We recently moved to an office on Fresno Street, so we thought it made perfect sense to do a Fresno-proud theme for our upcoming open house party. We decided to use only local food and drink vendors, showcase the work of local artists, and play music from some of our favorite local bands and singer-songwriters. Here is some of the Fresno/Clovis/Madera-area goodness you can expect at our party tomorrow:
1. Pie from Mattie’s Wood Fired Pizza
Operating at events like Gazebo Garden’s Summer Beer Garden, Farmer’s Markets, and Food Truck Saturday, Mattie’s is owned by Matthew Wolcott (a professional dancer!) and entrepreneur Andre Mucelroy. The Mattie’s team prides themselves for operating as a family business, saying, “Our success is amplified by the enthusiasm of our staff and it shows in the presentation.” Their pizza is delicious, with thin crust and tons of flavor, and we’ll have lots of it. This means if you’re feeling like you want to try out a couple different flavors of ‘za, there’s plenty to go around. Pair your pizza with a free, cold drink from our bar and your summertime dinner game can’t get much better.
2. Floats, made with vanilla ice cream from Ampersand and Hard Root Beer from Riley’s Brewing.
We’re super stoked to be pairing up classic items from two of our favorite local eateries, in order to create a combined super creation! We usually gotta try one of the flavors of the month when visiting the Tower District-adjacent Ampersand, but we know you can’t go wrong with their simple, basic vanilla flavor. Pair that up with Hard Root Beer donated from the awesome folks at Riley’s and BAM, we’ve got the perfect summer dessert-concoction, made for adults only. We also need to give a separate shout out to Riley’s for providing the regular beer choices for the party as well- including their “easy-drinking, light-bodied ale,” Sancha, and a “sweet and creamy” milk stout with “a rich, roasty finish,” they call Cowlifornia. We’ll also have vouchers on hand for free burgers from Riley’s Brew Pub. If you’ve ever had a hamburger from Riley’s Brew Pub, you know what a sweet, sweet deal that is.
3. An assortment of mini-cupcakes from Cupcakes Bakery.
We’re sometimes indecisive when it comes to food, mostly just because we LOVE food so we want to try all of it, all the time. Our original intent was to get some simple vanilla cupcakes to pair nicely with the Hard Root Beer Floats we’re offering at the party, but since we have a lot of fruit clients, or maybe because we just like variety, we couldn’t resist the urge to order some orange creamsicle and lemon cupcakes as well. Feel free to try one of each. We won’t judge you. In fact, we’ll probably join you.
4. Snacks and appetizers showing off a few of our food clients
We represent some of the best agricultural companies in the business. Well•Pict Berries, Pretty Lady Grapes, and Bee Sweet Citrus are just a few of the fruit clients we represent who deliver premium taste in their quality products. We’ll be pairing up locally made tortilla chips with our favorite strawberry salsa featuring Well•Pict strawberries (seriously, nothing beats it on a hot summer day) and a rainbow fruit salad with Pretty Lady grapes and Bee Sweet mandarins.
5. Other alcohol options from local wineries.
We’ll have an assortment of reds and whites from some of our favorite Fresno-area vineyards.
6) We’ll be showcasing art and photography from local creators, including Dominique Mayfield James, Brian de la Cruz, Oscar Burgos, and Miguel Gastelum.
Dominque Mayfield James is a make-up artist, wife, and mama of three kids cooler than we’ll ever be. She started painting when she first met her husband, Chance (who is also a talented artist in his own right). He’d have to stay up finishing pieces for his art class, so she’d stay with him and do her own. Dominque jokes that she was terrible at first. “Like, legit bad,” she says. But then she started letting her feelings take over more, and eventually it started working. “I like how colors can make you feel,” Dominique says. “How strange is it that brushing two colors next to each other can make you so happy? I don’t get it, but I love it.”
