Art in Bloom DC Event Partners 2021
“Bloom” Installation by Brightly Every After
Art in Bloom DC 2021 at Anderson House was co-produced by Glenn Hennessey, Ashley Greer, and Margo Fischer along with the collaboration of Circa Life Images, Sieff Studios, Simple Multimedia, and A2Z Music Factory. In late April 2021 a small micro-reception was held so that the participating artists and press could view the exhibit in person. This micro reception would not have been possible without the contributions of GetPlated Catering, Something Vintage Rentals, Nadia Pessoa Harpist, Brightly Ever After, or Ecoprint. A huge thank you, to everyone who dedicated their time and talents to make both the virtual and micro-reception an immense success as well as to everyone taking the time to view and enjoy Art in Bloom DC 2021!
Meet the Co-Producers
(From Left) Ashley Greer, Glenn Hennessey, and Margo Fischer. Photo Credit: Circa Life Images
Glenn Hennessey, Anderson House
Glenn Hennessey began working with Events at Anderson House in 2012. His long career as a graphic designer in Washington included many historic sites and performing arts organizations including the Kennedy Center, The Washington Ballet and Mount Vernon. A Minnesota native, as well as the youngest of six siblings, he has now lived more than half his life in the DC area.
Margo Fischer, Bright Occasions
Margo Fischer is an event planner and has been the owner of Bright Occasions, an event planning and design company in the Washington, DC region, for the past ten years. Margo's love for art and floral design started long before she was an event planner. A passion that she embraced during a study abroad opportunity where she studied art history and the history of landscapes and gardens in Italy. When planning events, she loves to incorporate lush flowers and artistic details throughout the designs. Margo has been named a top wedding planner in Washingtonian Weddings and Engaged Magazine. Her work has been featured in many local and national publications such as Martha Stewart Weddings, Washingtonian Weddings, Engaged Magazine and Style Me Pretty.
Ashley Greer, Atelier Ashley Flowers
Ashley Greer is the owner and CEO of floral studio Atelier Ashley Flowers. She is fluent in the language of flowers with a deep knowledge of what colors, containers, and blooms are best used to express her client’s unique message and style.
Ashley's work has appeared throughout Washington’s most exclusive clubs, hotels and private residences. In addition, Ashley has had the privilege of designing for three Administrations and the Speaker of the House.
When she is not designing flowers, Ashley enjoys public speaking and often appears on local television to discuss floral trends and demonstrate design for everyday life.
Ashley is a graduate of Holton-Arms and Pomona College and currently lives and works in Old Town, Alexandria.
Creative Partners of Art in Bloom DC
Donnamaria R. Jones, Circa Life Images
Donnamaria is a published, award-winning portrait and event photographer based in the Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia area. She owns and operates Circa Life Images Studio, a 2,500 square foot space located on the north end of Waldorf in Southern Maryland. The spacious facility has a very large bay door entrance and offers a range of professional imaging services to include portrait, lifestyle and automotive photography. The studio is conveniently located off the main thoroughfare, MD Route 301, with ample parking just a few feet from the main entrance. She also travels internationally to provide on location photography services.
Photo of Donnamaria by Jonny Edward.
Donnamaria is a member of:
Exposure Group African American Photographers Association, White House News Photographers Association, American Society of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers of America, Washington Project For The Arts, Wedding and Portrait Professionals International, National Association of Photoshop, Professionals/KelbyOne
Her photography experience extends to corporate and military events, photojournalism, sports, charity event coverage and intimate fine art portraiture.
"I love capturing this journey called "Life". Like riding your favorite roller coaster, no two experiences are ever the same. Photography allows us to hold on to precious moments; to relive those amazing experiences; and to keep our family and friends forever in our hearts and minds. Whether its your wedding day, a new baby, family portraits, or that "dream photo shoot" you've been longing for, I will customize an experience to fit your needs. Join me in creating beautiful long-lasting memories."
Abbreviated Client List:
Human Rights Campaign, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Public Access Corporation of Washington D.C. (DCTV), Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, National Association of Black Accountants, STG, Inc., Cigars 210, Tinder Box, Society Lounge.
