Jimmy Garrett’s career – a happy accident

wattAlthough Jimmie Galaites didn’t intentionally choose a career in event planning, he now brings drive, vision and originality to his role as creative director planning events at Seattle’s Event Experience. A classically trained actor, Garretts was pursuing a life on the big stage, and when he stumbled into the world of conference and event planning, you might say it was a happy accident.

“My day job is as a tea captain at Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon in New York City,” he explains. “Lady Mendl’s offers afternoon tea every day and is very popular for baby showers and bridal showers. So, I stumbled into event planning. At the salon, events are basically carbon copies of each other – with a set start and end The hours, the menus are always the same, and the flow of each event follows the same script.” The sense of routine that comes with these regularly scheduled events provides Garrett with the opportunity to really get into the details of event production, and the experience has proven so. It was the foundation on which he later built his career.

A people person, he joined Event Experience in 2015, initially as an Event Producer, which required the following skills: Carefully plan events from concept to production. “It has a sound Theater,” he said. “I get to show off my creativity and be around a lot of people. Thankfully, I found the job. Two years later, he was promoted to Creative Director and now leads his own Fusion Games & Entertainment division, which includes his touring game show events, which reflect his passion for games and entertaining people.

When asked about his favorite event he has produced, Garrett responded easily. “I planned and produced a holiday party with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory theme. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – 1971 Editionsion – is my favorite movie. I wanted the theme to be interactive and we had fun with entertainment, bar settings and Instagram Radio,” he explains. “We set up several Instagram-worthy stations throughout the venue – A Good Egg/Bad eggs weighing station, (replica) lickable wallpaper (but not real because that would be gross), and a big chocolate tube model Augustus Grape was stuck in. It was so much fun to be a part of the movie and I loved it. “