skillet + scout.

After a weekend of being knee deep in counting/organizing inventory and a busy day yesterday prepping for some exciting upcoming photoshoots, I’m excited to be back blogging today!

In celebration of the fab week ahead, I thought I’d share some fun pics from an open house scout. was involved in awhile back. I had the pleasure of collaborating with the fabulous Noah of Skillet to create/style a spring tasting at Melrose – full of whimsy and perfectly eclectic funkiness. Julie captured the night and it was such a blast meeting everyone that came out for the night. If you haven’t tried Skillet’s waffle & fried chicken concoctions you are missing out! Find a truck here.

Oh and isn’t the American flag in the back of the room the cherry on top?!

photo cred : {Julie Harmsen Photography}

friday find : the channel back + exciting stuff.

Wowza! What a whirlwind couple of weeks this has been! Although things don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, I’m getting a little downtime tonight to take a break and reflect on all the good fortune I’ve been afforded over the past month or so.

Just a few of the things I’ve been up to:

– lots of scoutin’. searching for some new pretty pieces to add to the scout. collection. found the above channel back chair at 2nd saturdayz a couple weeks ago and couldn’t resist it’s blush colored charm. got it’s debut this week at skillet’s tasting – YES!

– followed up with my doc this week related to my hip pain. my torn labrum is responding well to the steroid shot, but i’m on 4 more weeks of exercise restriction. BOO! all i really really wanna do is go for a run & break a mad sweat. upside? 4 more weeks of watching movies on the green couch totally guilt free.

– a rue shoot (TOTAL dream come true!) with cassandra lavalle, sarah rhoads and the uber talented gals of hens & chicks collective. can’t wait to see the next issue of rue mag and so honored to have worked alongside these creatives!! had such a blast!

– my first venue walk through with ellen. she & paul will be getting married in august at the beautiful laurel creek manor and i feel super privileged to play a role in their big day!

– LOTS of inquiries for our goods. so excited that the word is really starting to spread about scout.

– started massage therapy this week. in one word? AWESOME. in three words? best decision ever!

– some super exciting conversations & mtgs are happening between myself and miss amy moore. amy is the brilliant designer behind my scout. re-branding and someone i greatly admire. i’m BEYOND stoked to collaborate with her in the future!

– adam treated me to a super special day last saturday where i got to pick out all my fav foods down at pike place market and we had a little picnic in the back of our car at gas works park (it was too chilly to be outside). sounds kinda ridiculous to lay out a picnic blanket in the car BUT it was the BEST day i’ve had in a REALLY long time. i can’t thank my lucky stars enough for such a supportive partner.

– blogshop. blogshop. blogshop. i can’t say enough good things about how much i learned during my own time at blogshop in berkeley, so it was a total thrill & a half to provide some scout loot to angela & bri’s class here in seattle this month.

– i’m currently prepping for a super exciting shoot next month that has my creative juices in overdrive. so ecstatic to collaborate with some wedding peeps that i’ve never had the opportunity to work with before.

– adam bought me a new printer!!! not a big deal you say? TRUST ME. BIG deal! the amount of stress that has been relieved just to know that when i hit “print” something will actually come out of my printer with ink on it. uhhh-huh. HUGE deal.

– planning my upcoming europe trip. dublin & paris are all set (coli and i will be staying in this teeny tiny little gem for 12 glorious days in May) and my pure excited joy for some dedicated sister time with coli is becoming SUPER real…it’s gonna happen! we’re now on the hunt for places in rome, athens, zurich, prague, and a few other spots. any suggestions/tips are welcome!!

– a trophy party! jennifer and her team were nice enough to throw a “curator party” as a thank you for the window design & decor i created for their u-village & bravern shops. it was so much fun to have my closest buddies munch on cupcakes for the night and celebrate with confetti & bubbly!

– a SUPER DUPER fun filled and inspirational night with skillet this week. i was granted the opportunity to collaborate with noah of skillet for their spring tasting this week at melrose market studios. i unleashed practically my entire scout collection on the space and had a ton of fun styling it up alongside noah! looking forward to many more collaborations with skillet in the future!

