Hollywood, CA (LA Elements) 4/24/2015- “This is a great time,” says Finneas O’Connell of GBK’s MTV Movie Awards Gifting Lounge. “I feel like these events are so cool. So many of the charity organizations are great and so well thought out. I love the care and the time that goes into this.”
GBK’s luxury lounge honoring the 2015 MTV Movie Awards was held on April 10th and 11th at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Among the celebrities in attendance were Nathan Fillion from Castle, Eden Sher from The Middle, Benito Martinez from American Crime,Dot Marie Jones from Glee, Greg Germann from Get Hard, Dee Wallace from ET, Ari Stidham from Scorpion, Anders Holm from Workaholics, Jason Ritter from Parenthood, Jordan Ladd from Grindhouse, Stassi Schroeder from Vanderpump Rules and MTV icon, Downtown Julie Brown.
Jason Ritter
The Presenting Sponsor of this luxury lounge was Life Cell South Beach Skin Care. Representative Crystal Diaz revealed what makes Life Cell different from other skin care products. “We’ve been around since 2005. We’re based out of South Florida and our number one product is our All-In-One. So this combines your daily skincare with long-term anti-aging treatment. It’s got retinol, vitamin A, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. Life Cell takes away fine lines as well as smooths, tightens and firms. At the same time it has light-reflecting technology so what that means is when this product is inside of a fine line, it reflects the light out and then you don’t see the fine line anymore.”
Despite having a number of powerful anti-aging ingredients, Life Cell is a company whose motto as expressed on its website is, “Test Products On Celebrities Not Animals.” Not to say that Life Cell doesn’t love celebrities as they were generously gifted at GBK. “The celebrities are getting our entire line,” says Diaz. “They are getting our All-In-One Anti-Aging treatment, our Cooling Under-Eye Treatment, our Body Butter which has caffeine and ginseng in it for cellulite. They’re getting our cleanser and they’re also getting a BB cream.”
There was an expansive selection of jewelry that was gifted to celebrities at this event by Dara Ettinger as well as The Artisan Group. Dara Ettinger’s eye-catching creations are handmade from semi-precious stones.
Nathan Fillion Visits the Artisan Group Display
The Artisan Group is a collective of artisans who excel in jewelry design but also in other fields such as photography, cosmetics and accessories. Celebrities as well as members of the media went home with one of the Artisan Groups coveted gift bags. “The Artisan Group has been a group since 2011,” says founder Valerie Guerrero. “We have a membership base of about 1200 artisans from all over the world. The majority are in the U.S. but we also have a lot of members from Canada, Australia and even Dubai. We have a lot of really great talent. The products that these artists create are all handcrafted and made by them, not mass-produced. We offer a variety of products such as jewelry, bath and body products, products for pets, make-up bags, stationary, fine art photography, so it’s a great mix of diverse products.”
How competitive is membership in The Artisan Group?
“We actually only let in about 25 or 30% of applicants that apply,” says Guerrero. “We look at product photography, how well the websites are created, we look at online presence. If they’re on Etsy we check out how many sales they’ve had to see if they’re a pretty successful seller. Not everyone is a good fit but we really do pick the best of the best of the folks that apply.”
Designs from the Artisan Group
www.beadedbysandramiller.etsy.com Photo Courtesy of Sandra Miller
www.courtenayjdesigns.com
Photo Courtesy of Courtenay Madison
www.theazurerose.etsy.com Photo Courtesy of Genevieve Meehan
www.RavenBoutique.com
Photo Courtesy of Melissa Robinson
www.HOPEANCHOREDDESIGNS.COM Photo Courtesy of Bethany Schuelke
www.Chrysalis-Studios.com
Photo Courtesy of Jacklyn Brzezinski
Dee Wallace
Celebrities such as track and field star Lolo Jones and actress Viveca Fox have worn designs from the fashion label Savee. “Our dresses are couture,” says Savee PR Representative Alma Bosek who bestowed attendees with gift certificates good for purchase at the Savee website. “They’re hand-sewn with Swarovski crystals and they have some amazing edgy sexiness to them. You have to be very confident to wear them. Our company has been around since 2008. Everyone should have at least one dress from Savee.”
