HEIRLOOM DC GIVEAWAY

this one is for my DC-based ladies and gents! i'm very excited to announce the first boss aesthetic giveaway! 

i will be attending heirloom DC’s big launch party on thursday, april 16th at 6pm and i'd love for you to join me! so, i'm here to help you snag a spot on the guest list and sample bites and drinks from awesome DC based vendors. as i've said before, i am passionate about supporting thoughtful, creative small businesses and these are some of my favorites! you'll get to sample food and drinks from heirloom's team featuring products from local artisans such as charm city meadworks, element shrub, deep eddy vodka, gordy's pickle jar, one eight distilling, dc distillers, compass coffee, and bazaar spices. AND you'll also get some goodies from typecase industries and marigold and grey.

to enter just leave a comment below and tell me in a line or two what "heirloom" means to you: memories, timeless things, family recipes, or anything that embodies tradition for you.

i'll announce the winner next monday, april 13th on my instagram and see you and a friend on the 16th!

so, what does heirloom mean to you? leave a comment below!

from heirloom: heirloom is a chic, fresh and artisan approach to catering. we offer stylish tablescapes, custom event design, award winning chefs and local, fresh food throughout the washington, dc area. the company’s team of experienced culinary and catering professionals produce events that range from small, intimate affairs to large red carpet-worthy extravaganzas. overseeing heirloom is founder and style director vicky theodorou, a long-time restaurant and fashion industry veteran. vicky’s business acumen and passion for event design and fine cuisine is already making heirloom the go-to catering company for many large corporate clients, social celebrations, intimate soirees, galas, weddings and more!

more from heirloom DC on their website, instagram and twitter! (the photos above are from heirloom DC's lovely instagram)

Update: Thanks for your beautiful comments! CONGRATS to the winner, Anais Navarro-Laurent! I will see you on and a friend on Thursday! xx

UN POQUITO DE LEARNING WITH YOUR GUAC?

very cool initiative from chipotle i wanted to share. the fast food mega-chain is partnering was writers and illustrators to do more with their packaging through a new series called “cultivating thought.” authors provide mini essays and illustrators provide accompanying illustrations. and voila! your burrito stimulates your belly and your mind.

cups.jpg

the idea actually came from jonathan safran foer, the new york times best-selling author  of extremely loud and incredibly close and everything is illuminated. apparently, he was eating chipotle one day, found himself with nothing to read and had an aha moment. he approached chipotle with his idea to expose customers to creative people and kudos to chipotle for taking an idea from an outsider and running with it.

the contributers are pretty amazing: toni morrison wrote a piece called “two-minute seduction." sarah silverman has a funny piece called “two-minute index.” steven pinker presents “a two-minute case for optimism.”

i love the idea of stretching your product to do more. i appreciate the creativity and thought behind it. i think the biggest win of this initiative is that it comes from a customer. it comes from putting yourself in your customer’s shoes and saying, when our customers are engaging with our product what are they missing? how can we enrich the process of engaging with our product?

i do think that not featuring mexican or hispanic authors right off the bat was a missed opportunity. not just because there are so many great hispanic authors, but because it’s an opportunity to connect the campaign back to the brand - which is what branded content is all about. but chipotle got that feedback after it launched this initiative and (again) kudos to them for correcting the mistake quickly!

all in all, a great example of smart, thoughtful branded content.