I’m off to a colorblocking + gold b-day party this weekend for my buddy Julie, a birthday celebration for my dear sweet Hadley and a MUCH needed brunch with my nurse besties: Barb, Apple & Em. Also LOTS of work catch up. I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

***p.s. lots of pics coming soon of all the exciting things going on with BT&B and scout! check back!

open house yummy.

I wanted to share some fun pics captured by Calima Portraits at the Twelve Baskets open house a couple weeks ago. Scout Vintage Rental Co. was there to show off some of our collection, and it was so much fun to meet a lot of peeps in the industry, and also get to know some of the brides & grooms attending! Twelve Baskets really knows their stuff – their food was outstanding (I couldn’t get enough of those little crab cakes!) & adorable Catherine was there to capture all the details! What a fun night!

Happy weekend friends! *JB

photo cred: {Calima Portraits}

skillet street food.

Oh. My. Word. I am SO excited for this upcoming open house that I can barely stand it! Not only is it at a killer new venue (if you haven’t checked out Melrose Market Studios yet, you are in for quite the treat!) but it’s all about yummy grub and thinking outside the box. Skillet is holding their spring tasting on the 22nd of this month (yep! you better get your RSVP on!) and it’s gonna be RAD!

Scout Vintage Rental Co. will be there showing off lots of our favs and Noah of Skillet is cooking up the super fabulous! I’m telling you – you WANT to be at this one folks…it’s gonna be insanely awesome! If you are getting hitched or wanna blow the socks right off your guests at your next shindig, come hang with us and some superstar vendors!

Skillet Street Food | Pederson’s Rentals | Wave Link Music | Fleurish | Julie Harmsen Photography | 321 Foto | Bluebird Microcreamery | Melrose Market Studios | & scout!

RSVP here and spread the word! We’d love to hang with ya! See you soon!

photo cred: {matthew parker}

a wedding show + an open house.

Last month I had the pleasure of providing some of my vintage goodies to Twelve Baskets Catering for their booth at the Seattle Wedding Show. Jaffrey & the team nabbed some fab pics of the booth that I’m sharing on the blog today. The tabletop was my fav…absolutely gorgeous, right?! They did such a great job with the design of their booth!

I will also be participating in their open house coming up this week (rescheduled due to that crazy Seattle snow storm!) and would love to see you there! It’s the perfect opportunity for you brides and grooms out there to see a stunning venue: 415 Westlake, and sample some yummy grub from Twelve Baskets. You can also touch/feel/rent some loot from scout. vintage rental co. while you’re there! RSVP and find details here!

photo cred: {twelve baskets catering}

twelve baskets open house!

January is sure to be a BIG month! I’m already getting geared up for the upcoming open house for Twelve Baskets Catering next month! Food has to be one of my favorite details at any party so I’m super excited to see what Twelve Basket’s has in store!

I’ll be providing a bunch of my vintage goodies from scout. for the evening and will have my own little area of the room. I would love for you to drop by and say hi! There will be a bunch of other fabulous vendors there including entertainment and of course…grub!

Check out all the details here, and don’t forget to RSVP ASAP! Spots are limited and will surely fill up quick! Hope to see you there!

tc creative studio opening.

On January 5th I have the pleasure of participating in what is sure to be one amazingly inspiring night. Tiffany Lowry of Tiffany Colors is opening an adorable art studio space in the Pioneer Square area and she’s asked me to provide some pieces from my scout. collection to the opening!

If you’ve never heard of Tiffany, woah. She is only one of the most talented makeup artists and stylists in the Seattle area and her studio is sure to offer Seattle Creatives a unique space to get their create on!

Come spend the evening with us, while we sip wine, give back, look at some kick-ass art and take photos with Sarah Rhoads Photography.

You don’t wanna miss it!

scout. launch party!

