Little Me & IAC

Last night Notes On A Party produced its first event and it was B-I-G.

Seriously, we are not just tooting our own horn here. Given the venue - the new Frank Gehry designed IAC Headquarters on the West Side Highway and the high profile guests in attendance - impressive might be a better word.

The event was for the Founders Club, a group of the top Internet CEOs and entrepreneurs in Silicon Alley who have created an ongoing event series to facilitate deals between start-ups, media companies and venture capitalists.

Dina Kaplan, the COO of blip.tv by day and driving force behind Founders Club by night, let us collaborate on the planning of this event, the third in the series. Naturally, we had to invite our favorite vendors and partners to join us.

Me and Dina Kaplan (blip.tv)

Lucid Food, an eco-conscious catering and events company run by Justin Jones and Luisa Shafia, handled the menu of savory and sweet organic treats including smoked trout canapes, wild mushroom tortas and fresh raspberry cheesecake. Elizabeth Ryan designed the modern and architectural arrangements of Japanese fan leaves and small bud vases of white roses.

Chopin Vodka, a Moet Hennessy brand, featured the Classic CEO Martini made with 2oz of chilled potato vodka shaken and served with three (decadent) stuffed olives.

Chopin Vodka Martini Bar

Corcoran Group's Deanna Kory team previewed their new luxury properties and raffled an iPhone while Silverjet let guests try their luck at winning 2 coveted seats on their new all business class flight to London. The Manhattan based VC Greenhill SAVP rounded out the sponsors.

For me, there were some old clients, friends and familiar faces in the crowd including: Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman of Nerve Media (who publish the amazing online parenting magazine Babble); Graham Hill of Treehugger (just recently acquired by Discovery); Lorien Gabel of Ping Interactive (a soon to be rival to Evite); Margo Spiritus of CSTV Networks; Joseph Varet of LX.TV; Charles Sommer of DoubleAgent; Doug Scott of Ogilvy; Jon Patricof of Tribeca Enterprises; and, Lisa Blau of the health and wellness newsletter Vital Juice.

Jon Keidan, Josh Abramson (CollegeHumor) and Charles Sommer (DoubleAgent)

What was especially thrilling for a young entrepreneur was rubbing shoulders with some of Silicon Alley's most notable names - Alan Patricof (Greycroft), Esther Dyson (EDventure), Kevin Ryan (formerly of Doubleclick) and Henry Blodget.

For a first event, hosting at IAC was quite the premiere for our little start-up. Although I have to say that we felt quite at home in the hallowed halls of their $100 million glass house.

Let's just hope Barry Diller feels the same way about us.

For Henry Blodget's take on the event, check out his post on Silicon Alley Insider.

For a complete slide show, visit Caroline McCarthy's blog, The Social on CNET.

Say It With Flowers

Nothing says Spring more than a bouquet of fresh flowers. But, do you ever wonder what the flowers you send say about you?

Whether you are professing your undying love, sending your condolences, begging for forgiveness or thanking your hostess, the gift of flowers can be wonderfully emotive.

Yet, your heartfelt message may be inadvertently misunderstood if you send a scrawny arrangement covered in cheap plastic wrap from 1-800-Flowers. In this case, your gift may not effectively assuage the anger of a scorned lover nor console a wounded friend.

This communication breakdown can be easily remedied by finding a florist with impeccable taste that understands not only your personal style but your relationship needs.

With Mother's Day just around the corner (and what relationship could be more important than Mom), I reached out to one of my favorite florists, Elizabeth Ryan, (411 East 9th Street, 212-995-1111) who has done events for everyone from Paris Hilton to the Dalai Lama. She shares the following advice.

Try to give general characteristics of the recipient (preppy, modern, bohemian) and then, if possible, move on to more personal details (loves the beach, from the British countryside). A good florist should be able to interpret all the information he/she is given and create something that will appeal to the person's personality and style as well as convey the right message.


For Mother's Day, Elizabeth recommends a mixed spring arrangement (shown above), including a combination of any of the following flowers that are now in season: lilacs, peonies (her favorite and mine), roses, sweat peas, tulips, vibernum, lysianthus. Prices start at $65 with $15 delivery in Manhattan. Mother's Day orders will be sent on Saturday.

Another incredible floral designer is L'Olivier Floral Atelier (19 East 76th Street, 212-774-7676) who has another location downtown on 14th Street. They have a beautiful tulip arrangement in a rectangular vase for $150 which makes a strong visual statement (photo top center).


Finally, VSF (which stands for Very Special Flowers located on 204 West 10th Street, 212-206-7236) is popular with the fashion crowd. I especially like their tightly packed arrangements with Vandella roses, mini calla lilies and snowball hydrangeas all in creams and whites (shown above). The tone on tone is fresh and elegant. A great choice for anyone who appreciates the understated look.

It seems as though a talented florist can work wonders on all of your personal relationships by eloquently telling the people in your life just how your feel. Now, if only your therapist could understand.....