Party People: Shiny, Stylish Party Things

"Our brand is about high-end partyware and unique products that you can't find at your local department store." Louise Lazendic, founder of Illume Partyware tells us. With their beautifully designed on-trend collections, Illume Partyware has forged a position as a leader in the party industry, supported also by their informative website - an excellent knowledge base for both party vendors and party lovers alike.

Louise continues, "Our values are very important to us. We aim to support our wholesalers at every point in their journey and strive to produce content that can be shared and celebrated by all. Most of all we love to celebrate! That’s why we got into this business in the first place, to encourage everyone to stop, laugh, relax and come together to share and create memories".

What inspired you to start a partyware business?

When I was putting together my son’s first birthday party, I found there was a lack of quality, fashionable and stylish party products in the market. I wanted to style a party and have everything coordinated, from the tableware to decorations. There is plenty of partyware out there, but I couldn’t find items that were high quality and up to date with the current fashion trends. Then there was the issue of convenience, I wanted all this (quality, style, uniqueness) and also to be able to get it all from the same place. Combined with my passion for design, parties and styling, Illume Partyware took flight.

What inspires the range? Do you follow trends or try to create more timeless classics?

My children are my biggest inspiration. I design for them - mixed in with my own ideas and experiences. I listen to my clients and constantly ask them questions about what sells and what they see as ‘fads’ versus ‘trends’. Combine this with my love of beautiful social media party imagery, and every day brings inspiration. To date I have concentrated on designs that have 2-3 years longevity. This gives the industry enough time to enjoy the new range and be creative with it across all the different themes before they have to start sourcing a new fresh look.

Your blog and YouTube videos are always filled with great content and inspiration for party lovers. What inspires this content?

The core driver of our content is to help people to celebrate! We want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to bring their party theme to life. This includes inspiring ideas and helping to source the look that they are trying to achieve. It’s great getting lots of questions through our website and Instagram which helps us develop topics and focus on particular content. Our recent YouTube video series on table settings was inspired by questions wanting quick table ideas. We thought by breaking it down into one place setting we can show how simple it can be; choose a colour or theme and you have a beautiful mother’s day lunch or a stylish unicorn party, it really can be that easy.

What is your favourite party trend at the moment?

Iridescent is my favourite colour scheme at the moment. I’m always so excited to see it being used in different themes and across a variety of age groups. I think we have only just seen the beginning of how this colour scheme can be used and I can’t wait to see more. Balloon garlands are also a huge favourite of mine. I think there will be a growing trend towards more DIY kits and if you are using a balloon stylist there seems to be no end to their creativity! And I know it has been done a lot but there is something about unicorns that makes me think we haven’t seen the last of these gorgeous parties!

What party trend would you love to see pop up?

I’d like to see a return to feature table settings. A focus on where the heart of the party takes place. I think there is so much more scope for a focus on where we sit down to eat, talk and cut the cake. Beautifully styled tables are inviting, they take the stress out of decorating a whole room and they can be so much fun. Whether it’s a high tea, a birthday party or Christmas we all need somewhere to sit.

What exciting things can we see from Illume Partyware in the rest of 2018?

It’s amazing to realise we are half way through the year and we have already done so much! But design is what I love, and I’m pleased to say that Illume Partyware has two new ranges currently in production and we aim to launch this September! I have also been busy designing some exciting new products to complement all our ranges as well as a few key items in time for Christmas. In addition to this we have some exciting photoshoots we are working on and blog ideas that we hope will really help customers style their party more easily.