random fun facts about me:
I was born in Lima, Peru and went to school there for a few years as I was growing up. I've also lived in LA. I graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in fashion and retail studies while specializing in product development. My most favorite random fact happened last month at the Made in America music festival. Rihanna was so close to me and Sasha Obama was standing next to me during her performance-I died.
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Left to Right: Mindi, Lindsay, Amanda, and Meg
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Congratulations to our extremely talented Zen, Greg Galvin, on starting a full-time Visual Merchandising position with Bath and Body Works!
Greg Galvin has been with ZenGenius since December of 2014 and has been on a full-time contract with Bath and Body Works since July of 2015. Greg, it has been a pleasure having you on our team and thank you for all your hard work!
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Congratulations to our previous project manager, Lindsa
y Acker, for joining t
he Wexner Cent
er fo
r
the Arts. Thank you for all your hard work and going above and beyond to ensure 100% client satisfaction!
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2016 Iron Merchant Challenge at IRDC
International Retail Design Conference
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A few weeks ago we had the privilege of leading the Iron Merchant Challenge for the 11
th
year in a row at the International Retail Design Conference in beautiful Montreal, Canada. This year's theme was the trash challenge, with colored garbage bags as the secret ingredient. We used athletic mannequins from Mondo Mannequins to represent the 2016 Rio Olympics and leftover materials donated from JPMA to symbolize all the trash that is left behind and forgotten about in Mother Nature's room: Earth.
We were inspired by the Rio 2016 Olympics, last year's IRDC keynote speaker, Christian Davies who encouraged everyone to do something good for the world, as well as artist, Natalie Coulter, who uses trash to make powerful window displays.
Having only 60 minutes to create a powerful display, each team did an incredible job, but there could only be one winning team. With that being said, congratulations to the Red Team, led by David Kepron, for taking home another win for the second year in a row! And another congratulations to all of the participants - thank you for participating and we cannot wait to see you next year! Thank you to Richard Cadan Photography, Josh Quinn, and the team at VMSD and IRDC for capturing the fun.
Special thanks to our vendors and partners that made this possible.
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| Red team led by David Kepron |
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NEW! Global Litter Campaign: G'litter Done
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When announcing the details of the 2016
Iron Merchant Challenge, ZenGenius introduced the launch of our new Global Litter Campaign, G'litter Done. G'litter done is a multi-faceted campaign with a powerful mission: Pick up litter around the world and take better care of Mother Nature.
Our goal is to teach everyone to pick up litter when they see it and to make art out of the trash they find.
Be a part of our Global Litter Campaign by getting involved and donating at G'litter Done. Your contributions will directly support this grass roots campaign and help cover expenses needed for implementing local and global litter pick up parties. Together, let's G'litter Done!
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Need Some Merchandising Training?
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This past August, Joe had the pleasure of giving an interactive presentation to the managers and directors of the thrift store chain, St. Vincent de Paul Society on the basics of visual merchandising.
Before giving the presentation, Joe reviewed current store photos, floor plans and input from the SVDP team so he could create a customized presentation, specifically for the SVDP audience. Attendees participated in hands-on merchandising activities so they could apply their newly learned skills throughout their stores.
Need some merchandising training or someone to inspire your team? Contact ZenGenius today and we'll prepare a presentation created to your specific needs!
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Avon, the direct selling company in beauty, household, and personal care categories, hired ZenGenius to assist with merchandising for their 2016 conference, where they celebrate all of their representatives. We were thrilled to get this job, and sent a team of our visual merchandisers to Las Vegas, Nevada to merchandise all product displays, from makeup, to skincare, to shoes, to more! The conference was a huge success and we were so grateful to provide support for Avon's merchandising needs!
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Mannequin Mapping by OBLSK
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At ZenGenius, we are always looking for new and innovative concepts to introduce to our clients, which is why we have partnered with OBLSK to explore the use of 3D video production mapping.
OBLSK consists of a team of artists, designers, and inventors who come together to create unforgettable marketing campaigns via interactive art, video production, mannequin mapping and more.
Through the use of projection technology, m
annequin mapping allows retailers to make their mannequins come alive by changing their outfits, adding accessories, animating them, and more!
Just recently, OBLSK created a custom installation for the new ZG office.
Contact ZenGenius today to request
your own projection mapping project!
Mannequins from Mondo Mannequins
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Need a pick-me-up from work? Not feeling your Monday work day? Do what we did - pack up your bags and head to the zoo.
Our events team won behind-the-scenes zoo tickets to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium through the NACE Hot Chef event, where we all got a chance to hold a
baby penguin, snow leopard, and two baby kangaroos!
Thank you Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
for such an amazing experience.
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This past summer, we had the pleasure of sourcing and designing a wedding reception for an amazing couple. They wanted their wedding decor to be simple yet elegant, and wanted a space that felt intimate and made their guests feel comfortable.
Prior to t
he wedding, the couple had passed off many of their personal belongings to us like glass jars of all sizes, vintage suitcases, folded-paper flowers, and more for us to merchandise throughout the reception space. Keeping the couple's vision in mind, we used natural colors throughout the space, made floral arrangements out of wildflowers, dimmed the lights, and lit hundreds of tea candles to make the space feel warm and cozy. When the couple walked into the space, their faces lit up and we knew all our hard work paid off.
Have an event coming up? Contact our events director,
Cassandra Darling, today and our events team will bring your vision to life!
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Bohemian Dreaming
at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
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If you have not visited the Columbus Zoo's newer event space - the Heart of Africa - you need to check this out! The venue is spectacular! The space has a deck that overlooks the savanna showcasing an amazing private view of the wildlife of Africa including giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, gazelles and ostriches. It never feels like work when we are out there!
The Heart of Africa was the perfect venue for OhioHealth's Leadership Event.
We incorporated "free spirited" props throughout the space. Handmade items are key to creating a bohemian vibe. Items that were on trend this summer all made an appearance at this event including fabric tassels, dyed cut fabric, macrame pot holders, flowers of a whimsical nature in colored glass bottles, and of course a boho tent.
The dining tables were styled to be colorful and full. Your tablescape should always have one dynamic element, which in this event was the colored stemware. The stemware included all styles of glasses at different heights and colors. For a true boho party, we didn't want anything to be too matchy - the stemware created the perfect eclectic style a boho dinner party needs. Candles of all heights on the tables and hanging bistro lights created an intimate atmosphere for guests to relax and enjoy the evening!
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GIFS by the Foley Brothers
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Have you met the Foley brothers? Michael and Paul Foley are exceptional designers with a broad range of skills from corporate (Professional) GIF animation, conceptual design, graphic design, photo retouch/photo styling, visual design, photo illustration, and branding.
GIFS are image files that are compressed to reduce transfer time. They are extremely fun, entertaining and a great way to stand out among your competitors.
Contact us at zengenius.com/contact-us/
to request your own GIF
design!
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GIFs designed by Michael Foley and Paul Foley |
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Zen Pet
Recognize this superstar? Sophie is a celebrity dachshund who can be found pictured in the book, "102 Dachshunds," by Johnny Ortez-Tibbels. When she isn't hanging out with us at the ZG office, she's most likely playing with her ball, cuddling with her two dachshund siblings, or dreaming about her glory days when she ran in the Wienerschnitzel Weiner Nationals in Seal Beach, California. We love when Sophie makes a celebrity guest appearance at our office!
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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467 E Starr Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43201 614.220.9040
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