We’re not sure what the exact headcount was, but we’re pretty sure we broke fire code. And we’re also pretty sure people had a damn fine time.

Not bad for 5 days of planning, eh? Not to say we’re procrastinators but originally our party was going to be hosted along with another organization in the “heart of Silicon Valley”. Well, there was a change of plan a week before the party and since the posters were already printed we had no choice but to go forth and conquer. Thanks so much to Adaptive Path for allowing us, on such late notice, to take up the whole floor of 365 Brannan for the event.

Yeehaw and well done to our Scwhag Procurement Officer and Party Coordinator Extraordinaire, Tara Anderson for working her magic mojo. Since those of us Valleyschwagers that hail from Rubyred Labs were busy working on client projects all week, there’s no way we could’ve done it without her. (And FYI… anyone out there interested in becoming a Valleyschwag partner and getting placement in the upcoming Valleyschwag 4 package should give her a shout at Tara|at|Valleyschwag|dot|com.

And great big chuckwagon loads of thanks to all our party sponsors:

Eddie at Custom Scenic provided m
ost of the western decor. He has a seemingly limitless supply of saddles, rope, giant western banners, lights, platforms, and wagon wheels that transformed our office into a mining town.

Stormhoek Wine kicked in many cases of fine South African wine and a good stack of Hugh Macleod prints. (We have to admit we hid a couple bottles for consumption at Monday morning cereal bar.)

PhilipsUnion Whiskey pitched in a couple cases, including some vanilla and cherry flavored whiskeys. We know, when you hear “flavored whisky” you might think of the flavored coffee at a donut shop, but this stuff was *good*. The vanilla tasted excellent over ice, and is probably responsible for some of the rowdiest rocking horse rides we’ve seen.

Speakeasy Beers ponied up three kegs and was the drinking staple of the night.

Izze Soda provided several cases of their fabulous fruit sodas. They’re not overly sweet — a welcome change from most soda — and we’re big fans of their ruby red grapefruit flavor. Duh.

Rockstar kept us amped and partying like, well, rockstars. We blame/thank them for keeping the party alive past 3am.

And of course the Cyclecide Bike Rodeo (and friends at Headless Point) who loaned us the larger-than-life rocking horse that became a visual and social centerpiece. If you’re in San Francisco next weekend stop by Pedal Monster, their bicycle-powered weekend of fun.

Also, much gratitude to Irina & Eddie of Geek Entertainment TV for MCing and filming the Schwag Fashion Show (video coming soon); to JumpCut for all their great footage; to Scott Beale and Thomas Hawke for making our party look so glamorous with their gorgeous photos; to Bryan Mason for set-up help, the PA, and, well, the party space; to Joe Grubb for set-up help while his brother (ahem) was out of gas in the East Bay; and to Chris Messina and Tara Hunt for their moral supoort and setting up our killer IRC that allowed our subscribers around the globe to party along with us — and even ride the horse.

Finally, thanks to all our models from the fashion show, our schwag providers and to all of you beautiful people who attended in person and online and made 365 Brannan the rockinest place to be last Friday. You’re all stellar and we heart you.

Hugs ‘n’ Kisses,
The Valleyschwag posse

p.s. Thanks to our Rubyred team for all your set-up help and contributions as well: Leslie for the button-making station in addition to making all the deputy and grapefruit buttons for our party guests; Scott for bouncing; Ted & Cameron for climbing the decrepit ladder (and Giant Killer Robots for lending it, btw) to string up the backdrops; and Alex (and Eric) for the Fungeon cereal box wallpapering. You guys are AWESOME.

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