Furniture hire for events: featuring the London Reign Showclub enclosure at ‘Taste of London’

We’ve just come to the end of a whirlwind summer season here at Rio Lounge! The absolute best thing about this year has been once again being able to supply our furniture hire for events: real live events!  After more than a year of seemingly living our lives via Zoom and Skype, we soon got bored of screens and started yearning for real life again. Seeing friends, being able to go out, socialise and eat delicious food again was just the best! One of our very favourite events this summer was working alongside a top London nightclub – The London Reign Showclub – to create their luxury drinks enclosure at the ‘Taste of London’ festival held in Regent’s Park back in July.

So what exactly is the ‘Taste of London’ festival?

One of the biggest food festivals in the UK, ‘Taste’ is a must for any serious foodie! Rounding up the hottest London restaurants, seeking out up and coming chefs, and the latest trends in food and drink, it’s a week-long outdoor gastronomic extravaganza.  However, there are also ‘Daily Specials’; giving visitors the chance to sample some of the city’s tastiest new concepts, popping up for one or two days only. ‘Taste’ also put on a festive edition in November, at London’s Tobacco Dock.

The London Reign Showclub Enclosure

We had a chat with Kate, the Events Manager at the London Reign Showclub, who ran a drinks enclosure at ‘Taste’ for the very first time:

“How did the London Reign first get involved with the Taste of London event?”

“The Directors, myself and the team are regular visitors of ‘Taste’ so we knew it would provide the perfect location for our very first outside event in the UK. We had been thinking about this for a while however it was always a question of how to find the time to arrange this event whilst juggling an extremely busy venue with additional inhouse events and major projects abroad also.

With lockdown we were able to focus attention to this project and The Directors.  The emotional wellbeing of the staff has been a major focus for The Directors and they were very keen to get staff back and working as soon as possible so this was a key influencing factor.”

“What was it like trying to plan a major event coming out of lockdown?  For example, how did you tackle the uncertainty?” 

“We plan all events the same way. We ensure there is a full risk assessment, a contingency plan, insurance, and back up plans for every aspect so this event did not phase us.

The uncertainty was always present however once all the plans, and back up plans were in place, we set our minds to creating the best event we could and looking forward positively.

Every supplier we worked with was as keen to get going as we were, so we felt an incredible energy from everyone around us.”

“It must have been difficult  to get involved in a food tasting event that took place just prior to ‘Freedom Day’. Please could you tell us a little about how you managed to keep everything covid -safe?”

“We were lucky as we were a drinks only enclosure! Regarding Covid measures, we followed Taste of London’s policies.  Of course we also had our own risk assessments and Health and Safety policies in place at all times.”

“Last but not least, please could you tell us a little about how you chose a ‘look’ for the event and what appealed to you in particular about Rio Lounge furniture hire?”

“The Directors had white furniture firmly set in their minds, and having previously worked with Rio Lounge, it was such an easy decision to contact them again. We knew how beautiful their furniture is, and how great Jo (Rio’s CEO) is of course! The delivery and collection arrangements meant as soon as we booked, we could literally tick this off the list and not give a moment’s worry about it.”

How we created the Showclub look with our furniture hire pieces

London Reign hired a mixture of white faux leather and rattan furniture to create the all-white outdoor chill out lounge: combining pieces from our Ana Mandara versatile modular sofa range, together with our classic rattan Ibiza-style ‘Marrakesh’ sofa sets.  Alongside the sofas, our co-ordinating  ‘South Beach’ bistro dining furniture provided a place for customers to perch, while enjoying their drinks.  Meanwhile, our faux leather, waterproof Ocean Daybeds gave a fun, pool party vibe to the event as well as providing additional seating. 

It’s never too early to book furniture hire for next year’s outdoor events!

Whatever type of event you’re planning, it’s never too early to book your furniture hire.  Exceptional demand post Covid has meant we have been fully booked for much of the summer season. We always love to chat about furniture hire for events; so get in touch and let’s start planning a year of fun for 2022. Goodness knows we all deserve it!  You can call the hire team on 0845 46 77483, or alternatively, send us an email.