ryan larson
SEE OUR NEWEST PARTY GOOD DESIGNS!
…….AND BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO GET YOUR HANDS ON THEM.
Here we go! Kristen and I have officially launched our Kickstarter campaign. If you aren’t familiar, it’s a platform creative types to raise much needed funds for things like; a documentary film, an art installation or as in our case a creative product launch.
We are finally ready and super excited for phase two of Tin Parade Vintage Party Goods. (which is to go wholesale with a brand new line) Take a look at our Kickstarter Campaign. We’ve got some awesome rewards for backers! You could be one of the first people to get the new designs!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1291657177/table-banners-for-your-parties-unique-concept
Creating a timeline for your child’s birthday party
You have been so busy planning and buying, and cutting and gluing who knows what that you have forgotten one of the most important things for your child’s party…..flow. (important for any party). I am an event planner and I do understand this comes much easier for me but you can also make your day MUCH simpler.
By making a timeline you will also take away a bunch of the stress you may be feeling in pulling it all off. It’s like you always heard as a kid…the more you practice or study the easier it will be. It’s the same with a great party. Take the time to sit…breathe…and think through the entire flow of the day from set up to tear down. Once you are organized and have your to-do list organized…TRUST ME….you will actually enjoy your child’s party too.
Here is a sample timeline for a kids party:
_____ – fill in the blank lines with peoples names who will be helping you that day…oh yeah, say YES to help.
I want you to actually MAKE a timeline. I do it for each of my home parties. Here is one below and you can copy and switch out the info:
PARTY TIMELINE
WHO DOES WHAT:
SITE: Our home.
MUSIC: Bob…Joe…whoever is good with tunes and knows how to work your system so its not YOU!
FOOD: Okay this may be your domain however, put a sticky note on each dish as to what it is for and set them all on a table or washer/dryer till the time to fill them, than your helpers (i.e. girlfriends who know how much work it is to do a kids party) know what to do even if you are talking to a guest) (and please ask someone to do this before that day so they are expecting it and you don’t have to feel weird asking that day…you just need help with the food set up time, not a lot to ask of someone)
PHOTOS: Ask someone to own this. SOOOO often Mom or main caregiver is not in any of the photos. I am known to pick up peoples cameras unasked and just start shooting photos at their own party of them interacting with their kids and guests….but you shouldn’t even have to worry about taking all the photos of the cake cutting etc, you want to be IN THE MOMENT watching your darling child’s face light up all day.
CHARACTER CO: Have their check and gratuity already done and in an envelope ready to go so you can quickly, easily hand it over at the end of their stint. (yes gratuity is customary, usually $20-40)
MENU:
Chips, Guac, Salsa and Cheese ,crackers, grapes
Assorted gourmet Sausages, artisan breads/rolls, assorted gourmet mustards
Arugula Salad w/ shaved parmesan
Cous cous salad
Don’t worry I didn’t forget the kids, but I always speak to the adults as well
Hot dogs/buns
Baked beans
SCHEDULE
11:00 – ______ – goes to get ice (1 lb per person on cool day, 2 lbs per person on hot day)(first thing is ice down the bins of drinks. Layer your drinks so people don’t have to reach below ALL the ice to grab a drink…ice, then drinks, then ice, then drinks) You can also put a folded towel at the very bottom of the bin so you’ll have less water run off from condensation.
11:30 – IF you let your children watch TV this is a great time to cut yourself some slack and let them relax for a little bit in front of a good show. You will be able to think more clearly, get things done and they will need a little rest before all the hoopla. (If you limit TV as we do, save up your tv time for this moment, you won’t regret it)
12:00 – Put chips in bowls and out on buffet table. It will give people something to do when they first get there. (That way, the food can be brought out once everyone is there and not sit out for heat/flys.)
12:15 – Music on! (everyone forgets this important aspect of a party, music ties things together and softens awkward moments such as the quiet time for those who arrive first)
12:30 – INVITE TIME
1:00 – NOW bring the food out. (make them get a bit hungry, and please don’t forget that now days most parents stay for parties of small children so please feed them too)
1:30 – Character starts (or games or whatever you have planned for the meat in the middle, but have it start 45-min to and hour after the invite time so everyone is there and have it last an hour….that’s a good amount of time for kids to focus, more than that and they go into crazy zone and none of us want that now do we?)
2:30 – Cut the cake! (It’s important to bring people back together at different points in your party and make people connect)
3:00 – Pinata or not this is a good wrap up time…(meaning hand out the gift bags so they get the picture.)
Have fun. Don’t be pre-occupied with things being perfect. The goal is the guests/kids and your child have fun….not that things were perfect. Some of my best parties have had the best mishaps. The main thing that’s hard for us parents is to host AND be present.
You can also always turn to a Childrens Party Event Planner such as Stefanie Nieves of The Petite Soiree if you are in New Jersey. We thank Stefanie for her continued support of Tin Parade Vintage Party Goods.
