Congratulations on opening Feste and Champers Social Club, two amazingly beautiful projects. Can you share how the ideas for both were conceived?

I’ve always had a love for hosting. Growing up, I was surrounded by creative energy. My grandparents were great entertainers, having met in a play, and felt that music was at the heart of every event. My father was a wildly creative man who was stuck in 90s corporate America and all it’s heteronormative trappings. But he had two outlets—local community theater and hosting events. It was where he could express himself, show his taste and creativity. I was his devoted side-kick.

I now throw events for a living. Before Feste, I had spent the last 15 years traveling the world, planning events and unreal brand experiences in 15 countries across 4 continents— ringing brands to life for customers in wild and immersive ways. And yet, when I was planning a wedding party for a friend, I found it difficult to bring 40 people together in my apartment. Between coordinating one-off vendors, Etsy purchases from Latvia, opening 1,000,000 Amazon candles in shrink wrapped plastic, there had to be a better way. I was tired of how expensive it was, how shabby the offer is (have you been to a baby shower lately), and how time consuming it can be to throw an event if you don’t have the resources of a global event planner behind you. That’s why we launched Feste—to bring the joy, ease, and je ne sais quoi of great hosting to all our guests, because getting together should be fun.

Above The interiors of Feste enlivened with seasonal florals and fragrant candles.

What was your background prior to this venture?

I started my career at Anthropologie, doing display and visual merchandising. In the early days of Anthropologie, they gave enormous amounts of entrepreneurship and autonomy to the field teams. Sometimes I would look around me at this team of young women managing these huge businesses and making enormous decisions and feel in awe of the responsibility we had. I then came to Fresh in 2015. Very quickly, I was in charge of concepting our “theaters,” which are large-scale experiential marketing activations that our teams in the field would use seasonally or to support the launch of product. Up to that point, all of my eventing experience had been very traditional—venue, location, guests, design, etc. In this role, I had the opportunity to collaborate with global teams on the press and comms strategy, partner with creative on content for our immersive experiences, and drive truly sensorial brand engagements. It changed how I thought about events and the role they play in storytelling for brands.

What are your ultimate hopes and dreams for visitors to both spaces?

To help people have a good time. Period. End of Story.

The pandemic really put a wrench in parties and certainly added an inventive twist during some major holidays. For those looking to brush up on hosting skills, what do you think are the key ingredients for hosting a successful gathering?

I think there’s two elements to hosting: how you style and plan for the event and how you make people feel. Style-wise, I love humor (hate whimsy), love abundance, detail, and nostalgia. Once I’ve got my host shoes on, I like to make sure that people feel comfortable in their own skin. There’s that Ed Sheeran song that sticks in my head sometimes, about how he hates parties and wants to go home. Everytime I hear it, I think, who is throwing this party? What a terrible host. This young man is miserable in the corner, and no one notices. I like to think that I’m the host that would notice.

How do you personally approach a dinner party? How far in advance are you planning a gathering from the theme to the menu?

I like to start with a fresh palette every time I host an event. I’m a doodler, an obsessive screenshotter, and a bit of an image hoarder, so sometimes I might have something that I’m inspired by ready to go. Sometimes I’ll need to write and marinate.

Do you have a motto you can share for those moments when the host or hostess feels overwhelmed?

My advice to hosting novices: turn the temperature down much more than you think it should be.

If you could invite six people, past or present, to a dinner party, who would you invite?

Anthony Bourdain, Michelle Obama, Martha Stewart, Stanley Tucci, Ashley Longshore and my dad.

What’s one thing you have learned since you began?

For me, I enjoy learning about other people. When people ask you to throw events for them, it’s a very precious experience. You learn their preferences, oh, do you prefer vanilla or chocolate? Linen or cotton hand-towels in the bathrooms? Tell me, are you into more blowsy florals? Tell me which David Austin rose you love the most. Your Aunt Carrie is the one who’s bringing her dog? It’s like an extended first date, but only the most ridiculous questions.

Tips On Throwing An Effortless Gathering from Brenna Gilbert, Founder of Feste and Champers Social Club