The Modern Event Furniture Story: Developing Stylish Solutions for the Event Industry

The special event industry has always been inspiring. Together with my team at Modern Event Furniture, we are revolutionizing event furniture by raising the bar in design and functionality.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED I got my start at a very young age working as a DJ for events before getting into fashion design for a decade. That transitioned into furniture and interior design, which brought me back full circle to the event industry. I founded Luxe Rentals in 2004 and as creative director, I was always looking for new trends and ways to create products that were functional and wouldn’t get damaged in a few events. In 2010, I founded Modern Event Furniture to elevate the rental business with a furniture collection designed to sustain constant movement, ability to transform, and be innovative in aesthetic and function.

Modern Event Furniture is based in Miami and Montreal with its own staff for production and quality-control overseas and a warehouse in China.

A UNIQUE BUSINESS MODEL A base collection of bars, lounge furniture, lighting, boxwood, tables and dining chairs is in stock in our Miami warehouse, but the main business is factory-direct, where the customer can buy exactly what they need in any quantity and any color combination at factory-direct pricing. We are not a rental company; we develop and manufacture furniture for sale to the event and rental industry.

The products are manufactured to order and shipped directly by full ocean container to the customer’s door. This allows customization and consolidation of different products, at factory-direct pricing. Our products have been used in almost 20 countries on five continents--we ship worldwide.

NEVER BUSINESS AS USUAL At Modern Event Furniture, we are dedicated to being at the forefront of this industry. For us, it’s never business as usual.

Our line of event furniture stands out for many reasons:

·         Our collection is designed for durability and easy to move.

·         All of our items are transformable and designed for easy assembly on site--no tools or screws needed.

·         Our modular collection is scalable with many products sharing the same footprint.

·         We offer a large selection of seating options with interchangeable heights, cushions and colors.

·         Many of our products are brandable using MEF’s proprietary low-tack vinyl.

·         We offer fashion-forward fabrications with solutions for the event industry, such as our liquid- and stain-repellent velvet. We can even custom-print fabrics for furniture and accessories.

·         Even though it takes dozens of different factories with various capabilities to manufacture a collection so vast, our materials and finishes are consistent so that everything coordinates.

·         Most importantly, we don’t cut corners. Our products are built to last with so many of our products still in circulation after more than 10 years of use and thousands of events.

 SECRETS TO SUCCESS The response to our products has been nothing but positive from our broad clientele, ranging from party rental companies, to event designers and planners, event venues, florists and even event production companies. One big reason for our success is our expertise in creating innovative and transformable inventory. We understand the event business, and that’s why many of our modular products are brandable and can be assembled without the need for tools.  Our products are engineered with safety and longevity in mind, we offer protective cases on wheels for many of our products to guarantee safe movement, storage, and a long product lifespan. Many of our products are easily repairable, some with simple replacement parts that we can provide, or can be re-polished to look new again.

MEF is able to develop our innovative features by virtue of constantly listening to the needs of our clients. Because we are still actively involved in the rental business ourselves, we know what the product must withstand and what the daily struggles of this business are.

We always keep the functionality of a product in mind when designing a new collection while incorporating the newest industry and design trends. To highlight our Kincaid sofa system, we developed an interchangeable height soft seating collection upholstered in velvet—one of the most popular fabrics in events today. Velvet is normally not a very easy material to use in an event environment, but we custom-engineered the fabric to have inherent liquid- and stain-resistant properties. In case the fabric gets worn or damaged or in case of swapping color for an event, we offer changeable slipcovers that are tight fitting and don’t look like slipcovers! Having a high ROI is important in this industry, and we don’t believe in disposable furniture. Many clients today are looking for sustainable options for events, and Modern Event Furniture is committed to this principle. Almost everything is developed so that it can be repaired, parts can be interchanged, or items re-polished. Our furniture performs well over time in part because we begin by using high-quality raw materials. Our bars, for example, are made of heavy gauge unrecycled stainless steel, which guarantees durability, stability and, more importantly, longevity. Our products don’t just look good; every aspect of the raw material down to the gauge of metal is considered.

CULTIVATING CREATIVITY Like all creatives in the event industry, the team at Modern Event Furniture looks for inspiration in many places. We listen to our customer’s needs and always try to improve our products. We travel a lot—all you have to do is walk through different cities to get inspiration along the way, from architecture to seeing how people in different cultures live and work.

TRENDS FOR 2019 Among the top trends, we foresee that velvet will remain one of the most in-demand fabrics. Its smooth texture is super-soft to the touch, and its shiny surface gives every room a tad of elegance. Besides that, we still see a high demand for gold and rose-gold furniture, and marble continues to be a solid trend that isn’t losing steam. Obviously, this natural material is everything but event-worthy, so we developed a way to make a faux marble that looks super-realistic and is much easier to move.

Lastly, charging is still a big trend, with everyone trying to find ways to give this option to guests. We have a series of inserts that can be used on both existing and new tables with wireless charging capabilities that are battery-powered--something that further simplifies the process! As for the team at MEF, we will be hard at work developing even better products for the event industry. Be sure to stop by our booth at The Special Event show. We would love to meet you.

You can reach Modern Event Furniture by phone toll-free at 877/999-1633 and via email at [email protected]; and see their booth #703 at The Special Event 2019 in San Diego, Jan. 8-10.