Entries Tagged 'About Paragon' ↓

We call this piece of whimsy the Delicious Tour.

Kicking off at the CHOCOLATE FACTORY in London, next stop the JAM FACTORY in Oxford, then the CUSTARD FACTORY in Birmingham and the finale at the BISCUIT FACTORY in Newcastle. All authentic ex factories with new purpose and we’re just itching to work them into a roadshow!

THE (Menier) CHOCOLATE FACTORY, SE1
Built in 1870, 150 seat theatre, restaurant, bar and space

THE CUSTARD FACTORY, Birmingham
Built 100 years ago by Sir Alfred Bird who invented custard. Capacity up to 1,000, 105 seat Theatre and various spaces.

And there’s more - the Hat Factory, the Cello Factory the Violin Factory the Tea Factory…

Over the years we’ve had a great deal of fun providing creative ideas for our Clients, from designing a touring English Garden, sourcing Masai Warriors, building a massive Ruby player from mini rugby balls, creating a Bill and Ben shed, a monster experience for the launch of a video game, touring UK shopping centres with Wallace & Gromit and Darth Vadar in support of a software launch, promotion of the Teletubbies at (you’ve guessed it) secret locations…

We’re always here for when you need some live event creative input.

…and they call this work!

Give us a call on 0870 224 2644

Babington House is a property in the private members’ Soho House stable and has all the luxury with faded but stylish comfortable things you would expect - if you’ve been lucky enough to experience the brand before.

Set in it’s own 18 acres with lake, parkland, walled garden and views of the Somerset hills, there can be few places that provide such a laid back, chic and high service experience.

There are 32 individually designed bedrooms, bar, terrace, the orangery, library, study and the Cowshed Active and Cowshed Relax for spa.

 There are indoor and outdoor pools, croquet on the lawn, cricket, tennis and a host of other activities that can easily be arranged.

For meetings, the Log room seats 32 boardroom, the smart cinema seats 45 and the Orangery for evening events takes up to 80 seated.

We’ve taken just a few snippets from reviews we’ve found on the internet. But try for yourself, or if you want to arrange a site visit, just let us know.
Needless to say, it’s best to book as far in advance as possible and can only be on a semi exclusive basis f you want to take all the rooms. Members will always have access to the bar and facilities and to any other available rooms.

“The new walled garden spa area is simply stunning, and puts Babington back on the top of the list of country house hotels.”

“Magical, I have found my Narnia”

“This was my first time as a staying guest (have been before for lunch etc) and it did not disappoint. I felt like I had been invited to an exclusive house party. Given its a popular choice for celebs, there were no VIP areas or feelings of segregation (which I have felt many times before in A-list restaurants and other hotels). You just feel like you’re all part of the same experience. Certainly we were treated extremely well by the staff (even when staying up til 4am playing pool we were still served drinks graciously!) Nothing is a problem.”

Call the Paragon Team for more information on 0870 224 2644

Ernst & Young engaged key clients at a VIP Networking Event at Monaco’s newest and hottest venue ‘Zest’.  

Attending Fund Forum International Conference 22-25 June, Ernst & Young,  one of the largest professional services firms in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, set Paragon the challenge to produce an event with the same impact as they had produced the previous year at Barcelona’s Casa Battlo, but with a style more fitting to the current economic climate. 

With an enviable location overlooking the yachts of the rich and famous of Monte Carlo marina, Paragon chose the latest hot spot  ‘Zest’ as the perfect venue to host the exclusive event.     

Guests were collected from the conference venue, the Grimaldi Congress Centre, in luxury coaches and whisked off in style to ‘Zest’ where the champagne was flowing.   

By engaging one of the most sought after DJ’s in the Côte d’Azur  and offering some delicious foods including an unusual  ‘Financier Apple cake perfumed with Jet 27’,  Paragon ensured guests were able to network, relax and enjoy the evening to the full.  

When the sun set, Zest looked fabulous with a light show as the music stepped up the pace and just when the guests thought it was all over, they were whisked off to a piano bar to end the evening.

With more companies staging conferences and meetings in-house, Powerpoint presentations have shifted even further forward into the front line of communication.

Providing presentation skills training to appropriate employees is now more important than ever as key information needs to be delivered in the most effective manner.

Colleagues, passionate about their area of expertise and responsibility can easily create a ‘death by powerpoint’ situation, where it’s a struggle to glean salient points and often key messages are missed or misinterpreted.

Paragon can provide in-house presentation skills training for your employees, at very reasonable prices.  When costs are key, it’s important to get the right messages across.
Call 0870 224 2644

ROBIN STANLEY - THE MENTAL PICTURE

We like his style!  Cool, ultra lookable pictures that really do capture the moment.  Robin has been photographing corporate and private events for 8 years.  His portrait work has been exhibited at the national Portrait Gallery…his documentary work has been exhibited at the Observer Gallery…and Harpers Magazine voted him one of the UK’s Top Ten social photographers.

DORIEN ROSE - ANGELINA JOLIE LOOK-A-LIKE

Dutch actress Dorien has worked for years in the entertainment and model industry and we reckon is a pretty convincing Angelia.

TAILORED AIR - FRAGRANCE YOUR EVENT

Targeting the senses works.  75% of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are effected by smells linked to positive or negative memories.  You can influence the mood of your guests or visitors by using scents that trigger positive emotions that enhance their experience and encourages them to buy.

NEW FROM GREENROUTE - SAFARI LODGE AT VICTORIA FALLS

The new 4-star, 77-room David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa opened on the banks of the Zambezi River in Zambia, at Victoria Falls, on April 5.

