BEVERLY HILLS, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Jim OÕHeir at GBK Pre-EMMYS gift lounge day 2 at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel on September 19, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for GBK Productions)
BEVERLY HILLS, (LA ELEMENTS) 9/30/2015 – “It was the experience of a life time with the greatest cast and crew that has ever been assembled,” says Jim O’Heir one of the stars of the Emmy nominated comedy Parks and Recreation. “I miss them tremendously so the best part about tomorrow, no matter what happens, winning or losing, will just be to be together. You know when you do a show you’re together constantly and then shows end and I’m in Kansas City, Pratt’s in New Mexico, you know we’re in a business where you often go other places so it’ll be good to be with everybody tomorrow.”
We caught up with Jim O’Heir at the GBK Gift Lounge on September 19th, which was held at the stately L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills. The turnout of Emmy Award nominees as well as executives and stars from the nominated shows was very strong at this event. Emmy winner Tony Hale (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Veep), won his second Emmy during Sunday night’s ceremony, Emmy nominees in attendance were Alan Cumming, (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, The Good Wife), Beau Bridges, (Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, Masters of Sex), Khandi Alexander, (Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Scandal), Richard Cabral, (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series or a Movie, American Crime), and Jeremy Podeswa, (Outstanding Director for a Drama Series, Game of Thrones) joined stars from Emmy nominated shows such as Keshia Castle Hughes, also from Game of Thrones, as well as Selenis Leyva, Abigail Savage, Dascha Polanko, Emma Myles and Julie Lake, ( Outstanding Drama Series, Orange is the New Black), Jamie Brewer and Naomi Grossman, (Outstanding Miniseries, American Horror Story) and Heather Storm, (Outstanding Television Movie, Nightingale), among others.
The gift sponsors were many and included a collection of impressive names in the fields of beauty, travel and fashion jewelry.
Heather Storm
Presenting sponsor LifeCell is known for their acclaimed anti-aging All-In-One cream, however, they are expanding into the popular BB cream field as well. The new BB cream and their sunscreen with SPF 50 are the latest offerings from this skin care line that has been around for 10 years. Celebrities received selections from this line.
Beauty Kitchen by Heather Marianna gifted attendees organic and natural spa products including skin polish and hand-sliced soap bars.
Jamie Brewer picks up the newest product from Aesthetica Cosmetics
Invited guests were also fortunate enough to receive Aesthetica Cosmetics newest product. “We’ve sold over 120,000 kits,” says global MakeUp Artist for Aesthetica Cosmetics, Paloma Romo. “We’re known for the Contour Kit and we just launched the Cream Contour Palette. Right now, you can buy us on Amazon and our website but we’re about to start selling at pro shops like Nigel’s.”
Burke Williams representative Ashley Eckenweiler was on hand to gift celebrities the H2V Exclusive Skincare Lines and answer questions about the day spa and its newest services. “We’ve been around for over 30 years now, family owned and operated still to this day. Our tenth spa in California is at The Village off of Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Woodland Hills and it’s one of our largest locations. We have new amenities such as Style, a blow dry bar where you get your hair done after your service. We have an aromatherapy bar where you can customize your own scent for your massage oil that you can even take home with you. We have a nourishing facial that uses a micro current technology that tightens skin, reduces fine lines and closes the pores.”
Platinum sponsors, The Artisan Group, returned to gift GBK guests with creations from their incredibly talented collective of artisans. Candles, perfumes, greeting cards, knitwear and of course jewelry, filled gift bags that were handed out to invited guests.
Richards Cabral holds a bracelet from The ArtisanGroup member Debra’s Divine Designs. Photo courtesy of The Artisan Group
Dark blue Swarovski crystal necklace with silver chain by Love Your Bling. Photo courtesy of Ruthie Youngman
Shannon Howard Fine Art Photography Photo by LA ELEMENTS
The Artisan Group wasn’t the only sponsor that impressed with their jewelry designs; celebrities could select a wristwatch to take home among several acclaimed luxury brands such as Oceanaut, Christian Van Sant and Jivago courtesy of ARA Exclusive Designs. For those who like their wristwatches a little more on the rugged and sportier side, designs from Seapro were also offered.
