Lannon Communications, one of the top public relations and event agencies headquartered in Chicago, invited fig media to be part of the grand opening of the NY-based boutique Intermix. Fig Media provided onsite media services at the event. Fig provided music playback and onsite deejays who spun hip-hop and pop throughout the night. fig also set up a photo station where two fig photographers took model shots of all the shoppers and guests. The shoppers could both take home their photo (courtesy of high-speed printers on-site), and also see them displayed live on three wall projections. Both Intermix and Lannon Communications were more than pleased with the work that fig delivered and fig was very grateful and excited about the opportunity to be part of the event!

For the second year, fig media inc. helped sponsor the Public Relations Society of America Skyline Awards for the Chicago Chapter. Held at the Mid-America Club on May 14th, this awards dinner honored the best of the Chicago PR industry including three big winners: the Young PR Professional of the Year, the PR Professional of the Year, and the Executive PR Professional of the Year. Of special note, the Executive of the Year was Pat Ryan for his stunning efforts in helping Chicago win the 2016 Olympic bid for North America. fig produced three photo interviews for these three winners as creative ways to present the winners to the 250+ attended event. We took distinctive, arty photos of each winner and played edited interview clips over the images. The project was innovative for the fig artistic team, pushed our creative edge, and was ultimately very successful. The three visual media pieces gave a very unique window into the lives of the winners, and the crowd was in turn enthralled by the photo interviews. You can expect more PR and more edgy photo projects to come out of this unique experience.

On April 21, 2007 fig media partnered with Splitpillow to document an outreach program for underprivileged, inner-city kids at the Marrilac House in Chicago. fig shooters Melissa Martens and Lauren Pollock shot a one-of-a-kind documentary to help promote the program and spread the vision that Splitpillow has for youth programs in Chicago. The program is a face-paced workshop where kids get to write, shoot, direct, act, and edit their own short films all in one day. The documentary will go out to all of the students, parents and counselors involved in the program as well as grant submissions to raise money for the program. fig loves using art for a good cause!

fig was part of the winning team for the 2006 Best NICE Team Event. The Chicago Chapters of NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) and ISES (International Special Events Society) had their Sixth Annual NICE Awards in February and announced the winners at a ceremony held at the Grand Piazza. fig was awarded for a wedding produced by Big City Bride in which they deejayed hip lounge music on the outside balcony at the River East Art Center. fig is very excited to win this honor!

For the second year, fig produced Sacred Heart’s annual fundraiser - L’Esprit. This year we partnered with Tracey Crandall, the new Director of Special Events at SH, who led a record-breaking fundraising event. fig achieved its goals: to support SH, to raise a lot of money, to get people dancing and having fun all night, to honor a great cause with a successful celebration, and to have lots of fun ourselves. Corey McPherrin - SH dad and FOX celebrity - donated his services as live auctioneer. He did a wonderful job leveraging his relationships with the crowd and did exceptionally well with the live auction. fig president James Gustin acted as stage emcee, live talent support, and in-the-moment sequence supervisor. Co-president Michele Gustin executed the timeline, delivered cues, and consulted with in-the-moment sequencing and delivery. A live fig deejay and percussionist added to the successful event with dramatic music cues and drum rolls which added verve and humor to both the live auction and dancing. Other great people we got to work with were SH dad Joe Shanahan (owner of the Metro), Kathy Fivelson, the Director of Development for Sacred Heart Chicago, and this year's auction parent chairs Maggie, Jill and Bea. Please check out the case study online [L'Esprit 2007] to see all of the media services we provided.

Producer and Coordinator: Michele Gustin
Emcee and Co-Producer: James Gustin
Deejays: Megan Taylor, Alvin Black III, Andrew Ettenhofer, Lauren Pollock
Time Line Supervisor: Tobey Geise
Sound Installation and Supervision: Erik Friedly
IMAG: Melissa Martens, Billy Rood
Veejay: Timothy Musho, Keren Aronoff
Support: Emily Hard, Lindsay Weber

I produced and directed That Takes Ovaries! in March to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The play is a collection of stories written by women about times when they acted bold or brave.

The cast included women from all areas of the Chicago community along with four fig women (Tobey Geise, Melissa Martens, Keren Aronoff, and Lauren Pollock). We were truly honored when the creator of the book, Rivka Solomon, flew in from Boston to see our production. It was a joy to have her celebrate with us and she reminded us that TTO is a worldwide movement. Each performance concluded with an open mic session where audience members were invited to share their stories. We heard some amazing stories–everything from a woman who learned to be okay with not having children to a grandma's cure to alcoholism! The production was a huge success raising over $2,700! This is only the beginning of fig exploring and producing theatre arts.

I am training for the Accenture Chicago Triathlon and I am raising $2,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Please donate at www.active.com

On March 8th fig media participated in the Chicago Union Station annual open house for over 3,000 special event professionals. The event concept for 2007 was a black-and-white, minimally chic nightclub. We thought the best way to augment this idea was hip, black-and-white photographic images (like the edgy ones you see in "Rolling Stone" magazine) of all the vendors involved. We then partnered with Frost and Sound Investments to have these images projected larger than life onto the walls of the Great Hall at Union Station. We also had photographers working the crowd that night and these photos were included in the final visual mix. Obviously, no fig event would be complete without a DJ, so sound maven Megan Taylor closed out the party in the Union Gallery–she left everyone sweaty and fatigued! Check out the case study [union station 2007] with more photos on our website.

