Some briefs make us smile the moment they land. This one? Turn a hotel ballroom into Ruby’s very own beauty store; not “beauty themed”, not “inspired by” in the loosest sense, but a fully realised brand experience where Ruby herself was the label. Black and white stripes, hot pink everything, and her name above the door.
So that’s exactly what we built.
The store opening
Before a single guest arrived, Ruby had a moment that set the tone for the entire night: her own store opening. We fabricated a black shop-front entrance arch, glossy black acrylic with raised white lettering spelling out RUBY, leading into a draped black tunnel flanked by black and white striped panels. Add a giant bow across the entrance, and Ruby got to cut the ribbon on her own brand before opening the doors to 150 guests.
Rope-and-post barriers, pink uplighting through the reception area, and stilt performers greeting arrivals meant that from the moment guests arrived they weren’t at a party. They were at a launch.
Designed down to the dancefloor
At the centre of the room sat a 16ft custom-designed dancefloor, created especially for Ruby and built around the brands she genuinely loves; Gisou, Drunk Elephant, Sol de Janeiro, Bubble, woven through lipstick motifs, lips and bold black and white artwork. It’s one of our favourite things to do: take what a young person is actually obsessed with and turn it into design, rather than reaching for a generic theme off the shelf.
The rest of the room followed suit. A 4.5-metre custom black and white striped bar carrying the RUBY logo. A matching custom DJ booth. The venue’s columns were wrapped in stripes. A black starcloth alcove framing the stage, with a 1.6-metre neon RUBY sign glowing in love-potion pink at its heart. The stage itself was custom built with curved semi-circle fronts, finished in hot pink carpet with black fascia, because if you’re going to build a stage for a 12-year-old’s launch night, it should look epic!
Around the edges: white Chesterfield sofas with Ruby-branded cushions, poseur tables with personalised acrylic tops matching the dancefloor design, and hot pink hydrangeas in black vases catching the light.
Shop the collection
A beauty store needs stock so we gave Ruby a merch station worthy of a product drop. A neon-lit display stand hung with samples, backed by black logo t-shirts, branded tote bags and RUBY sunglasses for every guest. Staff wore the merch too, so the whole team was part of the brand.
Then came the details that guests are still talking about. An edible make-up station: Belgian white chocolate lipsticks in real cases, hand-painted chocolate lips filled with ganache, iced cookies shaped like mascara wands and eyeshadow palettes, and Sephora-themed cake pops.
A glam station anchored by a two-metre giant lipstick, where guests queued for face glitter. A magazine cover photo booth with props cut from the products themselves. Food stations renamed for the night, Lipstick Lane, Blush & Bite Square, Candy Couture Court, each with custom-built black stalls and signage. A waffle and churros cart, rebranded to match. Flaring bartenders and mixologists behind the bar. And when Ruby made her entrance, four confetti cannons filled the room with baby blue to match her dress.
What it takes
Nights like this don’t happen by accident. Our crew were in the venue from 7am; riggers, experienced drapers, set builders and lighting engineers installing uplighters, moving wash lights, haze, full stage production and every custom element in the room. The last of the team left at half past four the following morning, with the ballroom back to exactly as we found it.
Because somewhere in the middle of it all, a 12-year-old girl walked through her own shop front, under her own name in lights, into a room full of people celebrating her. That’s the bit we do it for.
Client feedback, ‘We had the best night! Was soo emotional when I first went in the room. You fulfilled Ruby and my dream. Thank you!! Xx’
Planning a bat mitzvah, bar mitzvah or milestone celebration? We design and build events from concept to confetti cannon. Get in touch to start the conversation. Creative events are our forte. We love the details and we can’t wait to hear more about your vision. We design, install and transform spaces for luxury barmitzvahs and barmitzvahs across the UK creating extraordinary immersive experiences.
Photography: Ruthless Images https://houseofverve.co.uk/portfolio/rubys-sephora-inspired-batmitzvah-manchester-victoria-albert-hotel/
