Today we’d like to introduce you to Jassi Lekach Antebi.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jassi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up, my large family was always hosting events, from weekly Shabbat dinners to birthday parties, making event design and production a natural career path for me. I fell in love with producing events while interning for Conde Nast and then Karla Events. Upon graduating with a BA from the University of Miami, I went to Florence, Italy to study interior design and then began working full time for Karla. After gaining experience, I was offered the Paris Hilton Fragrance launch in Mexico in 2005 (followed by Brazil, Paris, NY contingent upon Mexico being successful)… and without knowing exactly where it would lead, I jumped at the opportunity and started J Group events. After years of growing the business, I took off six years to be home full time with my young children and re-launched J Group five years ago when my youngest started school.
Currently, I act as President and Creative Director of J Group, sit on the board of JCS, and volunteer for WIZO and other philanthropic causes, and plan really fun activities for my family!
Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing is ever a straight path! I have always pushed myself to be creative, innovative, and really immerse myself in each event I work on, which can be a challenge I face for each event. Working on events can be very stressful and demanding of my time, as there is only ONE chance to get it right. All of the hours, meetings, samples, sleepless nights do not mean anything if the final product does not come out AMAZING. So naturally, when I had my first baby, I knew that I needed to push pause and dedicate myself to him (and the two that would follow). Going back to work was challenging as well, as I had to start from scratch in a small office with a team of one (we are now eight full time and countless freelancers).
As for events, there are always crazy things that happen. From a water-screen tank bursting 30 minutes before guests entered the room (we were totally dry 30 seconds before they came in), to a powerful storm nearly destroying our beach tent the night before a big wedding, to the fact that I observe Shabbat and have had to stay in pretty questionable places, it is never a dull moment!
Currently, we are facing our biggest struggle yet with COVID. Our live events industry, which employs more than 12 million people, were amongst the hardest-hit industries, and will likely be amongst the last to resume normal operations. I am fortunate enough to have wonderful clients and families who have supported us along the way and a rapidly growing retail floral department that continues to provide much-needed work to our employees, but there are so many other businesses that are really struggling.
J Group Events – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are experienced designers and magic makers for the most important moments of our clients’ lives. Known for our space transformations and extravagantly FUN parties, we partner with our clients from idea to execution, allowing a seamless process, while creating innovative decor that is immersive, original, and an extension of our clients’ character. My team and I have worked with hundreds of clients, including Christian Dior, Tag Heuer, Cartier, PAMM, Jeff Gordon and Maria Sharapova to private clients hosting $3mil weddings and 600 person destination weddings. J Group is currently producing around eight large bespoke events and 20 smaller events per year, in addition to retail flower arrangements for homes + gifting. We limit the number of large events we take on in order to give each event our full creative attention.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
My industry is filled with kind and resilient people who have been so generous and creative during this time. I see the industry producing small gatherings and ceremonies until the COVID situation is under control, and then people will want to celebrate in a big way when it is safe to do so.
The biggest long term shift, I think will be the importance that people will place on celebrating their milestone moments with their family and friends. I think we will see more personalized details, more meaningful interactions, and so much dancing!
Contact Info:
- Address: 7205 NE 4th Avenue
Unit 104
Miami, FL 33138 - Website: www.jgroupevents.com
- Phone: 7863625702
- Email: jassi@jgroupevents.com
- Instagram: @jgroupevents
- Facebook: Jgroupevents
- Other: TIKTOK: Jgroupevents
Image Credit:
El Marco Rojo
Sonja Garnitschnig
Goksun Egrur
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