Jordan Ladd
Invited guests of the GBK MTV Movie Awards Gifting Lounge were treated to cocktails provided by Bare Organic Mixers. Founder Natalie Susi was on hand to answer questions about the company as well as gift attendees with selections from this premium line of drink mixers. “I started the company in San Diego,” says Susi. “I’m a teacher and a writer by trade. I was laid off from my teaching job and I was drinking a margarita and thought I could make it better so that’s what I did. I made a cocktail mixer that’s organic, low calorie and gluten free. It’s only 17 calories an ounce. All of our cocktails are under 150 calories. You can mix them with just about anything or drink it bare, drink it on its own or drink it with soda water over ice. We have margarita now, lemon drop and the pomegranate cranberry cosmo that is our best seller. We’re coming out with a bloody mary and a fifth flavor that’s yet to be decided.”
Moniece Slaughter
“We’ve been in existence for eight years,” say Caribbean Living Magazine owner and publisher Peta Phipps. “The magazine features luxury travels throughout the Caribbean. We are gifting celebrities a four-night stay at CeBlue Villas in Aguilla. These are gorgeous hillside villas overlooking the amazing sunset and the Caribbean Sea.”
Other outstanding gift sponsors included Boulevard Hospitality Group, who gave gift cards for their Los Angeles venues and a 3-night stay in Rome Italy at Hotel Ripa Roma, V- Moda Headphones, Naughty Girls Donut Shop, Grande Naturals, Lalo Fuentes, Bible LA, Eye Candy of Beverly Hills, M The Movement, Nerf Rebelle and Nuvino Wine.
Philanthropy is always an integral part of any GBK gifting lounge and two charities, one fighting for civil rights and the other combatting illiteracy, were a welcome presence at this event.
Finneas O’Connell Photo Courtesy of Alfalit International
“Alfalit International has been around for about 50 years,” says Director of Public Awareness, Todd Talbot. “We basically teach how to read and write and Math in about 30 countries. In six months we can get people to a 3rd grade reading level and it changes their life forever. In about a year, year and a half, we can get them to a 6th grade reading level and writing level. It totally changes a life especially for women in other countries because it breaks that cycle of poverty, prostitution and unemployment. A woman if she’s able to read and write can take better care of her children. A father if he knows how to read and write can get a better job.”
Alfalit International is tenacious in expanding its goals for success.
“ We just got back from Haiti,” says Talbot, “Last year in Haiti we educated about 4,000 people. This year our goal is 6,000 people next year it’s 10,000. We have about 1.600 volunteer teachers across the world.”
Stassi Schroeder
“Lambda Legal is an LGBT legal rights organization,” says publicist Desirae Vivian of Jolson Creative. “They are a group of lawyers who take on cases that help advance those civil rights. So it deals with achieving marriage equality, anti-bullying in schools, discrimination against HIV and AIDS and that encompasses all people who are affected by that, not just the LGBT community. Right now, they are getting ready to argue a marriage equality case before the Supreme Court. That will start on April 28 so that decision should be handed down around June 11.”
The work that Lambda Legal does is pro bono so fundraising is critical. On June 11, this charity will hold their annual red-carpet fundraiser at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons, the West Coast Liberty Awards.
“What we are doing at the lounge is gathering celebrities in support of marriage equality, anti-bullying, whatever speaks to them and getting them to sign in support of Love Rules Lambda Legal,” says Vivian. “If they’re in town and able to attend, we have an annual fundraising gala coming up. It’s a red carpet fundraising gala this year hosted by Wendy McClendon Covey from The Goldbergs, Bridesmaids, and Ellen DeGeneres’ new show Repeat After Me. She’ll be our host this year. We’ll be announcing our honorees shortly but we’ve previously honored Dan Bukatinsky from Scandal, Justin Bartha from The New Normal and The Hangover trilogy.”
The founder of GBK has a commitment to philanthropy, which pre-dates his creation of this company. “City of Hope is where I started doing charity events,” says Gavin B. Keilly. “I was director of development back in 2000. From there I started my own company in 2001 producing charity events. Back in 2000 I asked myself the million-dollar question, what should I do with my life? I just wanted to make a difference in the world and help others whether it be through the non-profits or other businesses.”
For more information on GBK and the sponsors mentioned in this article, please visit their websites.
All photos by Getty Images unless otherwise noted.
Cover photo of Dot Marie Jones, Gavin B. Keilly and friends
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