Dominque accesses her art from a place of intuition. She says she’s always been into texture, and the feeling of brushes in her hand. She discovered her calling as a make-up artist playing with her grandmother’s makeup and brushes as a child, and believes her capabilities as a visual artist were always there in the background, tied to the way she loved holding brushes and touching various make-up textures as a kid. “I’m always trying to find the magic,” she says, adding, “I believe creative people know what I’m referring to. When you feel her in your work- she comes and makes a space for herself. She’ll sit there long enough to make you feel like this isn’t a complete mess so you can keep going. My pieces have always been about freedom. I don’t have all the answers or know all the rules, I just like how it makes me feel. My only hope is that they can help bring magic and give life to someone else.”
Oscar Burgos has been creating vector illustrations since his high school days. He specializes in minimalistic and modern art, and credits traditional Mexican art, street artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey, and design studios like DKNG as the sources of inspiration in his work. Oscar also enjoys art from famous visual artists like Kahlo, Van Goh, Dali, and Pie Mondrain. By day, he works as a graphic designer here at Marketing Plus.
Miguel Gastelum is primarily a performing artist. He has worked throughout Fresno and its surrounding cities as an actor, director, and producer for multiple theatre companies and nonprofit organizations. His interest in photography grew through his work in Theatre Marketing (he is currently employed as the Box Office and Marketing Manager for the Theatre Arts Department at his alma mater, Fresno State). Miguel loves capturing portraits of friends, family, and students, as well as taking pictures of buildings, food, animals, and other lifestyle moments while traveling or even exploring local haunts. “There is something special about catching the essence of someone’s personality in one single moment,” he says. “I love when I get a shot that truly looks like someone- not just their physical, outward appearance, but their overall being as well.” Miguel works in self-portrait a lot, too, often testing out lights, filters, apps and other camera accessories on himself when he doesn’t have a model handy (friend and co-worker, Regina Harris, is also often subject matter for such tests). “It’s not the cheapest hobby in the world,” he says of photography, “but it’s amazing what is available now at the touch of a button on your smart phone or computer. We really live in a world where it’s so much access for individuals to practice their various art forms, whatever it may be, and get better through trial, error, and experimentation.” Miguel says he has “too many favorites” to credit as inspirational sources for his art, but he does love Wes Anderson and Bill Murray a whole heck of a lot. The Wes Anderson influence is often prevalent in his still life work.
Brian de la Cruz describes his personal artistic style as “vibrant retro” and “sleek modern”. He works across multiple mediums, primarily pencil, pen, bitmap, and vectors. Brian has been drawing and creating art since he was a child, and has worked professionally as an artist and graphic designer for most of the last two decades. He mentions Keith Haring, Rian Hughes, Josh Agle (known more commonly in the art world as “Shag”), and the media company, House Industries, as influencers on his work, saying, “I aim to achieve the maximum impact from minimal, suggestive lines and shapes in my art, with vivid color tones for good measure.” Brian is also an independent contractor for Marketing Plus, supplying top notch web, advertising, package, and trade show design for many of our top clients.
7) The music playlist will feature local bands and singer-songwriters.
Our office is too small to comfortably fit a live music act, but that hasn’t stopped us from creating the most jammin’ Fresno-friendly Spotify playlist to ever bump some Apple speakers. Featuring local favorites like Strange Vine, 40 Watt Hype, Sahab, and Let’s Go Bowling , as well as homegrown folks who’ve made it big (Fashawn, Audra McDonald, Bruce Conte), you’ll be bobbin’ your head to Fresno-influenced beats the whole time you’re with us, drinking free beer and eating free pizza.
8) We’re all gonna be sportin’ Fresno-proud clothing!
We are reppin’ our hometown with threads from some of our favorite local organizations and companies: the Fresno Grizzlies, Fresno Foxes, Fresno State, Common Space, and Root General. Feel free to come in tees, hats, bags, or other things that advertise your own favorite Fresno business.
Have we got your attention now? Visit this page for more information on the specifics of our party. Hope to see you tomorrow!
