While interning with Creative Juice Group (CJG) not a day goes by when there is a dull moment. We work with the music blasting to get our creative juices flowing throughout the day in the office. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect since I haven’t had much experience in the event/entertainment industry. However, since my internship experience began, I have kept an open mind and done each task to the best of my ability. I really enjoy coming in everyday and working with a great team! Creative Juice Group is very unique in what they do for their clients by creating live entertainment. In our Philadelphia office, there are only a few of us so even though we like to have fun, work must be done whether it is: organizing all the inventory to make loading for each event easier, dressing up in costume while being professional, or doing some administrative work. Having a supervisor that loves what she does and takes pride in her work rubs off on us as her employees, making us want to have the aspirations of becoming the best while enjoying what it is we do!

- Lauren Nieraeth

Creative Juice Group has been causing oohs and aahs at industry showcases and client events for years. The most recent showcase, held at the National Museum of American-Jewish History on January 31, was no different. The showcase presented the opportunity for guests to experience various services which could be offered by catering, event, photography, entertainment, and other companies for their upcoming events.

After only working with the company for a few weeks, Kylie (a fellow intern) and I had the amazing opportunity to bring one of the numerous acts offered by Creative Juice Group to life. Along with Cedric, a long time performer for the company and a staring competition champ, we began getting ready for the event hours in advance. Preparing for an event involves hours of work, most extensively probably being the application of the makeup and body paint, although Kylie saved some time on her eyelashes since they are “great and the best part of her body”. But, the hours were all worth it when it was showtime!

As Kylie and I would refer to our look- ‘white glittery snow princesses’ (we didn’t have the tiaras but we can pretend), we were dressed from head to toe in breathtaking white. With our larger than life hair and glittery white and blue makeup, we greeted guests as they arrived and set the stage for the event. Upstairs, Cedric was placed as a Bronze Football Player- sprayed with bronze paint and standing completely still as the elevator opened and let guests out. However, as soon as they walked by, the statue came to life and spoke which shocked the guests- in a good way.

The element of surprise is what really sets Creative Juice Group apart from other companies. Most guests were truly taken aback and pleasantly happy when they saw a fun element at the event, with performers dressed up and adding intrigue to the showcase. Numerous compliments were thrown at Kylie and me about how great we looked and how awesome our costumes were (which was a great business compliment as well as a personal confidence boost for us). The effect that Creative Juice Group services have on guests- putting automatic smiles on their faces- is amazing and doesn’t really resonate until you witness it first hand.

Every vendor at the showcase did a fabulous job- including Kevin York Photography, Cinemacake, Feastivities, and Offshoots- and I am extremely proud to be given the opportunity to participate in this showcase with Creative Juice Group, where every creation is more interactive, more sparkly, and more over the top than the one before.

- Breanna Velazquez

]]> http://creativejuicegroup.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/nmajh-showcase-2/feed/ 0 598782_331626046939686_1904563626_n creativejuicegroup 598782_331626046939686_1904563626_n 540120_331620306940260_256849611_n http://creativejuicegroup.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/some-of-the-most-common-questions/ http://creativejuicegroup.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/some-of-the-most-common-questions/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:58:51 +0000 creativejuicegroup http://creativejuicegroup.wordpress.com/?p=86 Continue reading →]]> HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR PERFORMERS?

Well, we find our performers in a variety of ways: most of the time people are referred to us by friends or family members, often people find us – we get random phone calls sometimes,  we have open casting call twice a year, and lastly I will just approach someone who I think might work well for us.

HOW DO THEY STAY STILL FOR SO LONG?

Our performers are all trained, some are actors, some models, some artists, and some are just high strung. The one commonality they all share is that they LOVE performing. Aside from much practice one of the motivators making our performers so still is the reaction from the viewers. The more people comment “wow, how do they do that” the more energy and drive they have to actually do it.

HAVE YOU EVER PAINTED PRIVATE PARTS?

Let’s just say, some things are better left to the imagination…However for your typical event all fuzzy bits and bosoms must be covered and we make sure precautions are taken to follow all the rules.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PAINT SOMEONE?

Makeup times vary, a simple single color may take anywhere from one to two hours while a full body with lots of detail can take up to ten hours.

DOES THE PAINT COME OFF EASILY?

Let’s clear one thing up right now.. it is not PAINT, it is MAKEUP. Our makeup is not harmful to the skin, it is safe around the eyes and it is not unlike a liquid foundation that most women wear every day. Therefore removal of the makeup is done easily with a makeup remover, soap and water or a blow torch (ha ha you’re still with me huh… just checking).

CAN I GET PAINTED?

Absolutely! We’ll paint anyone. For years we have been painting performers and we are often asked… “Can I get painted?” by guests, clients and passers by. So we have decided… why not. So now we have opened our studio to anyone who would like the experience. We’ve painted sexy corsets, basketballs on pregnant bellies, and entire clothing options. We’ll paint men and women alike and we’ll even take photos so you can remember the experience forever.

I almost wish the side of my head that I was using would glow when it’s in use so I would understand this a bit better. It’s funny because “they” say ( who the heck are “they” anyway and why do I quote them so much?) that colors come from the left and numbers from the right. Have you ever wondered if you are a right brained individual or have tendencies to the left side? I often thought that I was completely right brained: due in part because I could not honestly tell you without cheating how much my children weighed when they were born – the left side should remember that right? BUT I can tell you without hesitation that the first tone was very pink and the second one was a little more purple – ahhh a right brained revelation.

