Louis’ Little Black Book – Loungeworks Furniture Rental and Decor
by Louis Gervais / In Louis' Little Black Book, Vendors & Venues
Louis’ Little Black Book
featuring Vancouver’s best & brightest event professionals who share our dedication to excellence
Our latest guest of LLBB is one of Vancouver’s most renowned rental company, for their beautiful, modern furniture and décor. I got to sit down with Tom and Christina of Loungeworks Furniture Rental and Decor, who recently expanded their services to include an event venue which! The team and I at Louis Gervais Fine Foods were fortunate enough to collaborate with this fun group on their launch into the wedding industry as a reception venue for their #130 weddings as their sponsoring catering – food photos to come soon! Here’s their story, we hope you enjoy!
Introduce your self and your company
T: I’m Tom Stulberg, the founder and President of Loungeworks and Christina Andreola here is one of my Account Managers and Wedding Specialist. We provide furniture rental, event design, floral and production management for film, tradeshow, banquet and hospitality industries.
How did you get started?
T: We started Loungeworks accidentally, actually. I was running Fireworks Marketing previously and spent 30 years working in the event industry. In 2005 and in 2006, we produced two automobile launch tours which lead to us creating lounge spaces in dealerships across Canada. When the launch tours were finished, we shipped all the furniture back to Vancouver and started renting the items out to producers only as a side business.
Then when Vancouver secured the Olympics, we branded, hired a team, and began work with three large event companies which exponentially grew our inventory. Since the 2010 Olympics, we have officially been known as Loungeworks Furniture Rental and Décor! We’re now a huge go-to for many industries!
What types of events do you do?
T: The markets that we serve are traditional hospitality – corporate and private events, weddings, etc. We also do large tradeshows and we big branded environments such as the Olympics and the TED Conference. But aside from events, we also provide furniture for Film and TV.
C: For weddings specifically, I’ve become the go-to wedding consultant. It’s an area of events that we’d really like to get into more! Since we’re now renting out the space, and currently, it’s mostly used for networking and corporate events, we’d really like to brand the space as wedding friendly too. That’s why we created the event #130Weddings to showcase all the beautiful things you can do here, it’s a blank canvas!
What is your most popular product/feature?
T: Our most popular is furniture and décor rental, including soft seating lounge furniture, bar and stand up reception furniture. We’ve found that the market appreciates the ability to customize their own colour with décor and adds on so we carry mostly black and white furniture as it is so versatile. As well, all the furniture is really light so guests can move blocks and pieces around and interact with the furniture; it creates a sense of community as it bring people physically together.
C: We also offer a lot more comprehensive services including spatial design and full conceptualization through to execution of events. We’ll work with the client on their vision, provide the design, come in and install and set up for the event and tear down as well. Some people just prefer a simple rental, but our design team will still work with client create a layout and make their selections.
What has been your favourite (or most rewarding, most unique) event to work on to date?
T: We did a VIP hosting lounge for Royal Bank during the Olympics. We converted an office space on the top of their office in Vancouver into a bar with lounge and dining space. It was a very special party because we had the freedom to build custom pieces and bring in very different items then the market had seen before.
C: For me, the most rewarding event was #130Weddings, it really put us out there. It was also cool me for to show what I could do, and all the possibilities of what you and your suppliers can do together. From proposing the idea, to planning all the social media components with my team to finally seeing everything come together so beautifully! It’s cool to think too that we could have been making an international impact on wedding trends though social media.
What is one tip that you would give a client when they are choosing their venue design and set up?
T: Most of our clients have the tendency to want all the same thing (same line of sofas, chairs, couches, etc) but doing a mix and match option is way more interesting and more fun. They should be open to allowing variety and creativity in the furniture to create something more natural or interesting to the eye. Other wise it can feel very institutional.
What is your favorite food to eat at events?
T: I have a dirty little secret… where ever there is an event here I like to hang out in the back with chefs and taste all the food that comes through! I love anything risotto (balls, actions dishes, as part of a meal) and scallops! As well, when doing cocktail, I have a tendency to stay away from anything that is too big to eat in one bite.
C: Desserts! I have a huge sweet tooth, they call me the “Dessert connoisseur.” I like to just hang out by the station if there is one.
You can get in touch with Tom or Christina at Loungeworks Furniture Rental and Decor…
Phone: (604) 687-2774
Email: rentals@loungeworks.ca
Website: https://www.loungeworks.ca/
As a full service Vancouver caterer, Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering can help you plan and execute every detail of your special event or wedding. Contact one of our wedding specialists to discuss your vision and explore the possibilities.
