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Hi friends! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve probably noticed that it’s looking pretty different around here. After taking fourteen months off of live performance due to the pandemic I was feeling drawn towards creating a fresh start with my online presence. Therefore, one of my biggest goals this year was to revamp my branding and website. Despite many slow downs, I accomplished my goal and am very pleased with the results! Read on if you’re interested in the new branding, the process, and a few pleasing before/afters.

Brand elements

The first step of this project was to write a creative brief that described my brand’s value proposition, target market, communication goals, and design elements. This acted as a guide for all of the new content I was going to create.

Typically a creative brief is written by a business and given to a creative agency that they’re hiring for project work, but I found making my own to be extremely helpful in gaining clarity on my professional strengths, goals, and unique attributes. If you’re a performer I highly recommend trying your hand at a creative brief. If you’ve never done any sort of branding brainstorming before, I’d suggest starting with this “Brand Heart” workbook from Column Five Media. After that, check out their creative brief guide to dive a bit deeper.

Here’s the cover page and brand elements section from my creative brief. This will continue to act as my guide when creating any new owned media.

Website

You’re here! You can see it! What do you think? Designing this new site took the lion’s share of the time I spent on my re-branding. A lot of this time was spent just cleaning up my very neglected old website… Shenanigans included trying to switch hosting but bailing because I didn’t want to mess up my SEO, realizing I was 3 PHP versions out of date and that’s why my site was so slow, realizing my WordPress was over 10 versions out of date and that’s why it broke when I updated my PHP, learning my site was a toxic relic in the new world of SSL certificates and begrudgingly accepting that I had to pay more money to get that little lock icon in the URL bar, and embarking on using an entirely new WordPress theme because I thought it would be prudent (not infuriating) to learn a new site builder platform at the same time as updating my personal site – to name a few 🙃 Anywho, here’s the before & afters:

Home Page

Acts Page

Reviews Section

Booking Page

…And a few mobile screenshots

I wanted something clean, classy, and professional. My personal style, the types of acts I create, the costumes I design, and the gigs I work have all changed in the past few years. I wanted this new website to match the sophistication, growth, and crystallized direction that I’ve experienced personally and professionally.

Business cards

Who could forget business cards? I haven’t sent these to print yet, as I feel this design can still use some optimization. Or maybe what’s really holding me up is the tension between wanting a hello@lumaflow.net email address and not wanting to give google another $6 per month for G Suite. Google, haven’t I given you enough?

Social Media

I updated the headers on both Facebook & YouTube to match my website. This photo taken by my friend Elena Escobedo is one of my favorites and I love displaying it across the internet.

Resume

Finally, I even updated my performance resume with my new branding! I don’t use this often, but it was overdue for a revamp. You can also view this as a drop-down menu with an optional PDF download on my About page.

That’s it for the new branding tour! Thanks to anyone who checked this out for entreating my need to share my digital baby. Now that I’m back online, it’s time to bring on the gigs 🔥

If you’re looking to plan an event for your nonprofit that garners rave reviews, here are a few ways that circus and variety entertainers can be incorporated to wow your guests.

Have roaming performers hand out swag bags for an immersive experience.

What’s more fun – grabbing a bag off of a table or having it personally handed to you by an acrobat or stilt walker? Roaming entertainers can provide functions at your event that already needed to be done, but in a way that creates more magic moments for your guests and donors. For the shy folks that are intrigued by the talent but wouldn’t necessarily approach them, having performers hand out items also creates low-stress opportunities for interactions with as many guests as possible.

What: 2-4 stilt walkers or specialty characters

When: As guests enter, during dinner, or during programming transitions

Where: Throughout the venue

Why? Circus performers roaming throughout the event creates a festive, exciting energy. Swag bags and gifts are an investment meant to thank your guests, so why not make the experience of receiving them a memorable moment?

Photo: Cirque Cadia’s Mushroom Gnomes love interacting with guests and handing out whimsical forest gifts.

Take the photo booth to the next level with costumed characters.

Professional event planners all know that when it comes to creating amazing gatherings, the key is designing an immersive experience. This means taking into account all of the details from beginning to end and placing themed elements into every nook and cranny of the venue. Often a photo wall is the first touchpoint for guests as they enter, so why not start off with a bang? Your guests will love having a photo souvenir of themselves with themed stilt walkers, jugglers, or specialty characters.

What: 1-2 engaging performers dressed in your event theme, a matching backdrop, and bonus props for attendees to use in the photos

When: As soon as doors open until programming begins (30 minutes – 1 hour)

Where: At the photo booth

Why? A unique welcome will set the tone by instantly establishing the theme.  As a bonus, many folks will post photos to their social media accounts – giving you a jump start on user-generated content to share back to your audience.

Photo: Luma poses on stilts with a group of guests at a gala event for a nonprofit in Richland, WA.

Place circus performers around the venue to create a gallery of entertainment.

If you want to keep the energy high throughout the length of the event, filling up your empty spaces with talented circus artists is a great way to keep your guests engaged. Whether you’re placing an LED dancer on either side of the stage to create a bigger spectacle during the live band, announcing a hula hoop performance in the silent auction room to drive traffic to the area, or hosting fire performances in the courtyard throughout the mingling portion of the event, providing a variety of specialty moments for guests to experience will make them feel like they’ve been transported into an immersive variety show.