Tin Parade goods in action.
We love to get photos of our customers using our party goods. Here is a darling baseball party one of our customers did for her son using Oscars Baseball Party and other great finds.
Thanks for sharing these. We love that you used the baseball hats as the favor holders. Looks awesome.
The Eco-Chick talks Tin Parade.
Eco-Chick · The modern girl’s guide to living green & fabulous.
Tin Parade Vintage Party Goods for Your Perfect Holiday Fete
by Starre Vartan · 11/03/10
Tin Parade offers custom-designed, all-inclusive packaged parties for dinners, adult and children’s birthdays, baby and bridal showers. It is the inspiration of two women with a similar love of great design, fun events and good, old-fashioned attention to detail. Kristen and Ryan met at the mom’s version of a single’ s club—the local park.
They soon realized they had a lot in common, not least of which being children of about the same age. Besides being devoted moms and avid runners, they both had jobs in creative fields. Kristen was an accomplished advertising art director, where she produced print and television ads for high-profile clients.
Ryan is a celebrated wedding and event designer, and owner of Savoir Flair Weddings in Los Angeles. With plenty of birthday parties and baby showers on the horizon, they found themselves commiserating on the lack of beautiful, stylish, cartoon-character-free party décor on the market. As they created Tin Parade they realized that their mutual love of vintage style and detail came with a fabulous side benefit: a lot less of the paper products that pervade modern-day parties.
All of Tin Parade’s plates and party decorations are reusable and many of the details are hand- crafted of cloth. For Ryan and Kristen, Tin Parade is more than just designing parties. It is also about creating memories, because each set is timeless and classic, and is full of things you or your child will keep for years to come.
The brainchild of event designer Ryan Larson and art director Kristen Gara, Tin Parade offers themed children’ s birthday parties and baby and bridal showers. From the vintage-inspired linens to custom-made invitations and reproduction tin toys, each party set contains all the ingredients you will need to effortlessly throw a nostalgic but fresh party that will warm each and every guest.
Tin Parade’s Great Green Gala Party is one to rejoice in as an eco-friendly party set that includes:
- Invite and thank you cards made from 100% certified sustainable forest pulp
- a biodegradable wooden sign
- a sustainable and biodegradable runner made from a brown canvas created from eco-friendly hemp and organic cotton blend
- biodegradable wooden place cards and 100% bamboo plates
- birch bark centerpieces salvaged from the floors of the forest and cotton rag flower brooches sewn together from cotton rag remnants.
Come revel in a gorgeous, Earth-friendly soiree that Mother Nature herself would gleefully attend!
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick and author of The Eco-Chick Guide to Life (St. Martin’s Press). A green living expert, she is managing editor of Greenopia and a contributor to The Huffington Post.
DIY Letterpress!
Holy Moly Ryan is freaking out!!! I must have this! There are few things I really NEED in life but really… I NEED this! Check out this new product Paper Source is carrying…I heart letterpress!
Tin Parade LOVES this new DIY Letter Press Machine
I’m creative and crafty….but….
Will I ever attempt a reupholstering job like this again….???? Probably. ( : I mean I gave birth again after the first crazy experience didn’t I? Ah, the things we forget. If you’ve ever thought of recovering a chair take a look see at Ryan in action.
Here’s our latest Designing Moms post…”Balance: Working at Home”
Take a sneak at our work “meeting” this past week……..
Hi Mama’s.
Kristen and I at Tin Parade often get asked by other mom’s, how we do it. We have met so many mothers who love the idea of starting a business and they aren’t sure how that fits into their every day life. Well first, it doesn’t fit into EVERY day life. There have been WEEKS actually that we find it hard to even return an email. For us, we decided at the beginning, and together, that the kids (the short people as I call them) come first. And second, its ever changing really. As their ages and schedules change, we change the time and way that we work. Right now, Kristen has one in elementary school, one in preschool and one at home. I have one in preschool and one at home. So…during preschool hours we many times have a “playdate” for the little ones…they don’t understand we are “working”…they are having a great time playing with each other’s toys and we use the opportunity to get some things done together. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect…and some days it works better than other days…of course we need quiet time to work as well…we find 45 minutes to an hour and a half here and there throughout the week…during a nap…a few shared babysitting hours…in the evening…on the weekend when our husbands are home…and outside of that..we split tasks and responsibilities so that each of us can work at home in other found moments on our own. Some of our best “meetings” have been during our morning runs.
Above: Here is Kristen’s old school (vintage?) Day-Runner…next toRyan’sBlackberry… Yes Kristen, the Day-Runner grew up! Notice the kids’ breakfast?
