Meet Christina Manso | Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Manso and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I came up with the idea for Fete.ish a few years ago because of the way I would design and style the events I was creating with our full service event + design firm, Design Plan Play. I had this concept, in my mind, but due to the “on 24/7 – no downtime” of our event industry and workload I never had the opportunity to launch. It was only when we were hit with the unexpected pandemic in 2020 that I had “time” to put this idea in motion. In April of 2020, I finally designed and sent to print and built my first “Celebration Table” and Fete.ish was born. It has been over a year and a half and the product launch has been a total success. In the middle of what was an almost complete shutdown of the event industry, I had the busiest year to date in 2020. It is sometimes the simplest ideas that are the most successful and that is what Fete.ish Celebration Tables + Walls is in my opinion. The idea came from the way I would design and build the dessert display areas for events. I would depend on my vendors to bring wood backdrops that I would then attach my printed artwork to and also have an actual table and linen that I would also attach my artwork to the front of the table. In this process I always thought, “If I can create a one piece freestanding unit without the need for the wood backdrops and the physical table and linen I can sell this product without the need of additional vendors and pickup and delivery”. Enter COVID when we were trying to minimize the contact with deliveries and pick up and the ability for clients to purchase these products versus renting and it was the recipe for success. We have sold over 2000 Celebration Tables + Walls in countless configurations and they quickly became the staple for every drive-by birthday parade, graduation and intimate celebration. Fast forward to present day coming out of COVID shutdown and they are still as magical for celebrations of all kinds. They are completely customizable, branded for each client and we get to put our creative and artistic approach that people have grown to love through Design Plan Play in our products with Fete.ish. Since launching Fete.ish many companies have caught on to the concept and have been making similar products, but we still have a very strong business and brand because I am a firm believer in “often imitated, never duplicated”. Our designs, creativity and branding set us apart! Also, the name Fete.ish came from the idea when my clients would ask me if I could create a smaller version packed with the same detail and aesthetic for small celebrations: “Fete” (party or celebration) “ish” (to a certain extent) – “Fete.ish” voila!

What should our readers know about your business?

My business is quite simply creating the backdrop to the most magical celebrations. Whether big or small we love to celebrate it all! Fete.ish Celebration Tables + Walls is just that! The perfect setting that brings the vision of the event to life to create unforgettable experiences!

Our designs, quality and dependability are what sets us apart. After a year and a half and all of our satisfied and countless repeat clients we are proud of the company and products we design, build and produce.

I am most proud of how this concept was embraced, how practical they are and the way this 4′ x 7′ masterpiece can add so much look and feel to any celebration.

Was it easy? It is never easy, but always worth it – we have to constantly evolve and continue to create exciting and new designs, concepts and products within our Fete.ish brand to stay current and ahead of the competition!

Our biggest challenge is also our biggest blessing!  It is knowing my limits all while trying to fulfill all the orders.  We love to design and create and saying YES is so much more fun than NO, but overcommitting leads to long hours so my biggest challenge is knowing the limit of Celebration Tables + Walls we can design and produce while still leaving time for my two beautiful guys and husband.

My best advice and it was advice I was given is not to invest energy in what everyone else around you is doing or copying it distracts you from where you are headed. My vision is clear and the endless ideas I have for Fete.ish and that is what I will continue to water and grow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Favorite spots in the City! When in Miami you must visit:

Design District, Wynwood, Midtown, Surfside / Bal Harbour, Coconut Grove, Little Havana.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I would love to Shoutout my amazing industry friends! We may be direct competitors, but above it all WE are a Sisterhood!

They have embraced my product launch with Fete.ish and have been an integral part of the success from Day 1!

Monica of Monica Pardo Events “brandbadassador”, Lilly of The Creative Heart Studio, Laila of One Inspired Party, Valerie of Top It Off Designs, Jackie of Jackie Ohh Events, Andrea of Tres Mujeres Dulce and Jessica of The Event Planners Miami and the list goes on!

THANK YOU you ladies you already know how much I adore, admire and appreciate every single one of you and our relationship!

annnnndddd my DREAM TEAM: Lester, Eric, Damian + Danilo – Home Team without these guys I would be DUST! Pixie Dust, but dust nonetheless ha!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fete.ish