What: 2-4 performers such as dancers, hula hoopers, stilters, jugglers, aerialists, or poi spinners

When: During the silent auction, cocktail hour, or live band

Where: Low-energy spots such as near the line for food, drinks, or check-in; throughout the silent auction room, in the courtyard, or on either side of the stage during the live band

Why? Placing performers in designated locations where they can share acts in 5-20 minute sets will fill the space with activity and energy. Guests moving throughout the venue can be surprised by receiving a show in unexpected places – which adds to an immersive & engaging atmosphere.

Photo: Luma and her stilt partner JPeace provide roaming stilt entertainment in Redmond, WA.

Present a choreographed stage act that leads into the featured speakers or live auction.

Imagine that your guests have just finished their dinner, chatting as they wait for a speaker to take the stage. All of a sudden the lights lower, music begins fading in, and a group of elegantly costumed performers carrying bright LED props take to the stage. Set to an energetic sound track, they perform jaw-dropping circus tricks and create gorgeous spectacles through morphing formations. They hit a wow-worthy finale pose and, as the crowd cheers, point to the side of the stage where the featured speaker of the night enters and takes to the microphone. As the speaker thanks the performers and introduces themselves, the energy of the amazed audience is transferred into an engaged interest in the speaker’s motivating speech.

What: A talented soloist or troupe of circus performers

When: Once guests are seated for dinner, before the live auction, or before the featured speakers

Where: At the venue entrance or wherever guests will receive welcome letters or gift bags, sign the guest book, etc.

Why? An impressive circus act will raise the energy of the crowd, creating a sense of fun and festivity. It also acts as a great way to warm up donors & helps them not to feel as if every aspect of the night is about soliciting donations from them. This moment of thrill acts as the perfect segue into the main programming.

Photo: Luma and her troupe, Cirque Cadia, perform a headlining act with 16 LED hula hoops.

Attendees of nonprofit events are showing their generosity by purchasing tickets, bidding in auctions, and making in-kind donations. Creating an over-the-top experience is a meaningful way to say thank you to donors for their support of your cause. Not only will they feel excited to continue sharing their generosity, they’ll likely invite their friends to join them next year.

When it comes to adding circus performance artists into your nonprofit gala, auction, or concert, there are endless options that can fit any theme, budget, and event flow. If you’re planning an event in the Seattle, Tacoma, or Western Washington area and want to enlist a professional entertainer and performance director who can bring your unique vision to life, contact Luma and her troupe Cirque Cadia for a free event consultation today.

Circus performers, costumed characters, and specialty entertainers are a perfect way to create an exciting, energetic, and unique wedding. Not only will they help to break the ice and keep guests engaged throughout the event, but they’ll also spur unexpected experiences – which leads to amazing memories. Intrigued? Here are a few examples of how circus entertainers can create magical, fun, and immersive experiences at your upcoming wedding.

Have costumed characters greet guests & pose for photos as they arrive.

If there’s one thing that all amazing events have in common, it’s that they extend the experience into every nook and cranny of the venue from beginning to end. Placing performers at the first touchpoint with your guests will establish that this isn’t just any wedding. Imagine how surprised and delighted your friends and family will be when they arrive at the venue to be greeted by a group of inviting and elegantly costumed performers.

What: 1-3 charismatic performers dressed to match your wedding theme and a fun backdrop for photos

When: 30 minutes to one hour before the ceremony begins

Where: At the venue entrance or wherever guests will receive welcome letters or gift bags, sign the guest book, etc.

Why? A unique welcome will set the tone by instantly making guests feel like they’re a part of the party.  The addition of a photo opportunity will help guests dive right into the fun & memory-making.  

Incorporate interactive circus performers into the dance party.

Having specialty performers present during the main party times will extend the festive atmosphere into every corner of the venue, and guests will never know what kind of entertaining moment they’ll stumble upon. 

What: Stilt walkers, hula hoopers, jugglers, fan dancers, magicians, and more

When: During cocktail hour and when the dance floor is open

Where: On the dance floor, near the bar, throughout the venue

Why? Performers can encourage more mingling and spontaneity amongst guests, as well as provide an interactive experience for the folks who don’t spend their time dancing. And let’s not forget about the kids – they’ll love the circus performers.

Plan a fire performance that leads into the couple’s grand entrance.

Imagine a troupe of beautifully costumed fire dancers skillfully tossing, twirling, and spinning flames, lighting up eyes amongst guests.  As the performers move towards their final pose, you and your newlywed partner emerge and are framed in a gorgeous, dramatic display of flames. All eyes are on you and the crowd bursts into applause at the theatrical spectacle.  Talk about a memorable moment!

What: A 5-15 minute choreographed fire performance. Using an indoor venue? You can book an LED act instead.

When: After guests are seated for the reception.  

Where: On the dance floor, or wherever the grand entrance will happen.

Why? An LED or Fire act will raise the collective energy and create an overall sense of joy and wonder, and then direct that energy straight towards your grand entrance.

There are lots of ways to incorporate performance artists into your wedding – your creativity is the limit. If you’re planning a wedding in the Seattle/Tacoma area and want to enlist a professional who can bring your entertainment vision to life, contact Luma and her troupe Cirque Cadia for a free event consultation today.