It’s always the best feeling in the world when a design you’ve spent many months tossing and turning about in your mind finally comes to life! Last month, I had the immense pleasure of collaborating with Trophy Cupcakes and showcased my scout. vintage rental co. collection in their adorable party room. The whole evening was SUCH a blast and I was so excited that so many of you came out to see my loot!

When dreaming up a way to share my collection my 1st thought was: “oh my gosh, how will I ever make it all fit?!” and 2nd…”I want people to be inspired.” The whole intention behind my vintage rental biz is to encourage others to find beauty in things that might otherwise be considered past their expiration date. I absolutely adore repurposing old items into new designs, and threaded that passion into a lot of the party details for the launch.

I wanted the overall design to emphasize the immense amount of color that I have within my collection. Blue chairs, green tables, orange enamel colanders. I’m obsessed with color and the party was nothing short of a color explosion!

My dear sweet friend McKenzie who also happens to be one of the most AH-MAZ-ING floral designers in Seattle, was kind enough to offer her own dose of color to the party with some stunningly gorgeous florals. The second McKenzie arrived the morning of setup I was flabbergasted by her floral choices for the party. Are those gigantic neon pink peonies not the most amazing things you’ve ever seen?! So so good. Thank McKenzie!!!

The entire design for the room started with the ceiling. I’ve been collecting vintage fabric for sometime and I really wanted to create a vibrant fabric canopy over the party. After many tireless hours of knot tying the canopy came to life. I also incorporated an installation in the center of the room using the wire skeletons of old lampshades. Thank you Adam, Heather & Kate for your additional hands with setup & prep! Couldn’t have done it without ya!

My green hutch is definitely one of my favorite pieces and I was so excited to use it as one of the focal points of the room. The cocktail & cupcake party wouldn’t have been complete without some champagne and little mason jars & thanks to Hads, Emma & Christa everyone had drinks in hand through the night! Thanks gals!

One of the things that I was really adamant about with regards to my scout. marketing is that I didn’t lose the vintage aspect of the brand in the details. I cringed at the idea of using a modern looking business card to promote my business. So after a bit of deep thinking I came up with the idea of using vintage used postcards (some of the one’s I’ve found have dated back to the early 1900’s!) and placing a sticker on top of them with all my info.

I have this really crazy rad mint colored mattress frame that worked perfect for displaying my biz postcards during the event. I filled the mattress with a bunch of pillows I’ve found while scouting and a few I made on my own from leftover fabric.

I also really wanted the party to be a direct reflection of the personality of the pieces. I’d been dying to name each piece for sometime and figured the party was the perfect way to kind of say “hello my name is” for each unique piece. My buddy Amy (a stellar graphic designer who is currently revamping the scout. brand) suggested I use library cards in bright colors from the adorable paper co. Knot & Bow to display the names and details of my items. GENIUS! I was swooning over the library cards when they arrived in the mail, and after multiple attempts to get that “vintage typewriter” look (I actually begged my printer to cooperate during a 4am debacle) I was incredibly pleased with how they turned out!

Overall, I’m ecstatic with how the party turned out, and I was so grateful for the generosity of all of the people that stopped by. The party left me with visions of my own storefront one day, and I can’t thank Jennifer and her team at Trophy enough for all of their help in making the party a total success!!!

P.S. Thank’s to Mo for all the great shots and for being there to capture the night!

photo cred: {Mo Hines Photography}

what a night.

It’s unbelievably amazing to think that a year ago I was sitting on a bench on Pont Louis Philippe in Paris gazing out across the glistening Seine and wondering what my life could be. I wondered if my life could be all the things I wanted it to be: real. honest. full of whimsy and colorful happiness. And despite the grey dreariness that completely engulfed me on that chilly fall day, I still felt a warm, completely comforting goodness that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was a goodness I attempted to laso, one I gravitated towards, one which made me feel like there was something bigger out there for me. Something I just needed to believe in. I felt a feeling that made me feel like I could come home and really do something. Something BIG.