PAUL MARTIN - CABARET ARTIST & HOST

With over fifteen years experience and hundreds of shows to his credit, Paul is now one of London’s best-loved cabaret artists.

His warm witty shows are always self-curated and, though he normally sings other people’s songs, he writes all his own links, jokes and stories. He also regularly hosts cabaret and burlesque events on the London scene as solo appearances or as a principal performer.

An interesting glide (we hope) through the Galaxy, ‘Hitchiker’ style, with some useful tips and guidelines on how to plan more sustainable events.

Written by the Paragon Team for a seminar at RSVP Exhibition on ‘How to Green your Event’, and updated.

If you would like a copy, free of course, just comment below or call 0870 224 2644.

Bring the stars to your event. Bump and grind with Beyonce, boogie with Bond or just have a quiet drink with the Mona Lisa!

Fantasy Imaging have been enhancing event experiences since 1998 and we know first hand just how much a talking point and fun their imaging services are. One family photo attached (sadly we couldn’t find the Fantasy magazine cover of Director Val with Ozzie Osborne…yet!).

Their interactive visual solutions include Heads on Bodies, Magazine Covers, Green Screen and Age Progression plus a host of custom imagery and event photography.

For more information on any of the entertainment in our Blog call Paragon on 0870 224 2644.

Adam Baggs looks into the theatrical history of conferencing and asks why we use PowerPoint when a trapdoor and stage revolve are so much more exciting.

This article was previously published in Conference News but we felt it needed another airing as it helps to inspire some alternative thinking.

Few things send shivers down your spine like the opening chords of Phantom of the Opera. The audience sits poised expectantly as the first notes rip themselves from the organ and the pile of clutter on the stage turns into a magnificent chandelier. Alternatively, there is the magical moment in Les Miserables when the apparently solid set, depicting buildings, is transformed into the barricades of the revolution amidst a display of smoke and music.

And now, answer this question - why does every conference you attend include nothing but a lectern, a couple of conference chairs and yet another PowerPoint presentation. We don’t have to use the software just because every computer in the world includes a copy, or as Stagestruck scriptwriter, Mark Gamon puts it: “More and more events are being driven by an internal Powerpoint deck, without reference to the needs of the audience. That’s a shame, because theatre creates interest – and interest is what inspires and educates audiences.” “Corporate audiences don’t live in a closed world – they go to the theatre, cinema, and rock shows, and in this country they watch some of the most sophisticated TV in the world. That means when someone’s communicating with them, they’re looking for surprises – not a stream of poorly designed slides interspersed with second-rate video. And surprise is what theatrical technique is all about.”

In fact, I am rather depressed to report that the highlights and technical pinnacle of many conferences are couple of spotlights, a radio mic and in top budget cases - a back projection set. Even the roots of modern day theatre, thousands of years ago in Greece could do better than that.

Conferences and live events as we know them are based on performance and the theory of theatre: you have a captive audience for a designated period of time, eager to be shown something. Theatre calls it entertainment and art, we call it education, sales, marketing and more. Either way, the essence is the same. So why do we treat them so differently, injecting one with creativity, whilst the other so often stagnates?

As the Barbican’s head of corporate sales, Anthony Hyde is in a unique position to answer this question. The Barbican is not only Europe’s biggest combined arts and conference venue, it was actually designed that way, a building created with the express purpose of playing host to the biggest names in arts and conferencing. “Firstly, not all events lack creativity but those that go the extra mile are the exception rather than the rule; there have been incredible examples of exciting, interesting conferences using an array of the latest technologies but they are few and far between. I also don’t believe it is the fault of the event organisers, whilst some are clearly better than others, the UK’s event industry is generally considered one of the most creative in the world and production companies, in particular those working with CGI and video are second to none.”

“If anything, I believe it is an awareness issue and dare I say it - an inability to think outside the box! The production companies and organisers just seem to forget the capabilities present in the venues they choose. They go to town on technical extravaganzas and awe-inspiring graphics whilst forgetting the potential creativity inherent in the spaces they have chosen. Because so many venues are nothing more than an empty box filled with seats, they don’t notice that others offer world class acoustics, stage revolves, flight towers and even that bastion of theatrical tricks – the trap door.”
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What an assault on the senses!  To sip your way through flavours that get you reminiscing, grab your taste buds and get you quizzing, questioning and talking.  Great interactive addition to your event.

Heston Blumenthal’s Victorian Feast ‘pink drink’ certainly rivals Harry Potter’s Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and we think it’s GREAT!

Simple, ingenious and effective.

If you want to add a similar experience to your event, call us on 0870 224 2644 and we’ll challenge a well known caterer to come up with the goods!

Link to Heston’s ‘The Fat Duck’

Good business, lasting business, is built on people.  People you trust and respect.

Integrity is key, simplification of operational process, efficient communication and, above all, complete transparency.

Whatever your budget for an event is, (if you have one at all) you’ve probably had to fight hard for it and every penny counts more than ever.

Defining the budget clearly from the start,  for us as a supplier, means we can get costs worked out around realistic creative ideas and logistics, right from the start.  Saving valuable time for everyone and allowing us to focus resources in the most effective way.

It also means we get an earlier look at the likely risks and opportunities that will impact on additional cost or savings.

At Paragon…you can expect us to tell you what the costs are every step of the way.

If you make changes to the brief, then we show you the cost breakdown and YOU decide to approve or disapprove.  If we recommend changes, we show you the cost breakdown and YOU decide whether to approve or disapprove.  So, when it comes to paying the bill…there are no surprises.

We’ve always worked this way.

Why not give us a call to talk over your next event?  0870 224 2644

Take a look at ‘The Gallery’ page to see some of the events we’ve been involved with.