Bay Area Event Designers Team Up To Defy ‘Doom Loop’
Women of Color-led (WOC) experiential event design agencies Lily Spruce and Make it Mariko join forces to curate experiences focused on breathing new life into public spaces and venues
Photo credit: Come Plum
San Francisco, CA - June 29, 2023 - Lily Spruce — a WOC-led event planning and design firm founded by Genevieve Roja for couples that strive for originality and authenticity — is entering a new era. Lily Spruce is joining forces with Make it Mariko, an experiential event agency led by WOC and founded by Gina Mariko Rosales focused on creating magical, meaningful moments for the community. In the face of a looming downtown “doom loop,” Roja and Rosales are developing a creative events agency focused on creating jobs and opportunities for creatives, entrepreneurs, and artists of color in events, while curating events and activations that bring people back to San Francisco through arts and culture.
“In this country, there is so much focus on individuality and making it big on our own,” says Gina Mariko Rosales, founder of Make it Mariko. “Genevieve and I realized that in order to achieve the big dreams we have as individual companies supporting under-represented communities, with limited resources, we would be better served joining forces and resources to support each other, instead of “competing” with each other for the same business. It’s only been 6 months so far, and I’m already feeling how we are stronger together.”
Genevieve Roja (left) and Gina Mariko Rosales (right) | photo credit: Come Plum
Stronger Together: from Burnout to Breakthrough
While Roja wrapped up her final Lily Spruce event on June 10th, she is hitting the ground running with Make it Mariko with a number of offerings and events planned through 2024. Their vision includes Make it Mariko’s new wedding arm POC Wedding Party, new curated dinner concepts, cultural food and music festivals like UNDISCOVERED SF, SOMA Pilipinas’ annual holiday Parol Festival, a new POC wedding vendor showcase called “Weddings in Color,” and a new POC Food & Wine Festival set to launch in Spring 2024.
“Our aim at Lily Spruce was to create joyful and soulful events for rulebreakers,” says Genevieve Roja. “By joining Make it Mariko, and helping manage our amazing planners at our wedding branch, POC Wedding Party, we have an opportunity again to add our 15 years of event planning experience and expertise to create magical, meaningful experiences.”
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic put things into perspective for Roja, who was close to burning out after several challenging event seasons. She loved event planning and managing teams, but knew it was time to evolve and help grow and mentor the next generation of planners, particularly those of color. Gina, a friend and peer of Genevieve’s in the events industry, had been experiencing the same industry fatigue and recent burnout. They decided that as women of color in the event industry they were stronger together and agreed to join forces, with a focus on designing experiences that bring communities together.
UNDISCOVEED SF Creative Market produced by Make it Mariko
Doom Loop: A Creative Opportunity
Revitalization initiatives, such as attracting new businesses and fostering a sense of community and safety, are a crucial part of breaking the doom loop cycle and revitalizing San Francisco's downtown area. Through experiential event design, Make it Mariko is contributing to revitalization efforts in the city. Where some may see “doom,” Make it Mariko sees a creative opportunity.
Filipino creative market UNDISCOVERED SF and Japantown’s KoHo Creative Hub serve as a case study in the power of experiential event planning in building community. For example, UNDISCOVERED SF — a project by Kultivate Labs and Make it Mariko — revitalizes SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District Filipino while supporting artists, musicians, and businesses of all generations. Over the course of 6 years, UNDSCVRD has generated $930K+ sales for its vendors.
“It’s been amazing to work alongside Gina and the team at Make it Mariko,” says Roja, whose portfolio of work includes producing La Cocina’s first ever Night Market at the Alemany Farmers Market, and Fiesta on the Hill, Bernal Heights’ annual street festival. “I feel truly aligned on mission and values, and using food, arts, and culture to uplift and spotlight small businesses and communities. As a native San Franciscan, it’s especially important to me to give back to the city that raised us. We are not giving up on her, despite what you may read. Creatives, bon vivants, and risk takers shaped San Francisco–and will continue to do so.”
Save the Date: Upcoming events produced by Make it Mariko
UNDISCOVERED SF: August 19, September 16, October 21, 2023
POC Wedding Party x Creative Transit Agency Summer BBQ (official date TBD)
Parol Festival: December 2023 (official date TBD)
“Weddings in Color” POC Wedding Vendor Showcase: February 2024 (official date TBD)
POC Food & Wine Festival & Brown is Beautiful: April 2024 (official date TBD)
For more information, please visit https://www.makeitmariko.com/
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Make it Mariko (pronounced MAH-ree-ko) is a San Francisco experiential events agency led by women of color that creates magical, meaningful moments for the community. We are experience curators, community activators, corporate planners, nonprofit advocates, and event enthusiasts. We are committed to curating creative, inclusive, and diverse spaces in the events industry, to challenge the status quo, and pave the way for a new generation of event experience curators.