Last night that something big came to fruition. My launch party was the biggest thing I have probably ever tackled. Really. After hours and hours of prep, many all nighters, sore knees & ankles, buckets of love and support from my friends and my husband, my dream of owning my own business REALLY came true. Last night I shared my business ventures with my community and it felt all the things I wanted it to feel: real. honest. colorful. and every bit of the whimsy I could have ever imagined.

I can’t thank the team of Trophy Cupcakes and Jennifer Shea enough for their generosity. Allowing my launch party to take place in their gorgeous party room was such a delight. My vintage pieces felt so at home against the cool dark wood floors and stark white walls. I ended the night never wanting to leave their space and wished I could have opened up shop right then and there. It was such a pleasure to work with such an amazing company and I am so grateful for Trophy!

Thank you to everyone that came last night and shared in my joy of a dream come true. Thank you for showing love to my pieces and making them feel important and valued. Thank you to those of you whom I’ve been dying to meet and were generous enough with your time to stop in and say hello – it was such a privelage meeting you! Thank you to my friends (Heather, Kate, McKenzie, Hadley, Emma, Monica, Christa, Maggie, Steve & Jason) for spending many hours helping with prep, set-up and tear down. Thank you to my husband for always being my knight in shining armor and for believing in me – having you be proud of me is my greatest accomplishment. Thank you to my family who despite being far away were there in my corner – I felt your love and presence. And thank you to Paris for being that place that makes me feel like anything is possible.

Here’s to scout. … my newest business baby. I am so proud of what you are, what you’ve become and where you are going. I loved every last bit of last night and I have my charming vintage collection to thank for that.

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

seattle met. yowza!

Okay I would have called them little flutters yesterday. Today I call them mammoth GIGANTO butterflies. Laura Cassidy – editor and chief of Seattle Met Bride and Groom Magazine just mentioned my launch party. On her blog.

Woah.

Check out her uber fantastic overview of scout. and the party details here. Thanks for the mention Laura!

photo cred: {screen shot from seattle met; photograph by mo hines photography}

scout launch party!

It’s been about 4 months since I officially launched my vintage rental company: scout. and it’s certainly time to get the word out!

With the help of my fantabulous friend amy moore (she’s a killer graphic designer…I’m telling ya, this chick has some crazy mad talent!) AND the lovely team at trophy cupcakes (if you haven’t sampled a sweet from these peeps you are TOTALLY missing out!), I’m hosting an official scout. “launch party” on Wednesday November 9th from 5-8pm in the Trophy Cupcakes party room in Wallingford and I couldn’t be more excited!

Check out the adorable invite Amy created above!!! I asked for a vintage postcard invite and boy did she deliver! I can’t wait to show off my collection to industry pros and beyond, and will spend all afternoon today and this weekend scouting for some new pieces to add to the party! Sooooo stoked!

Happy weekend ya’ll!

P.S. Been scouting like a mad woman over the past few weeks with little time to actually place the new pieces on the website. Keep your eyes peeled for some new additions : )

art cred: {amy moore studio}

friday find: the knot event.

Last night I had the pleasure of participating in The Knot networking event here in Seattle. BreeAnn of Pink Blossom Events and Heather of heathoriginal. asked me to create a dessert display using items from my scout. collection and it was SO much fun to get creative!!!

I used ladders, wooden spools, frames, my favorite brass rimmed trunk and lots of fun little antique goodies & some new finds to add some vintage flair to the dessert table. I had such a blast participating in the event and was so thrilled to meet some new peeps! Thanks to everyone that came! So much fun meeting you!

Up next for scout.? A launch party!!! Yep. I’m stoked. Details coming soon! But 1st….2nd Saturdayz! Tomorrow is the second weekend of the month so I’ll be scoutin’ like crazy.

Happy weekend ya’ll!

*JB

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

featured on SMP!

Today is a good day. A REALLY good day.

