Veluda San Diego

Welcome Readers to the debut article at Staging Techno. The purpose of my blog is to learn and share knowledge about event management for techno focused raves and festivals. 

After the kinetic Bloom at EDC Las Vegas I met the stunning Taylor Celeste right at the end of the IHateModels set! I had just started the concept for this blog a few weeks prior. By stroke of luck Taylor was launching her debut event with Schlomo headlining in San Diego! After her first event , I finally got an interview to listen, learn and be inspired.

A San Diego native, she returned to provide care for her late grandmother. While in San Diego a friend approached her about talent buying! From this Taylor learned the process of acquiring talent for lineups, shows, negotiating, and much more…Being an enthusiast drives her process!  Being a fan , buying tickets and riding out the show until the lights come on!

Formal education is not a necessity to become an event manager. Albeit Taylor does have a background in interior design and at a young age worked in customer service which shows in her work ethic, hospitality and service recovery! 

July 10 the first veluda event at revel revel in my opinion was incredibly fun and fresh with a beautiful lush aesthetic. My highlight for the evening was Headliner Shlomo mixing an epic set cushioned between living walls backdropped by the downtown sd area and blue skies. What an incredible taste into what veluda will offer for the future. 

When I asked Taylor her vision for veluda in 5 years, she responded with feasible and ambitious goals.

Managing one event a month, the Sunday series! 

Next year to launch a warehouse event! 

Go until 4 am at SPIN!

Putting a focus on local talent!

Finally going from shows to a full on festival!

Planning Veluda required simply a first step for Taylor it was to send lots of emails and check venues. She then prioritized Producing the experience beginning to end, Safety and Local Vendors! 

Taylor found it hard for venues to take chances and as a result was looked over by many venues. Having worked with venue Revel revel in the past! Her rapport with Sam, the amazing guy, who runs revel revel lead to the credibility she needed to secure the venue..

 

Did she run into any obstacles or mistakes

during, or before the event she planned, what

did she learn and how did she overcome them?

Some major challenge she faced was having no mixer until 5 min before the doors opened! The Sound check was late and there were Issues with the booth monitor. Furthermore other various IT issues! She humbly accepted that there was a lack of anticipation in this regard. Her takeaway from the challenging experience is to find a sound engineer, stage manager and other positions to delegate and avoid future issues.

Regardless of any temporary setbacks! The event was enjoyable for both the ravers and her team! Taylor’s perspective is that everyone enjoyed the event and I agree with that general opinion. 

Taylor is a Trendsetter. I can’t wait to see where her vision will lead Veluda in the future. With a participative leadership style she respectfully leads by learning from her team as they also learn from her. Taylor’s caring attitude to make ravers happy and safe will definitely have them returning to Veluda San Diego. 

Taylor believes the best event managers will embody these traits:

Patience

Confidence

Attention to detail

Kindness

Inclusivity

What tools does Taylor use for organizing events?

Spreadsheets

Outlook

Calendar

Google drive

How did she measure her success for the

event?

Albeit a Financial loss on the first event,

Taylor showed her audience what she wanted to create. She was able to commute with her favorite artist! Most  importantly form then strengthen her network and bonds.

Management of event budgets can be stressful for anyone for Taylor it’s Spreadsheets that play a big role. Successful budgeting can also come from careful First time expenses like equipment. Learning how to cut costs and/or increase revenue. Finding partnerships and thriving on mutually beneficial relationships.

Our world being so deeply connected through social media how is Taylor leveraging this? 

She clearly creates the distinction between herself and her company. Proclaiming, she is not an influencer and not yet having much competency in the way of social media analytics. Mainly Taylor uses Instagram and Facebook! She is looking to explore other avenues and possibly hiring a social media manager. Regardless she is “excited to conquer” social media for business which she finds important to learn.

I hope after reading about Taylor’s debut Veluda event you learned something and became inspired as much as I have. 

Thank you so much for your time Taylor and I can’t wait to attend another veluda event … in a warehouse?

Florist: longstemdisco.com

Instagram @veludasd