Jesse Sieff, Sieff Studios LLC (videography)
Jesse Sieff, Owner/Creative Director of Sieff Studios LLC, began his career as a professional musician and composer, earning degrees in both Music Performance and Civil Engineering. Jesse applied his creative background directly to his role as the Chief Video Producer for the Public Affairs Office in the United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps, where he cultivated his skills with video/audio recording, editing, and digital marketing in service to his unit for over 4 years.
Upon the honorable completion of his enlistment with the Marine Corps, Jesse was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his positive and quantifiable impact on the company’s media content, community outreach, and recruiting mission. Jesse now continues his work independently through Sieff Studios, a certified Veteran-Owned business based in Maryland, providing professional business consulting and customized digital assets in service to clients in the District and across the DMV region.
Micro-Reception Partners
Keyon & Alexandria Hammond, GetPlated Catering
GetPlated is locally owned by husband and wife team: Keyon & Alexandria Hammond! This duo shares a love for the kitchen and family. Keyon is the leader of the squad, a classically trained chef with an edge that brings bold flavors, refinement, approachability and more than 12 years experience as a platinum country club chef.
Alexandria brings the distinct eye for details; from the logistics to the plates for every event. Her keen ear for listening has proven invaluable to bringing our private and corporate clients vision to fruition. Have a crazy idea? She's definitely your girl to chat with!
Together they bring a well-defined palate, fun culinary attitude, and most importantly— love, to GetPlated.
The guy loved the food!
The girl loved the guy!
Together they created GetPlated!
Dawn Crothers, Something Vintage Rentals
We are a bada$$ team led by women who want to make the world a more bright and happy place to live, radiating positivity and kindness wherever we go. We aren’t afraid to push design boundaries, and we believe in supporting local makers to give your event a bespoke touch. We like to think of our SVR team as family, and we’ve made it our mission to create jobs to sustain and build people up who deserve opportunity, especially BIPOC and other minorities.
Since launching in 2012, Something Vintage has been obsessed with curating a collection of trend-setting rental pieces that create fun, joy filled, and memorable events. We believe in sustainability – giving new life to old pieces and creating opportunities for local makers. That’s why we build and craft much of our inventory in-house. We believe in the inherent beauty in handmade and vintage items, and we put our blood, sweat, and tears into each and every piece we design.
Our brand is guided by the desire to bring joy into the world of events with well-curated and one of a kind rental inventory. We are dedicated to finding quality pieces that have a story, and more importantly, to helping clients tell their own stories. The events we help to produce are not only creative and fun experiences, but are executed flawlessly. We support our clients and vendors at all times by employing awesome and diligent team members to keep events on schedule and drama-free.
Garrette Turner, Brightly Ever After
BRIGHTLY Ever After is committed to providing the special touch needed to make any party - big or small - an unforgettable event.
Based in Falls Church, Virginia, BRIGHTLY Ever After is the original and only company in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia to offer giant light-up letters, stunning floral walls and creative marquee signs for hire for weddings, parties, photo shoots, and corporate events. Each of our 4 foot tall marquee letters, silk flower walls and other distinctive props are designed and hand-crafted with love and are available for rent in the DMV.
The creative team behind BRIGHTLY Ever After is an imaginative father-daughter duo with an eye for detail and a great sense of humor. My Dad, Stafford, and I absolutely love working side-by-side in our workshop, needling each other while bringing our lighthearted designs to life. Our entire catalog is customizable and will make your guests exclaim, “Wowzers!" And, did we mention how cool your photos will be? Trust us. They’ll be Insta-worthy. #swoon
Nadia Pessoa, Harpist
Nadia Pessoa is an award-winning harpist whose career has taken her to stages across North America, Europe, Brazil, and China.
Over the past 14 years, she has performed at Washington’s most exclusive events, including the Meridian Ball, The White House Inaugural Ball, State Department receptions, galas benefitting The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Ford’s Theatre, and the Smithsonian; the Horatio Alger Awards, concerts at the Washington National Cathedral, and Christmas at The White House. Events she has played for have been published in Washingtonian Magazine, Capitol File, WedLuxe, and Munaluchi Bride.
Nadia is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Michigan, and also studied in Vienna, Austria. She started playing the harp at the age of two.