The fig team included:
Producer: Andrew Ettenhofer
Associate Producer: Melissa Martens
Executive Producer: James Gustin
Deejays: Megan Taylor, Lindsay Weber
Video Mixing: Tim Musho, Keren Aronoff
Photographers: Lauren Pollock, Carl Wiedemann
Assistants: Jenny Gribble, Daaimah Mubashashir
Pre-photography: the fabulous fig staff

On April 11th Greater North Michigan Avenue Association hosted a great evening of food and wine at the Hard Rock Hotel. GNMAA partnered with wine importer Wein Bauer and the Austrian consulate to create a fabulous culinary event with wines from around the world and international cuisine from some of the finest restaurants on and around Michigan Avenue. fig had a big hand in making the evening a big success. Firstly, fig’s very own chef Andrew Ettenhofer  (Director of Special Events and Development) co-chaired the event with Angela Roman of the Signature Room. Secondly, fig DJ Jon Hood provided the perfect soundtrack of international electro-lounge music for this eclectic and worldly crowd. Hafeez Sarumi, another fine fig player, was part of the committee and instrumental in coordinating the details of the event. Because of its success and overwhelming response, you can expect Andrew and the rest of fig to pair food, wine, music, and fun in the near future.

I work corporate events, weddings, and dive bars. Dive bars? Yes, local Granville dive the Sovereign has invited fig to DJ there every other Thursday. I have been the DJ for the first 4 nights and it just keeps getting better. I started with the concept of 60s rock, soul and mod night playing music like the Rolling Stones, Small Faces and Otis Redding. It has evolved to include old hip-hop like Jurassic 5, Tribe Called Quest and Run-DMC later in the night. I fill in this disparate gap with local bands like Wilco and Urge Overkill, new rock like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand, and even the 80s with The Cure, The Smiths and Talking Heads. It’s the perfect mix for the diverse crowd of newly graduated Loyola students, older guys who love 60s and 70s classic rock, and late 20 and 30 year-olds who love old soul, the 80s and early 90s. I am beginning to know what specific people like and can play to them as soon as they walk in the door. It’s like being the neighborhood bartender who really knows his regulars. Contact Erik Friedly at erik@figgy.net for future dates. 

The Chicago Storm finished their 2006-2007 season with the second place spot in the Men’s Indoor Soccer League. This position gave them the right to host the first-ever playoff game at the Sears Centre: the Chicago Storm versus the Philadelphia Kixx. Of course, as the official photographers of the Storm, fig captured every action-packed moment and made available the photos afterwards on our fan website. A new addition to the coverage of the game was fig’s three-camera live video playback. The smashing goals, brutal collisions, and jaw dropping saves were broadcasted onto the Sears Centre’s big screens a la “Instant Replay.” The Storm won the game with a final score of 11 to 8. fig’s next project with the Storm will be photographing their 27 various summer camps throughout the Chicagoland area. Visit www.chicagostorm.net for more information on how you can sign up today.

fig DJs Megan Taylor and Emily Hard were invited to spin at the Museum of Contemporary Art's First Fridays. The MCA opens up the museum every first Friday of the month for a happy hour with live entertainment, hors d'oeuvres, and new art. Megan and Emily added great energy and ambiance to the 1,500-plus attended event. They spun everything from African house to current hip-hop. The event was part of a larger series designed around the seven deadly sins – this First Friday focused on wrath! The event included Wheelers roller derby women, voodoo dolls, a "Shred Your Ex" station, kickboxing, the Wright Institute single's program and local artist Amy Mayfield. The event was an excellent opportunity for fig to show off its female DJ talent, and to bring music freshness to large public creative events.

The fig crew produced another successful One Decision Training in February in conjunction with national bestselling author Judith Wright.  A new twist to the training was that it was held at home base this time inside the Wright Institute. With an intimate crowd of nearly 80, fig team members Tim Musho, Eric Anderson, Hafeez Sarumi, and Alvin Black were responsible for all aspects of media. They projected, they amplified, they spun, and they even participated in one of the fastest growing, life-transforming seminars in the country. Each training is an opportunity to take it up a notch as far as efficient and effective media event production. And fig proudly takes on the challenge of generating innovative ideas each time to enhance this weekend-long production.  Come check out these fresh, new ideas at the next training being held June 8 through June 10, 2007.

www.theonedecision.com

Since our first artist opening of fig owner Michele Gustin on January 19th, we have wanted to continue celebrating the work of our other fig artists and take it to the next level. For our second opening we showcased a video art and installation called "Persona" by Keren Aronoff. She describes it as stemming from an idea for a photograph that would represent her super-hero self, transforming it into a digital photo collage and projecting onto many multi-media layers.  She wanted an experience to bring viewers into her subconscience and her imagination of a two-dimensional physical collage. In the end "Persona" was a highly collaborative effort by the fig team and we nearly doubled our attendance of our last party. Keep checking our website for the next gallery show!