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 18: Jeremy Podeswa attends the GBK Pre-EMMYS Gift Lounge on September 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Graves/Getty Images for GBK Productions)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 18: Khandi Alexander attends the GBK Pre-EMMYS Gift Lounge on September 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Graves/Getty Images for GBK Productions)
Luxury getaways can always be found at a GBK gifting suite and Belmond La Samanna, a resort on the island of St. Martin, offered an especially intriguing one. “We’re located on the French side of St. Martin,” says Tracey J. Fentem, Belmond La Samanna’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “We are ten minutes from the airport but very exclusive. We have 83 beautiful rooms sitting on top of a bluff that overlooks Bay Long Beach and very private. We are gifting the celebrities a three night stay with daily breakfast for two and if they would like to stay longer then we will offer them a special rate.”
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Keisha Castle-Hughes at GBK Pre-EMMYS gift lounge day 2 at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel on September 19, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for GBK Productions)
Other outstanding sponsors at this event included Caribbean Living, gifting celebrities an all-inclusive trip to their choice of one of their three resorts in the Caribbean, Lalo Fitness, gifting three personal training sessions and a $100 gift certificate for any of Lalo’s Lifestyle Fitness Vacation and Grande Naturals, gifting their Outrageous Designer Gift Box.
Charity is always a focus at GBK luxury lounges and there were three worthy organizations whose representatives answered questions and gave information on upcoming fundraisers.
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 18: Alan Cumming attends the GBK Pre-EMMYS Gift Lounge on September 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Graves/Getty Images for GBK Productions)
“We’re celebrating our 15th anniversary this year of saving cat’s lives,” says Missy Woodward, Director of Development for the Stray Cat Alliance. “We are based in LA but our hotline serves people all over the US. We have a very active Facebook community of over 80,000 people from all over the world contact us. We’ve had adoptions out of state. Our basic mission is about spay and neuter. There’s so many groups that do adoptions and that’s great and we do adoptions as well but really the source to stopping the killing in the shelters is crucial; we have to try to spay and neuter every cat that we can. We have four programs for low cost spay and neuter but one that is based in South Los Angeles is called I Spay LA and in that area, we provide free spay and neuter and medical care to every cat. So in three years we have spayed and neutered over 16,000 cats and every one of those cats received wellness care and on top of that, over 6,000 received some form of life-saving medical care.”
The Stray Cat Alliance will hold a fundraiser at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 24. For more information on the fundraiser and Stray Cat Alliance please visit their website.
The mission statement of the Muscular Dystrophy Association reads, “To serve those who are fighting muscle disease as we find treatments and cures, support families and rally communities.” For more information on MDA please visit their website. There will be a fundraiser to benefit MDA on November 15, 2015 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. For more information on The Muscle Team Gala please visit their website.
American Friends of Magen David Adom is the official ambulance service, blood service and disaster rescue agency of Israel. There will be a fundraiser for this charity at the Red Star Ball on October 22, 2015, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton featuring a special performance by Jerry Seinfeld. For more information on this charity please visit their website.
Alfalit International reaches out to address the literacy needs of underserved communities at a national and international level. You can learn more about Alfalit International by visiting their website.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Beau Bridges at GBK Pre-EMMYS gift lounge day 2 at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel on September 19, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for GBK Productions)
Refreshments for this event were provided by Presenting Sponsor Venetia Vodka, Green Sheep Water and Ike’s Place, Award Winning Sandwiches for Meat Eaters, Vegetarians, Vegans, and Gluten Free Diets.
Music provided by DJ GoodBoy.
Gavin Keilly, who is the company’s Founder and CEO, formed GBK in 2000. GBK consists of five divisions: GBK Celebrity Gifting, GBK Special Events, GBK Weddings, GBK Charitable Consulting and GBK Marketing/Public Relations For more information on GBK please visit their website.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images unless otherwise noted.
Cover photo of Emmy Award Winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Hale at The Artisan Group display
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