A few notable guests she has entertained: Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Martha Stewart, Michael Douglas, Lady Gaga, Stephen Colbert, Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt, George H. W. and George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, and President Joe Biden.
Nadia can be regularly seen performing with The Washington Ballet at The Kennedy Center. She has lectured at Howard University and the Washington Conservatory of Music, and was a featured speaker at DC Wedding Week.
As a harpist who is fluent in a variety of styles, from Classical to jazz, and pop, her goal is for clients to have “music that is memorable, meaningful, and reflects your personality.”
Bobby Firestein,
Vice President, Ecoprint, powered by More Vang (reception catalogue).
The last thing you could call Bobby Firestein is green. On the contrary, he’s been passionately involved in the printing business for over 30 years. Sustainability and conducting business in an environmentally respectful manner have been at the heart of his approach since the beginning. During his tenure Bobby incorporated environmentally friendly technologies, procedures, and materials into the Ecoprint business. His bold actions and unwavering commitment caught the attention of American Printer Magazine which, honored him with its coveted Environmental Excellence Award.
OK, so maybe he is green. It’s a calling for Bobby. He sees it as vital for the sustainability of both printing and the planet. And as Vice President of Ecoprint, he’s working alongside Jon Budington to make sure the Ecoprint / More Vang partnership becomes the gold standard, or maybe green standard, for the entire printing industry.
Bobby is the proud father of two daughters, Taylor and Bailey. When not working, Bobby can be found exploring the great outdoors on Maryland’s eastern shore with his partner Sharon, or managing the great indoors together with their two dogs, and a cat who ignores them all.
A2Z Music Factory (Virtual 360 Tour)
Our mission at A2Z? is to give you the wedding celebration you have always dreamed about. Our passion is to make your wedding vision a reality. A2Z is a family-owned business, owned and operated by a husband and wife team, John and Carrie Howard who know firsthand how intimidating and complex it can be to plan a wedding. At A2Z, we’re known for our ability to transport our couples and their guests on a magical journey, a celebration of love and connection that you will never forget. We genuinely love weddings and can’t wait to help you to make your wedding a dream come true. With over 23 years of experience, and having had our own wedding experience, we are uniquely qualified to guide you through the process of planning your special day. We will take your dreams and make them into reality, with our steady hands guiding you every step of the way, creating the best and most memorable day of your life. No stress, no hassle, just a flawlessly executed experience for you and your guests to savor for a lifetime.
We are a full-service wedding entertainment company that was built from the (dance) floor up. Our personalized and hassle-free event coordination will free your time and energy to fully immerse yourself in the experience of this special day. Our mission is to allow you to relax and enjoy the process, while our team of talented event designers, lighting programmers, and sound technicians bring your vision into reality. We will create the perfect ambiance using our top of the line lighting equipment and we will create a soundtrack for your wedding that will make sure that every moment is just right, from the romance of your first dance to the high energy dance party we all love at our favorite weddings. We look forward to sharing your special day with you and helping to make it an experience that neither you nor your guests will soon forget.
Simple Multimedia Inc. (Virtual 360 Tour)
Simple, Inc. is a multi-disciplinary media company. We specialize in creative solutions for a variety of media, from graphic design and illustration to animation and film production.
What we do is Simple: As our name suggests, our philosophy is to keep every aspect of our business, and your interaction, ‘Simple’ and enjoyable. While our process is ‘Simple’, our products and services are far from it.
Our clients range from government entities to small businesses and corporations. We strive to develop lasting relationships with each of our clients by demonstrating honesty, hard work and quality.
Founded in late 2008, Simple has grown organically through a strong commitment to push boundaries and create excellent work, regardless of medium.With over 35 years of combined experience, Simple Multimedia covers the spectrum of what a good media services company should be.
As our name suggests, our philosophy is to keep every aspect of our business, and your interaction, ‘Simple’ and enjoyable. While our process is ‘Simple’, our products and services are far from it.
Simple’s work is exceptional. Our company combines the creativity and knowledge of a video production team with the skills of a design and development team. We draw on our rich skillset to effectively deliver your message to your unique target audience.
With a team of over 20 professionals in specialized areas of media service, Simple guarantees a quality product that will meet and exceed your needs. From web and app coders to cameramen and editors, we deliver knowledge and creativity while utilizing industry standards.