After 17 years in business, Boston-based event planner/prop designer Party by Design wanted to update its image. So the company threw an open house last September to introduce its new high-tech-looking props to the event community.

The centerpiece of the “lounge lizard”-themed evening was a “glow bar” — a 16-foot diameter bar made of textured stainless steel, natural birch wood sides and an opaque illuminated lumasite top.

The versatile bar can be broken into “two half circles, a 36-foot serpentine or a number of smaller curved bars,” according to marketing director and lead designer Shane Ruff.

The company also wanted to showcase its “wave walls” — curved steel walls perforated with holes that allow light to shine through. “We specialize in ways to treat the perimeter of a room,” Ruff says. “These walls can be lit from behind or you can project light onto them.”

The wave walls were used to outline lounge areas for the 250 guests. “We liked the idea of a retro martini lounge with a high-tech style,” Ruff says.

Guests dined on tray-passed hors d'oeuvre and listened to lounge music provided by a DJ, while models handed out flavored martinis.

Vendors donated the beverages, catering, entertainment, floral, lighting and rentals. Another vendor donated the evening's mascot — an ice sculpture of a lizard crawling up the side of a vodka bottle.

The open house has created a buzz, according to executive designer and owner Franny Andahazy. “The glow bar rents like crazy,” she says. “People are looking for an alternative to banquet tables and we're providing the look.”

Party by Design
74 Lawley St.
Boston, MA 02122
617/825-5100
www.partybydesign.com