CATEGORY >

by...Michelle Nowak, Event Producer
We love interviewing celebrities in our industry to see another side of their lives and today we would like to give that insight of Eddie Zaratsian, owner of Tic Tock Floral Couture. It's sort of an up close and personal (unplugged)……….
How would you describe your home?
I would describe my home as traditional and filled with pieces that I love. We have a lot of antique Victorian pieces and Italian pieces that my mother has collected over the years; beautiful paintings, light butter cream yellow walls, floral draping, Persian rugs.

I have a beautiful cutting garden with vegetables, stephanotis, jasmine, hydrangeas, foxglove and succulents. There are always fresh flowers in beautiful vases in every room of our house. But what makes my house truly beautiful is my children’s laughter and my wife’s smiling face.

What is your favorite object in it and why?
My bed! It’s the moment I finally get to really relax and put my feet up after a long day at work and it’s a time for rejuvenation.

What’s your favorite time of day?
Coming home after a long day for a home cooked meal with the whole family. I love to hear about how everyone’s day went. I help my three children out with their homework whenever I can. My daughter, Melanie wants to be a florist, so sometimes we look at magazines together for inspiration. She loves to see photos of my work.

Do you have a lucky shirt or something you wear when you are going into a big meeting?
I don’t really believe in luck. I believe in hard work, passion and focus. But I do think it’s important to wear clothing that you love and that you feel good in. I believe in supporting designers! Oh, and I will always show up for my meetings with my iPad, of course.

What fashion designer do you find you wear the most or what fashion design do you like?
Dolce and Gabbana and Tom Ford. I have a new black Bottega Veneta bag that I absolutely love.

Do you have a design style?
Well, I have a few styles. It’s very important to consider the client and the venue when designing. The first style is traditional, lush, and romantic. I also sometimes do a very contemporary and edited look. Then there’s the very organic, botanical look, which sometimes incorporates unusual floral elements. The constant with each of these styles is in the freshest, finest florals. The quality of the florals is extremely important to me.

What is your favorite reality show obsession and why?
Project Runway, Design Star and I love the Food Network.

What is one restaurant that we will never find you at? Sizzler.

What’s your favorite meal after a long event? Sushi at Katsuya or Koi.

What is your Favorite beverage? Water.

When you entertain at home, do you cook? When I have time. I really like making desserts and sandwiches.

If so, what’s your favorite thing to make? Crème Brulee.

What is the one thing you’d like to accomplish in life – big or small…
Finishing my book of beautiful florals, publishing it and starting on the next one. Marianne Lozano is doing the photography for the current book and she’s amazing!

In this past year, what was your biggest accomplishment professionally?
Well, it’s been a great year and I’m truly grateful that I’ve met all of my goals for the year. I launched the Eddie Zaratsian Custom Florals and Lifestyle Boutique at Restoration Hardware in Beverly Hills. Also, Tea with E at the Langham was a huge success this year as well as winning Creative Director of the Year. Being on The Arrangement on LOGO TV was an incredible experience and working with Pauline Parry at The Special Event was an honor as well.

What have accomplished the most Personally?
I’ve been working really hard to build a solid business for my family’s future.

What’s been your favorite event to design and why – of your career?
I would have to say the launch party of the OWN Network this year.

What/who is your favorite band/singer? George Michael, Adele, Beyonce.

Where did you most recently go on holiday?
The most recent was Santa Barbara at the Four Seasons, the Grand Del Mar in San Diego, and I was recently in San Francisco attending a conference for Restoration Hardware.

When you are on holiday, what book would we find you reading? Magazine?
I love going to book stores in foreign countries. I find the most amazing inspiration there. I love photography, design, architectural, still-life, floral garden, and landscape books.

What do you remember about high school the most? College?
I remember having very few responsibilities.

What would surprise us to learn about you?
I’m a foodie! I know you wouldn’t guess it, but it’s true. I love great food!

What do you wish you had known then that you know now?
I think that as I get older I realize that sometimes you need to let go of the things you thought you needed in order to fully see the opportunities and possibilities that you could have in your life.

What have you learned from your father
My father is very calm, a great listener. He takes the time to think about things and analyze them before he talks. I’ve learned to take on these good traits as much as I can over the years.

And from your mother?
Her amazing eye for color.

What type of art affects you?
I love still life, modern art, botanical prints. I’m very interested in beautiful color and light. My favorite painters are Monet, Van Gogh and Andy Warhol.

What irritates you the most about modern life?
Our society’s deficiency when it comes to educating our children. Education is one of the most important things in life, and yet so little funding goes into it.

In the Pink!
By Pauline Parry



When girls want to have fun, watch out! I'm not saying this bridal shower was anything like The Hangover, but this bride-to-be and her friends know how to have a good time!


The table was pretty in pink -- set with pink cloth, napkins and roses accented with black base plates, vases and wine glasses. Pink umbrellas were set at each place for an added detail. The pool was adorned with pink balloons and pink spheres.

We arranged for a henna artist, a tarot card reader, band and even two exotic dancers.

Hmmm. Maybe this was a bit like The Hangover! No tiger on the loose, just a ferociously fun guest of honor who is pictured above!


At the end of the party, our Good Gracious staff picked up and packed every speck of pink, leaving everything at this beautiful home exactly as we found it. Well, almost everything...

Poor chap. I don't think he'll ever be the same!

We can all dream about the perfect wedding: set in a countryside, surrounded by vineyards with the finest grapes, beautiful galloping horses in the pasture, a pond complete with black and white swans, and chandeliers hanging in mid air just below a sky of stars...

Being an Englishman, I like to think I know one or two things about drinks…. From the age of 18 you are legally allowed to consume alcohol in the United Kingdom. So of course I saw fit to take advantage of the freedom which our wonderful government has granted 18 year olds, and taste vast styles of beverages and beers. And yes I may have tasted a few to many once or twice before…

We love a challenge! So when Sunset magazine asked us to not only create a sit-down dinner for foodies, but also work with top-name chef during the magazine's very popular Celebration Weekend 2011 on its Palo Alto campus, we jumped at the chance.

Our chefs worked with Sharri Belisle Events for months with in advance on the logistics of assembling ingredients and recipes for a variety of well-known chefs who would be appearing during the weekend and giving cooking demonstrations on everything from cupcakes and seasonal fare to Mexican and Vietnamese. Led by Good Gracious' Chef Joanne Purnell, our team -- myself, Laura Stevens, David Cho and Laurie Smith -- then traveled to the site to work with these chefs throughout the weekend.


We assisted Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill, who demonstrated with the flavors of Mexico, Govind Armstrong from 8 oz Burger Bar who shared a market-driven menu, Traci des Jardins from Jardiniere who did a demo inspired by her French cuisine, Ani Phyo, an eco-lifestylist who discussed and showed recipes featuring raw food, Candace Nelson from Sprinkles who delighted the audience with her cupcake know-how, and Charles Phan from The Slanted Door who taught attendees more about Vietnamese cuisine. In addition, we helped prep and work with chefs from Sunset magazine's corporate partners such as Safeway.

That final night we served a sit-down dinner to VIP foodies showcasing recipes from Sunset magazine's food editor, Margo True and Sunset's new book, The One-Block Feast, mixed with some signature dishes from our Good Gracious repertoire!