Mt. Washington Dye House and Copper Kitchen Open House

The week of the big winter storm in January I was invited by my dear friends at Union 3 Events to join them for an event showcase at the Mt. Washington Mill Dye House. Looking back I'm so thrilled I got out to do something so social before we were stuck with all that snow.

Baltimore is such an incredible city and the hospitality community here is unrivaled. Competing vendors came together to put on an incredible event. Union 3 designed the event and Copper Kitchen catered it. Copper Kitchen is the preferred caterer at the Dye House.

There were locally sourced oysters from Sapidus Farms. They were "happy oysters" and delicious. I feel sorry for people who aren't brave enough to taste oysters. We are so lucky so have so many incredible options in this region. Be brave. Try and oyster.

Our friends at Local Color Flowers were there representing with all locally sourced flowers. This is a really big deal. I recently used Ellen for an event and all of the flowers came from within 70 miles of campus. 

Beautifully styled bars and buffet with rented farm tables.

Bacon and goat cheese gougeres.

LocoFlo

Alexa's gorgeous lounge design. I'm a sucker for a daily chandelier shot and the conversation areas were a nice break for folks who wanted a cozy spot to land at the party.

Copper Kitchen did this fun somewhat naked cake. Listen to this episode of Cherry Bombe radio to learn more about the original naked cake.

The bartenders were all hired from the Baltimore Bar Guild. This is a signature Alexa move. She's hired them for multiple events around the city. The craft cocktail movement is huge and we have some of the best bartenders in the country. I remember being with Alexa at the B&O American Brasserie during one of her tastings for some really fun clients. They chose a few signature cocktails for the party. I like to stay current and ask my event buddies to let me crash their pre-parties. I love that Alexa let's me come take a peek at her incredible event set-ups. Her bars are always outstanding. It's a great event trick. Make the bars fabulous because they will most likely be the place people stay close to the most. Listen to this fantastic new podcast to hear from three of the best bartenders in town in the episode titled Rye Not. Working with Brendan was a treat at Kimpton.

I always love what the team from Crimson & Clover arrange too. They are so creative and many of my brides at the Monaco used them a bunch. 

Finally, the star of the night were these little gems from Copper Kitchen.

Korean BBQ wings with gochujang sauce. Oh my Lord in heaven. They also had bubbling beer cheese with pretzels, and delightful little pulled pork sliders. Casual food executed perfectly. Well done friends, well done.

We say it all the time, but feel so lucky to live in this city! Thank you Baltimore. You are the best. Thank you again my darling Alexa for your hospitality and inspiring designs. 

Charm City Cakes 2013 Summer Preview Party

It's been too long. But I've been having a blast and want to post some photos from an event I attended a few weeks ago before another month flies by. I am having a great time at my new job and have been in the news on-line a bunch this week thanks to our killer PR team. Thank you Profiles, Inc.! My dear friend Elizabeth came up from DC to attend the Charm City Cake preview party two Thursday's ago. We had to make a night of it and ended up going to Woodberry Kitchen for a quick drink and nibble beforehand. It was Liz's first time so I tried to be quiet and let our fantastic server Clare introduce her to the menu and concept of the restaurant. I sat back quietly nursing my delightful hand cut ice cube and the Attaboy! made with Blue Coat gin. All hail spring. 

We went for the beef tartar and meatballs to tide us over before the party.

Katie Rose, Maryalice, Duff and the whole Charm City Cakes crew welcomed us to the studio for a preview of their 2013 summer collection. 

We all received a high resolution CD of the cakes. I mean! How beautiful is the Olivia cake?

The Viv is maybe the sexiest cake I've ever seen. Who knew cake could be sexy. 

There were event planners from all over the DC/Baltimore Metro region and it was fun running into people I haven't seen in a while.

This gorgeous creature went to middle school with my Charlie and is working with Chicka! How Smalltimore is that? The bunny ears belong to a very smart and glamorous Baltimore Bride magazine editor. 

The cakes were displayed beautifully and reminded me of a fashion runway show.

The cocktail food was done by Copper Kitchen and was fantastic. The chef from Ixia, Kevin Miller, started Copper Kitchen and I keep hearing awesome things from this rising catering star.

My sweet friend Alexa just used them for a very cool event recently in Harbor East. I meant to post about it but just haven't had the time or energy to blog frankly. Gotta stay focused and every day I get home, sitting in front of a computer is the last thing I'd like to do. I am still taking a million photos so please enjoy my Instagram feed. I'm trying not to Instadump photos but feel a few of those posts coming in the near future.

We jumped into the kitchen to say hey. This is my favorite part of a party...the behind the scenes view.

I introduced B&O American Brasserie's chef du cuisine to Kevin and Duff. 

Meanwhile back in the main party there were cakes to be tasted. Oh my gracious!

The carrot was my favorite.

Copper Kitchen's cheese display was gorgeous with great use of copper pots for jam.

I've posted about the Charm City Cake Crew before here. It was fun to see the gang all dressed up.

They were inspired by a 1980's Trapper Keeper for this wall on the left. When I went to get my coat I felt like I was in Duff's childhood bedroom with these heavy metal stickers everywhere. How awesome is that? Reminds me of one of my oldest childhood friends! Forever young Erin!!! 

The studio has been repainted for a softer look. Now that they aren't on TV anymore they don't need the bright walls. The space looks gorgeous and so different. I like that they kept the Foosball table.

And the Maryland flag is still hanging proudly as well. 

My dearest Janelle, said editor, was also in tow with her trusty iPhone and creative eye. She did a great post on the party for Hitched a Baltimore Bride blog.

Geof and I caught up about coffee shops.

We were all given fabulous little goodbye gifties with sprinkles and a CD with all of the amazing photos that you can see here. Enjoy!

Mary Alice, thank you so much for the invite. It was wonderful seeing you and the gang. I love that we get to work together again. To all my event gal pals, big hugs and love always. Duff, thanks for noticing that I have four or five colors in my eyes. That was cool. You really are an artist!