Blog / Table Art: A Journey Back in Time!

Table Art: A Journey Back in Time!

Table Art: A Journey Back in Time!

Unearthing old photographs, a look through the Table Art archives.

With the Lockdown imposing a hard pause on the event industry, it has given us some time to reflect. On one of the many quiet afternoons of recent weeks, the team set to reorganise the office. In the process of which, came across a collection of old photographs. A gold nugget of a find, the box contained some cherished memories that we are keen to share with you.

Here in this blog we share with you snap shots of our ZAP Event Days, a period where the team worked hard and played hard. Then we look at more recent adventures with Table Art, memories from the past five years. In the process of sharing our history, we hope it gives you a solid sense of our service and values that we have maintained throughout.

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Digging deep into the archives and we have come across this beauty. Gary in his ZAP Event Days playing ring master for a Circus Party!

In The Beginning:

Table Art Is captained by Gary Martin. A veteran in the events industry, he has worked within the field since he was a teenager. First working for his dad who ran roller discos up and down the UK. He went onto develop a love of music which led him to a career in DJing. Building on his contacts from the world of DJing, he established a business, a DJ agency for the corporate events market.

From there he went onto develop a range of props that could be hired alongside the DJ services. For those of you who know Gary, his mind never stops! He strives to create and that’s what drives his success. Here he used his experiences as a DJ to build an agency and then diversify out to offer additional elements.

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Another vintage gem from our ZAP Event days. Here the crew are in their Mobster best and waiting to blow guests away!

Zap Events

This development in props led him to create ZAP Events. A company specialising in set transformations for events. From a mobster installation complete with cobbled streets to bar facades, ZAP Events were masters of creating full immersive experiences. This is where Gary tapped into his creative flow and created endless sets and themes that events agencies clambered for.

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A riotous team photo back in our ZAP Event days. Look how young they all are! Man, do we feel old now!

Table Art Launch

Recognising that the centre of the table was an often-neglected element, he debuted his first centrepiece creation at his wedding. From that first creation in 2007, he added a range of table centres to the ZAP Events range. Quickly, the business went from primarily prop orders to the centrepieces. Why? Gary firmly believes that centrepieces are THE easiest way to make an impact on an event. Centrepieces are at the heart of every table and don’t come with the hefty price tag that a full set design does. Following the trend for centrepieces, he established Table Art and launched the business officially in 2011. 

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Wishing we could relive this slice of paradise down in the French Riviera. A precious break during the setup of the AmFaR Gala 2016.

World Travels

We have had the pleasure of working in Germany multiple times throughout the past decade. One of our more recent trips saw Gary and Andy head to the Intercontinental in Berlin. With our innovative Pixel Tubes, we lit an Awards show and highlighted winners tables as they were announced! Rather unusually the team had a day for the rehearsals and not being needed on site for the duration, they were able to take in some sights!

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A throwback to 2019 when MD Gary and Tech Andy explored Berlin during some downtime at an event for @InterCon_Berlin.

Europe

We have a small but dedicated team at Table Art and we do our best to give everyone an opportunity to work abroad. Back in 2018, it was the first year for both Milly and Kevin. Gary was keen to give them a chance to experience an international event and invited them to join him and crew an event in Amsterdam. They jumped at the chance and enjoyed every minute of their travels. It actually turned out to be Kevin’s first experience of air travel, what a first experience! Upon arrival they installed LED furniture and Swirl Centrepieces for a corporate function. Another International success!

Back to the Winter of 2018 when Gary, Milly and Kevin travelled to Amsterdam. An ultra-cool event with our Inflatable Furniture, it was one we won’t be quick to forget!

Present Day

As we said, we are small but dedicated bunch here at Table Art. A family of creatives, we share a bond that means most of our staff have worked with us for decades rather than years. With the warehouse always filled with laughter, it’s no wonder we have such a wealth of photos showing the team in all their merriment. From the serious side of events, where the guys have their professional hats on. To the warehouse days where cleaning centrepieces and organising shelving is broken up with the latest ‘dad jokes’.

During lockdown, we have all missed the comradery. Recently I asked the team to send me their team pictures and man did they deliver! Here are just a small selection of the them to share with you:

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Keen to get the very best pictures, Social Media Strategist Connor gets up close and personal to our London themed centres.
This time last year, Andy helping with the Winter rush and cleaning our acrylic stands. He looks rather pleased to be cleaning don’t you think?

Selfie Enthusiasts

With our centrepieces and props set up in lightning quick time, we often have time to explore our venue/ location. Once everything is set up and signed off with the client, the guys will take a wonder and find a coffee shop to get their caffeine fix. The perfect chance to get a team selfie, the guys will take a picture and share in our crew WhatsApp group. The sharing of images and messages across WhatsApp gives everyone a snapshot into where everyone is and what they are working on. It also proves useful for the MD so he can be kept abreast of all things Table Art.

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All setup and waiting for an event to start. The crew grab a coffee and commemorate the moment with a group selfie! Back in the autumn of 2019.
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You can always rely on Table art to lift you. Last Christmas, Kevin was a welcome boost to Rob as he made the final touches to our branded panels

Candid Moments

Enjoying a candid shot from the warehouse. With our ever growing facilities, a common site can be the team installing additional shelving. This was a brilliant picture captured by Rob when Moz was busy cutting up some shelving.

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New Year and we look back at a time when we made our own fireworks! Moz and Rob working on new shelving for a warehouse extension back in 2018.
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Back to the Spring of 2019, the guys strike a pose before a big derig @doubletreemk.

The Wrap Up

It has been a total joy to share these moments with you. It’s fair to say that the team are desperate to get back to Table Art and work their magic on events. Missing the comradery and all out laughs, we hope that the Lockdown will continue to ease, and we will reunite soon.

Remember that our office team are still working from home and catching all your emails! If you have an enquiry then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You will be blown away by how quickly our guys respond.

Then contact our team now for a quotation you will be blown away by!

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE QUOTATION

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