Georgina Attwood
From cockney rhyming slang to secret party planning, luxury events expert Georgina Attwood has certainly made her unique stamp on the industry. We find out why it’s important to plan a party for your grandmother and little brother.
How did it all start?
I took an interiors and events internship at The Ivy Group whilst studying Interior Architecture and Spatial Design at art school. I stayed with the Ivy Group because I could draw and ended up designing some of their events. I always thought I was going to go into interior design but I changed my mind. I wanted to go and see what events planning and design was like as I had only experienced the design element before. So I went to a small bespoke wedding planning company for four years and organised some huge parties and weddings. I oversaw the owner of Longleat’s wedding which was mega. I got offered a senior planner and designer role at Rhubarb, which is a famous caterer in London, for four years. I worked on all the Baftas, events in The Natural History Museum, the V&A, Kensington Palace, all the big ones. Then I helped them with their styling and private, high net worth parties and weddings outside London.
The premium set.
Yes. Then, because of my experience in event planning and styling, I ended up doing a lot for the CEO. If he had a big client coming in that he wished to win over and they wanted to have a party, I became their planner, which isn't what Rhubarb does. They are just food, so we didn't ever tell anyone. But I did that quite a lot, which was great. After a while, I felt I wasn’t learning anymore, so I decided to take four months off and set up Moriarty.
Where does that name come from?
Moriarty is actually cockney rhyming slang for a party. “Let's have a Moriarty.” I felt that I couldn't give it my name because if I announce that I'm a woman I automatically want to go and have babies. I wanted to be able to go away from the company and for it to still carry on. And I loved the name. Everyone loved it. It was my fiancé that came up with it.
What do you think it is about your particular approach that sets you apart?
The National Portrait Gallery said that the difference between our work and everyone else’s is that it's very logical and also system-based. But actually, the whole thing is curated down to a buttonhole or even a wafer in the right colour. We did an event for a big shoe brand recently and we put them all in the men's version of the shoes, all in different colours. We add so much more creativity and we're able to do all of the drawings and designs ourselves, so it means that when they come to us they get the whole package. We’re not just an event planner who knows the logistics of going into a venue and feeding 250 people. We’re far more creative.
What was the first big event that you did on your own?
We did an event for Save the Elephants at Buckingham Palace with Porsche Magazine and Tiffany. Everyone is like, “Are you joking, that was your first event?” We designed this incredible elephant running through the marshes with white flowers. Tiffany wanted it to be blue but you can never get a flower that’s the Tiffany blue, it’s virtually impossible. So it was white — just this gorgeous elephant and eight supermodels including Cara Delevigne and Naomi Campbell.
Tell us about the process. Are you going out and trying to find clients, or is it people coming to you?
It’s all me. For the client we will approach them through different mediums. I’d had Christmas with the people that set up Save the Elephants two years previously and mentioned they should do something in the UK and just continued to keep that relationship alive. The shoe brand that we just did a huge event for — it was someone asking me if I could help them with a supplier. I said fine, but then I was invited to the event, networked, spoke to the head of the event, mentioned the shoe brand and carried on keeping that relationship going. After that, sometimes they’ll call me because I'm on their mind. That's what we try to do. We do a lot just because we're members of a few of the galleries and we work with them all the time. They will ask us, “Would you like to invite four clients to the opening of the Dior exhibition?”. So I’ll pick my favourites that might like that particular event the most. I'm not exactly going in for a meeting and asking what events they have. I’m saying, “Would you like to go to the Dior exhibition with me?”. Then I get a chance to be with them for an hour or so. Just being friends, really.
That sounds like a nice way to make a living.
Yes, but it’s also slightly exhausting. I definitely don't have a personal life anymore.
What's an event like ‘Chez Attwood’?
Oh God, when I entertain friends! Well, it’s very flower-based. I’m into flowers. And it's the little details. They might come for dinner and the table looks amazing with florals and candles and all this cut glass. I have all these amazing linens that I’ve collected over the years, so I’ll put them out and all these plates that I have. I’m getting married next year.
An events planner getting married. Do you delegate that?
No, because I want the girls to focus on events, so I am doing it myself. We have a wonderful intern that’s amazing. I might ask her to do a travel schedule for me for the guests. That's as much as I would delegate myself. I’m even doing my own flowers at my own wedding. I'm getting married on an island in Greece and the flowers are just awful. One of my floral contacts is helping me and I'm just boating them over from Holland, it’s much cheaper and easier.
What sort of manager are you?
I’m not a control freak, unless it's the design element. We will brainstorm together if a brief comes in. I look at the diary and everyone’s schedule and assign a planner to the brief. Then we just creatively come up with loads and loads of ideas of what they could do, looking at the design element of it all. I’ll then put together a Dropbox of images of what I'm imagining, so they can make sure that they know creatively where me or one of the other designers is at. Then they go away and pull it all together and put their own stamp on it as well. Just before we pitch it, we go through and make sure it's all on point. Once the big brief has been done, I let them work on it and then we review it before it goes up. We always allow three days for us to review together. So then we know if there's anything missing.
Where do you stand on social media?
I deal with all of the social media myself, but we do have a marketing team. I collate all the images that I want to post and they make sure it just comes on to my phone at the right time and I post. I think it's a really good medium for everyone to see what we're up to. But I also think it can be quite deadly as well. It allows competitors to see what you're doing, who your clients are, where you are, who you're working with. And that, I think, is a little difficult sometimes.
What have you been working on and what’s next?
We’ve got about eight things on the go. Two big pitches for weddings next year and then another one that's confirmed which should be absolutely beautiful. We had a big event in July for Rolex, a private equity summer party and a 21st birthday party in Lincolnshire. We had a big charity event recently, but it was awful. We got a call at 7am from the venue saying that it had had caught fire. So we had to find a new venue and move all the guests and redo all the chefs and move all the staging and stuff in six hours. That was quite fun.
So how do you manage to mix it and stay creative?
Because they’re so different. Because you're creating such different things it means your research is so wide and fast. Then, because you're looking up so much stuff you actually get inspiration for other things. We've done two events for Rolex already and we’ve got another two booked in, so we know what they like. You're seeing what new things have come out, what new companies might be launching better things.
What makes a great event?
This is not creative at all, but I would say the timing makes a great event. The flow of the guests. If you have someone staying somewhere for too long or not raising the tempo and adding something, it doesn’t work. You have to start slow when they arrive and they have to leave not wanting to leave. It’s all about the timing and the tempo of the event and the experiences they go through. I've always said that you have to plan for everyone from your grandmother through to your little brother. I've got five brothers and sisters who are all crazy. So I have to plan for my whole family and my granny and my boyfriend's mum and my boyfriend's father who is a judge, my boyfriend's mother who is an artist. They’re all so, so, so different. If I can plan for those 10 people and they're all having a good time and they’re all gradually enjoying themselves, and we've kind of hit the nail on the head timing wise, then I think we’re doing okay.