DAWN DUNNING

MERCHANDISE DESIGN AND FABRICATION, MERCHANDISING, PRODUCT DESIGN, SET DECORATION, STAFFING AND MANAGEMENT

CONCEPT

Arizona Iced Tea opened the Great Buy 99¢ pop-up store on Crosby Street in Soho, a unique retail experience that is a take on the classic New York 99¢ store.

THE SPACE

Set amongst the high-profile boutiques in Soho, the space was inspired by the iconic AriZona iced tea can art.  At the back of the store you could find your way through an “employees only” entrance into a green tea garden featuring a real coyfish pond and cherry blossom trees.  Under the golden pagoda you could get a tattoo from a celebrity tattoo artist or add custom embroidery to one of your purchases. 

THE COLLECTION

The collection featured over 100 custom pieces.  The vibrancy of AriZona’s famous checkerboard, Aztec, and cherry blossom patterns, inspired the high fashion streetwear collection.  Items including French terry hoodies, hand-dyed silk pajamas, baby onesies, outerwear, swimwear, leather weekend bags, hand beaded belts, wallets and more were all available at the store.  The apparel was proudly made in downtown Los Angeles.  We also created an array of household and lifestyle items including GB99 rolling papers, ashtrays, lip balms, air fresheners, plush beach towels, pool floats etc.

An unprecedented 7,500 guests visited the pop-up over 6 days; the line constantly wrapped around the block, even in the pouring rain. 4,500 transactions totaled $250,000, for an incredible average of over $45 / per customer. The pop-up received press from a variety of outlets, including Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, People, Time Out, NBC, and Forbes.

CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR JACK DANIEL'S HOUSE NO. 7 TOUR, A MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING CONCEPT MODELED AFTER A FICTITIOUS ROADSIDE MOTEL. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT, TEAM MANAGEMENT,  ENGAGEMENT IDEATION AND EXECUTION, SPATIAL DESIGN, SET DESIGN, INTERIOR DESIGN, EXPERIENCE DESIGN, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, COSTUME DESIGN, AND TALENT MANAGEMENT. FROM CONCEPT TO FINISH 2015-2019.

CONCEPT

Motel No. 7 was a concept born out of Jack Daniel's illustrious history with rock-and-roll and the life of a musician on tour.

THE MOTEL

At the front desk, guests received an RFID “key” for their stay – scannable at the countless immersive photo experiences. Over 100 actors played various roles: uniformed bellhops, leather-clad maids, a roller derby team, as well as Dumptruck the house manager,  Jake the janitor, Dani the maid and of course Elvis. 

GUEST ROOMS

Walk down the motel hallway through over 20 themed guest rooms and engagements. Find live recordings with actual musicians, a pillow room filled with 2500 pillows, a secret speakeasy with a live lounge singer, hip-hop room, a heavy metal room and many other immersive experiences,  one of the most popular engagements was a 90’s-inspired EDM room as guests entered to a chanted chorus of their own name, before being directed behind turntables and a giant red button that created a base drop - complete with nitrogen blast, strobe lights, and confetti.  The motel even contained a wedding chapel hosting real weddings courtesy of “Elvis” and Jack Daniels fans getting married. 

PROP AND DECOR DESIGN, SOURCING AND PRODUCTION, ON SITE SET DECORATION

CREATIVE DIRECTION, SET DESIGN, SPATIAL DESIGN, PROPS AND DECOR, STAFFING AND MANAGEMENT, EVENT PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION DESIGN, SPATIAL DESIGN, FLORAL DESIGN, PROP AND DECOR DESIGN, SOURCING AND FABRICATION

CONCEPT

Delta To & From is a series of podcast conversations that celebrates all that connects us — regardless of where we call home.

Held in NYC the Delta to and from podcast launch event was hosted at The Foundry in Long Island City and had guests who both appeared on the podcast and had similar immigration stories.
The event focused on a few key moments – connection, integration, and the power of stories about immigration. The participants were encouraged to interact with each other through a dinner at 6 round tables of 10 strangers that encouraged easy and meaningful communication. 

THE TABLES

Each table represented a place in the world Rio, Japan, Harlem, England, Ethiopia, Argentina.  The tables were decorated with custom, antique and found objects from each location.  Antiquated subway maps from the Harlem line and vintage subway tokens, Mini Daruma figures and antique Japanese fans, Vintage tea tins and English roses, antique Ethiopian prayer scrolls and traditional Ethiopian clay coffee pots, traditional musical instruments from each location encouraged play and conversation.  Every table included custom handmade seat cushions and placemats.   I tried to incorporate art and music objects from each location as well as local nostalgic and traditionally crafted items.  Most items were unfamiliar to guests and that created a sense of curiosity and exploration.  At the end of the dinner guests had grown attached to items and wanted to take them home - in turn taking a piece of this night with them to be remembered for years to come.