Lily and I were assigned to take on the launch of a Magnum Ice Cream pop up store in SoHo during the Summer of 2016. All summer long, customers would be able to purchase a creamy Belgian chocolate ice cream bar and dip it in all kinds of luxe toppings ranging from dried rose petals to edible gold flakes. Hailey Baldwin (pre-Bieber) was our it-girl host and we tapped an AR tech company to create a custom Magnum toppings-inspired photo booth experience. Somehow the concept of the experience went from creating a Magnum toppings chandelier as the focal photo moment, to creating photo cubes inspired by different art movements, which would serve as artful backdrops to the already decadent ice cream bars. More on those HERE.
In the month leading up to the launch of the pop up, Lily and I would head down to Bistro 225 –– the nickname we lovingly gave to the subpar buffet-esque and questionable, B-Rated lunch spot that shared real estate with the Refinery29 HQ at 225 Broadway –– for coffee and ice cream bars. We ate so many decadent Magnum ice cream bars in the name of “market research” that sometimes our job seemed ridiculous.
The night before our opening night party I was accompanied by my dear friend and ex-roommate, Vinny, to Met Life Stadium, where we saw Beyonce’s Formation World Tour. Prince had just passed away, so she performed this incredible cover of The Beautiful Ones to a crowd washed in purple lighting. Needless to say, my soul left my body several times that evening and I left feeling inspired and excited to….create.
The next day, Lily (who had the opportunity to join me at the concert but was indecisive during the crucial ticket-purchasing time, so missed out on my “THIS IS NOT A DRILL, WHO’S COMING WITH ME?” Facebook alert) asked me all about the concert with FOMO in her eyes. I shared videos with her while we completed finishing touches to the space and snacked on our final ice cream bars before the party started.