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CLIFF NOTES: Home is where the art lies — other things, too
  
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By CLIFFORD PUGH
When it comes to shopping, Houston entrepreneurs are discovering that there’s no place like home. They’re creating no-pressure home-based events with a little something extra — free food and fine wines from great restaurants, good conversation, and opportunities to network like crazy, help out a worthy cause, purchase something special or even make a little money on the side. Think of it as a 21st century version of the Tupperware party — updated for tough times. Here are three recent examples:
Art FOR MORE THAN ART’S SAKE
Great ideas often develop over a barbecue grill.
At a backyard get-together in Spring Valley, builder Erin Stetzer was lamenting how hard it has been to get potential homebuyers to stop by a new spec house she had constructed in the neighborhood. Artist David Hardaker jokingly suggested that with all those empty walls, it would be great place for an art show.
Stetzer liked the idea, so Hardaker lined up six artists to show their work with a percentage of sales earmarked for Habitat for Humanity. Invitations went out and 200 people showed up to look at the art, sample free wine and hors d’oeurves, and examine the $1.175 million house.
Everyone left happy. More than $5,000 worth of art was sold and Habitat received $2,000. Stetzer and Greenwood-King listing agent Wanda Taylor were pleased because reaction to the house was positive and they left with an e-mail list of potential clients. The old-fashioned way of doing things isn’t working, Stetzer said. Getting traffic in there and generating talk about the area helps more than anything.
It turned out so well that Hardaker and his wife, Carrie, decided to start a new business putting together such events for builders and architects featuring work from emerging artists. I keep getting requests based on that little chat in the back yard, he said.
Last weekend they hosted an art event at restaurateur David Walker’s ultramodern home on the east side of downtown Houston. More than 350 people toured the home designed by Sam Nash, viewed Hardaker’s art and sampled crawfish etouffee from Walker’s restaurant, Zydeco Diner. Hardaker sold two pieces of art and got a commission for another piece, Habitat for Humanity received more than $500 from a tip jar set up at the beverage station, and Nash received priceless word-of-mouth publicity.
I don’t have a big portfolio or even a website, so for me it’s a way to get people into the house, so they can see the details and the minimalist design, Nash said. If we get some direct clients, that’s awesome. But obviously it’s a great networking opportunity for me.
Dressed to thrill in River Oaks
Just before Mother’s Day, Kristen Cannon, owner of The Cannon Affair, an event planning and marketing firm, invited friends to her River Oaks home to have cocktails and see handbags designed by Mary Nichols and jewelry by Andrea Montgomery Designs. Cannon throws such parties a couple of times a year, featuring a mix of established New York designers and Houston up-and-comers. She rarely features the same designer back-to-back.
It’s always fun to see somebody different, she said. People want variety.
Cannon started such parties last spring almost by accident when friends from different parts of the country — a clothing designer in New York and a jewelry designer in Florida — talked about wanting to come to Houston. The party for them was such a big success that she continued the tradition.
Nichols, who showcases her handbags at home parties in Houston several times a month, believes home events are popular because they offer unique items. The client wants something not everyone else has, she said. And with home shows, it’s a great way to get your name out there.
Montgomery has been creating jewelry in her spare time for nearly a decade. While she now participates in a trunk show at the Bloomingdale’s flagship New York store every holiday season, she much prefers being on the house party circuit.
I’m surprised how many people want to host a trunk show for you. You think you’re imposing on them but you’re not, Montgomery said, noting that those who host parties often like the cachet of discovering a new talent. Plus you get to drink while you're shopping.
The event is also good for Cannon’s clients. At her most recent house party Smart Water set up a booth filled with free bottles in her kitchen. Ruggles Green provided tasty hors d’oeurves and every guest left with a goodie bag that included little gifts from Abraham’s Carpets and Bedford restaurant.
It’s a good way to showcase my clients, Cannon said. Right now, you really have to be creative and innovative.
Gold rush in West U
Becky Eisenberg recently opened her West University home for a stimulus party. Her e-mail invitation read: It’s a jewelry party with a twist!! This time you BRING jewelry you don’t wear anymore, and you LEAVE with a check.
That come-on was too enticing to pass up, so I joined Eisenberg and her friends at her home where they sipped wine and gossiped in the den while Larry and Connie Catha set up shop in the dining room. One by one, each woman brought in jewelry pieces for the Cathas to examine.
The couple settled in Houston after Hurricane Katrina wiped out their jewelry business in New Orleans. But retirement bored them, so they opened C.C.’s Jewelry in Pearland last month and re-ignited their ?gold parties.
We call it a Tupperware party, except you leave with money, Connie Catha explained.
The Cathas have been involved in gold parties since the 1990's, when an ounce of gold sold for $200. Now, its jumped to over $900, which makes such cash for gold parties even more enticing. We're even gotten teeth, Connie said.
Micki Bronston brought three plastic bags filled with old jewelry — one contained silver items, another gold and the third of indeterminate origin. Larry Catha examined each piece, testing bracelets, necklaces and earrings with acid on a touchstone to determine the quality of the gold and silver. Since silver is not worth much, he recommended that Bronston keep those pieces. But several 14-karat gold rope necklaces and bracelets that had been lying around in her jewelry case since the 1980s brought in $207. A pair of 10-karat gold stud earrings and a gold strap from a watch without a casing raised the total to $445.