Some business’s do require more focused time and you’ll have to weigh how much help you need…you may need a few hours of babysitting and you may need a full time nanny. Even then, how wonderful to get to be home with them. You may remember I have another business (Savoir Flair Weddings) and I do have a part time nanny for the time I put to that business as I need to be able to make quiet phone calls and such. It all depends on the kind of work you are doing…I guess what I’m saying is that it’s doable…it always is…you just have to FIND the way that it will work for you. And it IS worth it. It is rewarding to do something for yourself and it’s important. If you just start chipping away at your idea stolen moment by moment…it WILL take form and you’ll find your way…I really believe that….The hardest thing is to START. There’s never a better moment than the present. Go for it.
Kristen hates the word VLOG!
My TP other half thinks Video and Blog just don’t make the perfect…Bennifer…or Brangelina…for her ….shhhhh…(whisper) vlog… for Kristen it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard….sorry KG….I decided to post our first…..plug your ears!….VLOG! Okay KG you can unplug now…So I decided to attempt reupholstering a chair (no not THE chair, if you’ve read my other posts)….not like just covering dining room chair seats either….been there done that….easy…this….not so easy… it is so tempting to give up and call a reupholsterer….but…I push forward….I am not a quitter!…gonna take you all on my journey. Yes, I’m going to VLOG about it. Sorry!!!! ( :
Oh no…the star wars party!!
I just realized I was going to post my son’s Star Wars party and never did. So sorry. I know you’ve been lying in bed at night wondering…waiting…hoping…wishing you could wake up to my post on this party. Well. Let me start by saying….me…not so excited about doing a Star Wars party…but I ended up having a great time planning it and an even better time watching my little Jedi beam all day. He was so happy and full of pure joy the entire time. His friends also had a great time.
My goal was to make it super fun, creative and NOT canned….and trust me…that is exactly what you’ll find out there when trying to throw a Star Wars party….it’s mostly a bunch of …pardon me…crap! There are yoda erasers and plastic disks with a stickers on them that don’t actually work…and other mindless ….ahem…crap! Soooooo cut to…Ryan Larson cutting, sewing, sweating, gluing, yawning…..and voila! Take a look:
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- Jedi robes for all of the kids…even tini tiny ones for the toddlers.
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- I printed their Jedi Training Mission on their bags for the Darth Vader Pinata goodies.
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- Yes, I made a 7ft. by 7ft. Millennium Falcon Cockpit Window.
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- Props for photo backdrop. Complete with Princess Leia bagels on a head band.
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- Kristen’s little Jedi’s with the 6ft. C3P0 and R2D2
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- Jedi Master telling the young Padiwans their next challenge. (those are the lights sabers we had the kids make when they arrived)
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- Happy boy.
Also, here is the wording we used for the mission bags in case you are interested…feel free to copy!!!
Jedi Training Challenges
Do or do not. There is no try. – Yoda
ð Adorn the proper Jedi attire. (I made Jedi robes…I found the idea for how to make them on a moms blog somewhere on the internet but I havnt found it again…however it was brown felt, no sewing..and yarn belt)
ð Make a true light saber. (I found cardboard tubes at a fabric store from fabric rolls and taped the “handles” with grey duct tape and let them put their choice color of construction paper on the tubes)
ð Fly Han’s Solos spaceship with C3P0 & R2D2 (cockpit window/photo backdrop)
ð Form your battle plan. (coloring pages)
ð Learn the Jedi way from a Jedi Master. (we had a Jedi come for an hour)
ð Destroy the death star. (they had to use a water gun on a paper death star I made with a spot of paint that ran down the page when hit)
Jedi Training is complete. But the real test is yet to come. Young Jedi, your mission is to destroy darth vader. (this was a Darth Vader head pinata)
ð Vader has been defeated.
THE JEDI ARE VICTORIOUS.
GO CELEBRATE WITH CAKE!
for more fabulous parties check out our site Tin Parade Vintage Party Goods
One Good Year: Our latest Designing Moms post….
Story: One Good Year
From my Wed. January 27th post on Designing Moms
I’m a bit late on posting my holiday card. I know you have seen many and are well on your way into the new year, so thank you for allowing me one last New Year hurrah.
Our card sums up best as titled; One Good Year. A year filled with so many contradictory emotions…Happiness (new baby)…Fear (my husbands kidneys were failing from a genetic disease)….Frustration (trying to sort through the process of testing donors)….Amazement (at all the family and friends who offered a kidney as well as their love and support)….Gratitude (for his darling cousin Alison who came to Los Angeles and underwent surgery for us…we are forever grateful)…Relief (that this daunting time of our lives was over)…and finally…Joy (life actually did become normal again; we are healthy; we are all together; we are a family).
The photo on our card was shot by Laura Grier at Beautiful Day Photography in Los Angeles. We shot it in our 50’s kitchen. I don’t want to explain it away. I think you can get the meaning behind the photo. The “recipe” was the back of the card. Happy New Year! Here’s to wishing all of us a healthy, happy and blessed new year.
Tin Parade Vintage Party Goods
