‘Tis the season to be grateful, and we at Quintessentially were very thankful that we were able to take part in such a worthy cause: the Financial Times’ annual seasonal giving campaign. In a vote by 1,600 FT employees worldwide, Room to Read was chosen to be the Financial Times’ charity partner for 2009-2010.
To celebrate the launch of the campaign in New York, Quintessentially joined forces with Room to Read and the Financial Times to put together a cocktail party in the Villard Mansion of the Palace Hotel. The stately and opulent Library Room was a perfect setting to pay tribute to an organization committed to providing 150,000 children world-wide with much-needed books, libraries and other educational resources.
Guests enjoyed champagne and canapés while listening to speeches by John Wood, founder and executive chairman of Room to Read and John Ridding, CEO of the Financial Times. Mr. Wood’s speech was impassioned, sincere, and infectious. I truly hope our efforts are able to help Room to Read and the FT reach their campaign goal this year.
From a charity event uptown, we shift gears to a brand new Chelsea hotspot. Our second annual Aspen Night’s event (co-sponsored by Aspen Snowmass) was a great way to celebrate the holiday season with members and friends. The evening’s festivities took place at Todd English’s new supperclub, Juliet, with great nibbles of lamb and cheeses being passed around while everyone sipped on cocktails from a full reserve bar courtesy of our friends at Ketel One (Tavalon Tea also provided an amazing “White Tea” martini!)
LCS provided the music for the event which had everyone moving throughout the night. As the evening continued, Matthew Williamson had a wonderful presentation of the upcoming season’s key looks, one of which was a gown Matthew designed exclusively for Quintessentially – one of only 10 dresses in the world. As the party wrapped up, guests went home with goodie bags full La Cherche Midi candles, Vis – a – Vis cosmetics, Townhouse spa gift certificates, Aspen Apparel and a ski movie along with Snow and Quintessentially magazines.
