Sydney Crimmins founded Scottsdale-based Garden Party Girls a year ago as an event design company that specializes in commercial floral installations and “Instagram-able” spaces for advertising and marketing. “The one-of-a-kind installations allow local businesses to stand out and bring in guests who are looking for an over-the-top experience,” she explains. As owner and designer, Crimmins also designs corporate or private events for 50 people or more.
“Truthfully, you can have a really ‘sucky’ product or service and still be successful if the inside of your business is worth experiencing,” Crimmins notes. Describing her company as a silk floral design and installation business, she says, “We specialize in helping businesses create Instagram-able moments throughout their businesses. Creating these Instagram-able moments for our clients helps to create an experience and a buzz behind their brand. It’s an important part of marketing for businesses and pertinent to growth and brand recognition.”
Crimmins actually started her business as an event-planning company. “I was designing events, creating these Instagram-able moments for my clients’ parties. The owner of 50 shades of Rose found me from an Instagram ad I was running featuring a photo booth I designed. He really resonated with my design and wanted something fun in the bar. As soon as I started working with 50 Shades, I knew this was the new trajectory for my business. I absolutely loved that I was able to shift to more of an interior designer’s mind and create something that was going to be more permanent. I quickly realized there was a need for my work. There isn’t a successful company around that hasn’t utilized the power of creating experiences for their customers.”
She believes this is, in fact, ever more important in the age of social media. “Instagram and TikTok is a significant component of how consumers desire to connect in an organic and authentic way. They can, however, be quite particular about where they choose to invest their time and money. Businesses can sell a great product or experience, but without an online moment, customers will move on to the next, prettier place. This is particularly true of younger, more tech-savvy customers who are always looking for décor and backdrops that would look good on social media.”
The best ways to make a business Instagram-able include strategic placement, being original to the brand (that is, having original designs), having great angles for selfies, using textures and tangibles — “and, of course,” says Crimmins, “making it pop.”
Crimmins credits networking as a crucial factor in the success of Garden Party Girls. “You simply cannot be successful alone,” she says. “Garden Party Girls has really done well this year and not strictly based on my hard work. My business is thriving because I have had some amazing people step into my life. I have found when you take care of people, most of the time they will take care of you. Networking isn’t hard when you just treat people well. My job is special because I get to step into other business owners’ companies and help them be more successful. I have been very blessed to have developed the network I have, and I will continue to grow that network and help others along the way!”
Perseverance is the underlying theme behind the single-proprietor company being named “Garden Party Girls.” Crimmins relates: : “I was assistant managing a retail boutique with one of my best friends. We were tasked with throwing our company Christmas party in a short amount of time, with a limited budget. We, of course, rose to the occasion and put something really fun together given what we had to work with. Jokingly, my friend and I looked at each other and said, ‘Are we event planners? We should start our own business.’ Turns out we weren’t really joking.
“We started getting serious about starting this business. We really wanted to specialize in backyard/ home parties. Peppa Pig was running rampant in my house at the time (I have two daughters) and Peppa would refer to her backyard as “the garden” (very British of her), so my daughters started calling it that, too. Naturally, being a couple crazy girls throwing this company together, we became Garden Party Girls.
“Unfortunately, my friend moved away and didn’t end up moving forward with starting the business, but she encouraged me to still do it. I couldn’t change the name even though I was now starting this business solo. Garden Party Girl just sounded a little lonely and sad LOL. It’s a fun ode to how Garden Party Girls was formed. Also, I do have hopes of my daughters joining me in my business when they are older, if that’s what they choose.”
Photo courtesy of Garden Party Girls