But then I can imagine or design a whole costume… then break it down into components to build it. Well that incorporates both sides of the brain, I’m certain. So is it fair that I am continuously labeled as a right-brained individual? I don’t think so… Sure I’m not great with numbers, but I was clever enough to purchase computer programs who will do it for me.  I think I am making a determination myself that there is an ongoing ping-pong match going on up there and there is a little click clack back and forth… right side-left side- right side-left side-right side-left side…. And so on. So honestly I don’t think I will ever really know. What are your thoughts?

Many times I am asked this question… “Do you really need a green room?” Well, the answer is YES, I do need a green room, and I am not the only one, your band needs a green room, your photographer and videographer should have a green room and your staff should also have a green room.

As described by Wikpedia here is the definition of : A green room is a space in a theater, a studio, or a similar venue, for the accommodation of performers or speakers not yet required on stage. It functions as a waiting room, or as a touch-up lounge so that a performer need not return to wardrobe or to the dressing room, while remaining immediately available for a call to the stage. The origin of the term is often attributed to such an area historically being painted green, yet a modern “green room” often has no green.

I must interject that in Special Events a green room most often serves as a dressing room AND a green room. Access to a green room is imperative for performers at events. This space provides a place to dress, keep belonging, take breaks, correct wardrobe malfunctions, and warm up. Green rooms should be clean, spacious enough for changing all those required to share the room, be in close proximity to the vent space and restrooms, have places to hang wardrobe bags, have mirrors, be temperature controlled, should have cold bottled water and snacks, and have ample ceiling height to accommodate costumes. Keep in mind that a performer may take a fifteen minute break each hour; therefore f the green room is a five minute walk from the event then that break will be 25 minutes instead of 15. Green rooms are not closets, storage rooms, public rest rooms or loading docks. Imagine ten performers changing in your venue lobby rest room and guests arriving early – ugh, not a good thing. You want to keep your performers a secret until the appropriate time, you also will demystify their allure if guests can see them changing.

Make sure that when you book your talent you really communicate with them about their green room needs.

As a publicity stunt to launch our new logo and new brand for Creative Juice Group we  thought it would be fun to take a bunch of our top models and make a painted puzzle out of them. We wanted this piece to be unique and interesting. At first we had no idea what we were going to paint we just knew that we wanted all of the bodies to “come together” to form the final image. After knocking around some idea we unanimously decided that the design would be our new company logo.

We all gathered at our studio in Manayunk, we had a bunch of models, five artists including myself, a photographer ( Karen Mauch – LINK), and a videographer (DVideograph – LINK. The whole lot of us configured the pose and once the models were all placed the artists began to draw the logo. This was a curvy canvas, a canvas with attitude and multiple personalities which led to lots of smart remarks and ten times more giggles. Once the drawing was all done we broke the models apart to start the painting process. But there was one problem – once the models were separated from the rest of the pack it was nearly impossible to figure out which colors went in which spaces. So we reassembled the models and then color coded the drawing; kind of like a giant paint by number. Aaah, that was a much better idea.

When the painting was done the models were reassembled one more time, and then the final touches and tweeks were made to perfect the design. Lets just say it wasn’t exactly perfect but we were all so tired at this point (because we started the project after work one night and it was getting ver late by this point) that it was as perfect as it was ever going to be. Then the photographer and videographer came into play. There were lots of photos taken and there was a video mmade of the puzzle coming together – you can see the video and see how many bodies there actually are in the piece by checking out our web site at http://www.creativejuicegroup.com

PRESS RELEASE:

Event Solutions magazine, Conference and Tradeshow recently announced that Philadelphia’s own CREATIVE JUICE GROUP has been named as a finalist in the 2010 Spotlight Awards in the category of Best Entertainment Company of the Year.

As a leader in the Special Event Field Creative Juice is constantly wowing party guests with unique entertainment and unusual antics. From hand-painted photo souvenirs, to exquisitely painted bodies and signature living bars Creative Juice Group keeps events hopping with new ideas and fresh new trends.

The 139 finalists were selected from a field of more than 600 nominations based on their entry profile which speaks to their body of work. The finalists represent some of the top event professionals not just in the United States, but internationally. The prestigious Spotlight Awards, the event industry’s most comprehensive awards program began in 1998 and has grown to include 20 categories.

Finalists were published in the December issue of Event Solutions magazine and appear on the voting site:  event-solutions.com until January 31, 2010.  Recipients of the award will be presented the awards statue on March 8, 2010 in Las Vegas, as the signature event of the Event Solutions Conference and Tradeshow.

To vote visit:  event-solutions.com before January 31, 2010

We are so excited about our accomplishment and hope that you will help us to move from the position of “finalist” to the position of WINNER!. We need your vote! Click the following link and then go to the Vote Now button. Our category is “Best Entertainment Company”. You may vote one time from each email address that you have so vote for us as many times as you are able to. And please pass this along to anyone you think would like to help us out. We have become finalists because of our talents and work – now it is completely up to our fans to vote for us to make sure we win. We thank you in advance for your help.

www.event-solutions.com

Sandy O - painted on

 took some amazing photographs, Patty Marinelli  did my hair and makeup above the neck. Tina Decarlo did my makeup below the neck. Tania Keith and Katie Adema were on hand for all of the other costume changes.

So many comments have been made that I felt like I needed to post the video link so anyone who missed it could see it… adn those who asked to view it again… well – here it is.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Tremendous Thanks to DVideography for making the edit so spectacular. Dave just “gets it”, no mater how far out there “it” is.

http://www.dvideography.com/video/sandy-o-cant-be-there