Bernard S. is famous around Hallmark for his legendary cake-decorating skills, not to mention his ability to wrangle the wily folks over at Union Hill photo studios, where he’s a manager. Today, he’s on the blog to tell us about a very “brite” night the Union Hill team had last fall.

Dining by Design is a national fund-raising event originated by the Kansas City chapter of DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS). Local designers and artists create one-of-a-kind tablescapes for patrons to experience at the event. DIFFA KC has helped to raise over 4 million dollars for HIV/AIDS education and treatment in the Kansas City area.

To honor the 25^th anniversary of the event this year, the theme was a retro throw back to the 1980s when Dining by Design was started. A team from Hallmark’s Union Hill Studios quickly went to work on ideas to decorate the Hallmark-sponsored table. As luck would have it, Hallmark’s iconic character Rainbow Brite was being relaunched this year. The team wrote this statement to describe our inspiration for the table:

Rainbow Brite is back from the ’80s just in time to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dining by Design. A team from Hallmark’s Union Hill Studios created this table featuring Rainbow Brite, Twink and the Sprites because she’s about challenging the forces of gloom and making the world a brighter place…reflecting the commitment of DIFFA to make Kansas City a better and brighter place. 

We used current Hallmark Rainbow Brite creations as the centerpiece of the table. The rainbow theme was carried through with coordinating chargers and dining chairs. We even outlined the floor in rainbow-patterned duct tape. As a nod to our function as a photography studio, a Rainbow Brite Selfie Station—complete with lighting, backdrop and themed photo props—was added as an interactive element to the table. Each guest at the table was given a pair of Rainbow Brite Itty Bittys as a souvenir of the evening.

The Union Hill Dining by Design Team was Michael Ong, Alfred Jones, Jay Fisher, April Black, Patrick Bush, Randy Stewart, Jeff Shumway and Bernard Shondell.

Photography by Pat Bush.

Love Rainbow Brite? Shop our product selection here!

— Bernard S.