When I first started my event design & styling biz I only had dreams of one day making it to a feature on Style Me Pretty. Style Me Pretty is major. REALLY major. It’s the most popular wedding blog out there, dripping with only the most gorgeously detailed weddings imaginable. It’s the place where every wedding creative I’ve ever met dreams of having their work featured. And it was a BIG dream for me when I started this new business.

Vanessa & Tony’s wedding was quite simply amazing. Not only did I get to create a design and coordinate the day from start to finish, but I got to witness two of the most important people in my life commit their lives to one another. The entire wedding was one of those “out of the body” experiences and today feels much of the same. Today Vanessa & Tony’s wedding is being featured on Style Me Pretty and I could NOT be prouder.

I also am SO SO SO stinkin’ grateful for the photography brilliance of my dear friend Mo. Monica captured Vanessa & Tony’s wedding in the most genuine way…she really captured the beauty that is Vanessa & Tony and I’m so grateful for it!

Head over to SMP today and check out the feature here! Don’t forget to view the entire gallery here to get all the little details!

photo cred: {screen shot from style me pretty}

Event Design, Styling, Floral Concept + Coordination: {bow tie & bustle event design + styling} Wedding Photography: {Mo Hines Photography} Flowers: {Mazarte Florals} Calligraphy: Letters By Ellen / Venue, Catering + Make-up: Cabo Surf Hotel / Paper Goods + Invitations: bow tie & bustle event design + styling / Bride’s Hair: Mandi Rhodes / Wedding Dress: Jim Hjelm / Wedding Cake + Desserts: Cabo Surf Hotel

road dogs.

I remember him asking: “what are we supposed to do?”

I responded, hands on hips: “what do you mean, what are you supposed to do?”

And then we stood there. For a long while. Totally dumbfounded. Because minus the stereotypical impressions of bachelor parties only consisting of 18 rounds of golf and minimally clad women, I had ZERO clue of what he was supposed to do…zero.

And there are stories. Endless ones. About best friends. Best Men. Brothers. Sisters. Bridesmaids. Uncles. Cousins. All under the pressure to create a night full of pure awesomeness. That “last night” out for the bride or groom to be. We plan and plan with the hopes of living up to the couples expectations, all the while hoping to provide a night of endless entertainment, as to not disappoint a huge group of people – half of which we have never even met.

Good grief.

Solution? Road Dogs.

Road Dogs Seattle Brewery Tour is this totally brilliant and super informative 3 hour drink fest. Imagine it: you don’t drive. You don’t even plan. You just hop in a big white utility van with a dude named Dustin & 9 of your best buds, crank up the jams and drink beer. And lots of it. Oh and you learn lots of cool facts too. Facts that can obviously be used as ammunition on those future trivia nights.

Oh and this tour isn’t just for dudes. No. No. No. Gals too! I had sooooo much fun this past Tuesday when I was invited out on the brewery tour by kimberly. I made some new industry pals, sipped on citrus beer (YUM!), stopped to say hi to the troll and learned that the “bung” goes in the bung hole. (Okay, that sounds really bad, but I learned that the bung is this hole on the side of a keg that can be opened so you can add yummy flavors to the beer without having to flavor an entire batch. For example, Don of Naked City Brewery added Sour Patch Kids to a keg at a recent beer festival and it was a HUGE hit!).

So next time your wracking your brain while planning those bachelor/bachelorette parties, 21st birthday shenanigans, wedding anniversaries, etc. etc. check out Road Dogs.

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

pdx.

I can barely contain my excitement!!!

This afternoon (actually this instant) I’m heading down to Portland from Seattle to attend some really REALLY rad blogging workshops with bri and joy tomorrow! Now, you might be saying to yourself: “Jenn, you haven’t even attended these workshops yet. How do you know they are going to be rad?”

Well, let’s just put it this way: when it comes to Bri and Joy, you just know.

Don’t believe me? Take one look at their blogs, branding, adorable personal styles, professional achievements etc. etc. and you, like me, will just know.

I can’t wait to come home to share all that I learned, and to give my blog a little creative love. Yipee!

photo cred: {portlandia via nubby twiglet}