Buzz Interviews Glendale Calmerin of Calmerin Designs and Events
I unknowingly started in the event planning industry when I was 12, helping my older sister set-up for her events. The first event that really started it all for us was her wedding. I mainly helped because I wanted to hang out with my sister and if that meant having to help her choose between the hundreds of shades of purples, I was willing to go along with the crazy. This went on to help her plan social events like birthdays, bridal showers, and Christmas parties. The planning came really easy for us and we used that time together to bond as sisters, dragging along our entire family including my two other sisters, my brother, and our parents. Other families may dread putting together elaborate parties a few times a year, however, it became a routine for us and something we looked forward to every month or so:
• Hazel created the overall theme and concept of the event
• Cheryl handled the DIY projects
• Dad built any structure that came out of our imagination
• Mae planned the food and beverages served
• I planned the program such as games, raffles and became the MC for the night
• John did the pick-ups and drop-offs
• Mom kept us fed and looked after the kids
• And any other “member” would just help out with set-up/cleanup
We didn’t realize the “legacy” of our event planning would be a hit. And word spread of our crazy $10,000 parties for one-year-olds.
The skills that I developed helping my sister trickled down to my personal life in school, helping set-up dances, shows and even hosting my own themed parties. At the age of 18, my family presented me with a choice, a new car or a huge 18th birthday party. Well, I’m sure you know what I chose. After high school, I wasn’t able to help my sister as much and decided to follow a different path. I studied Journalism, Communication, and Public Relations. After college, I got into Business Development and Project Management. Although my endeavors had some excitement, I was having trouble finding something that filled the “happiness” checkbox. I eventually really enjoyed working for small businesses, being able to develop processes and creating operations from the ground up, but I couldn’t find the industry that felt like home.
During this time, I was still being asked by friends and family to help host their events and even hosted a few corporate events within the companies I worked for. It wasn’t until I was being offered payment for my work that really made me think. I was being complimented on work that I did on my own without my family and it was good enough to have a price tag. I went back and forth with the idea of creating an event planning business mainly because I doubted if others would see the value in my work without knowing who I was. My family had made a reputation back in my hometown in San Jose but now that I was living on my own in Los Angeles, I wasn’t sure if I was able to build that same reputation so quickly. I also was getting married and planning to start a family so financially I wasn’t sure if it was the right time. I put the idea in the back burner.
With a few months left until the wedding day, I went through an epic break-up that left me feeling like I was going to lose myself into depression and turmoil. The empty checkbox I had next to the word happiness was almost impossible to see. With literally the last bit of motivation I had, a few weeks after, I launched my event planning website on April 6, 2018. Because of my will to not give up, I unknowingly pushed myself towards the path I was eventually destined to do.