Does that make you happy? Connie Catha asked, as she wrote Bronston a check.
It makes me ecstatic, she replied.
Art FOR MORE THAN ART’S SAKE
Great ideas often develop over a barbecue grill.
At a backyard get-together in Spring Valley, builder Erin Stetzer was lamenting how hard it has been to get potential homebuyers to stop by a new spec house she had constructed in the neighborhood. Artist David Hardaker jokingly suggested that with all those empty walls, it would be great place for an art show.
Stetzer liked the idea, so Hardaker lined up six artists to show their work with a percentage of sales earmarked for Habitat for Humanity. Invitations went out and 200 people showed up to look at the art, sample free wine and hors d’oeurves, and examine the $1.175 million house.
Everyone left happy. More than $5,000 worth of art was sold and Habitat received $2,000. Stetzer and Greenwood-King listing agent Wanda Taylor were pleased because reaction to the house was positive and they left with an e-mail list of potential clients. The old-fashioned way of doing things isn’t working, Stetzer said. Getting traffic in there and generating talk about the area helps more than anything.
It turned out so well that Hardaker and his wife, Carrie, decided to start a new business putting together such events for builders and architects featuring work from emerging artists. I keep getting requests based on that little chat in the back yard, he said.
Last weekend they hosted an art event at restaurateur David Walker’s ultramodern home on the east side of downtown Houston. More than 350 people toured the home designed by Sam Nash, viewed Hardaker’s art and sampled crawfish etouffee from Walker’s restaurant, Zydeco Diner. Hardaker sold two pieces of art and got a commission for another piece, Habitat for Humanity received more than $500 from a tip jar set up at the beverage station, and Nash received priceless word-of-mouth publicity.
I don’t have a big portfolio or even a website, so for me it’s a way to get people into the house, so they can see the details and the minimalist design, Nash said. If we get some direct clients, that’s awesome. But obviously it’s a great networking opportunity for me.
Dressed to thrill in River Oaks
Just before Mother’s Day, Kristen Cannon, owner of The Cannon Affair, an event planning and marketing firm, invited friends to her River Oaks home to have cocktails and see handbags designed by Mary Nichols and jewelry by Andrea Montgomery Designs. Cannon throws such parties a couple of times a year, featuring a mix of established New York designers and Houston up-and-comers. She rarely features the same designer back-to-back.
It’s always fun to see somebody different, she said. People want variety.
Cannon started such parties last spring almost by accident when friends from different parts of the country — a clothing designer in New York and a jewelry designer in Florida — talked about wanting to come to Houston. The party for them was such a big success that she continued the tradition.
Nichols, who showcases her handbags at home parties in Houston several times a month, believes home events are popular because they offer unique items. The client wants something not everyone else has, she said. And with home shows, it’s a great way to get your name out there.
Montgomery has been creating jewelry in her spare time for nearly a decade. While she now participates in a trunk show at the Bloomingdale’s flagship New York store every holiday season, she much prefers being on the house party circuit.
I’m surprised how many people want to host a trunk show for you. You think you’re imposing on them but you’re not, Montgomery said, noting that those who host parties often like the cachet of discovering a new talent. Plus you get to drink while you're shopping.
The event is also good for Cannon’s clients. At her most recent house party Smart Water set up a booth filled with free bottles in her kitchen. Ruggles Green provided tasty hors d’oeurves and every guest left with a goodie bag that included little gifts from Abraham’s Carpets and Bedford restaurant.
It’s a good way to showcase my clients, Cannon said. Right now, you really have to be creative and innovative.
Gold rush in West U
Becky Eisenberg recently opened her West University home for a stimulus party. Her e-mail invitation read: It’s a jewelry party with a twist!! This time you BRING jewelry you don’t wear anymore, and you LEAVE with a check.
That come-on was too enticing to pass up, so I joined Eisenberg and her friends at her home where they sipped wine and gossiped in the den while Larry and Connie Catha set up shop in the dining room. One by one, each woman brought in jewelry pieces for the Cathas to examine.
The couple settled in Houston after Hurricane Katrina wiped out their jewelry business in New Orleans. But retirement bored them, so they opened C.C.’s Jewelry in Pearland last month and re-ignited their ?gold parties.
We call it a Tupperware party, except you leave with money, Connie Catha explained.
The Cathas have been involved in gold parties since the 1990's, when an ounce of gold sold for $200. Now, its jumped to over $900, which makes such cash for gold parties even more enticing. We're even gotten teeth, Connie said.
Micki Bronston brought three plastic bags filled with old jewelry — one contained silver items, another gold and the third of indeterminate origin. Larry Catha examined each piece, testing bracelets, necklaces and earrings with acid on a touchstone to determine the quality of the gold and silver. Since silver is not worth much, he recommended that Bronston keep those pieces. But several 14-karat gold rope necklaces and bracelets that had been lying around in her jewelry case since the 1980s brought in $207. A pair of 10-karat gold stud earrings and a gold strap from a watch without a casing raised the total to $445.
Does that make you happy? Connie Catha asked, as she wrote Bronston a check.
It makes me ecstatic, she replied.
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