Gavin B. Keilly: Gifting Guru GBK’s Gift Lounge at the 2010 Golden Globe
Heading to West Hollywood from Pacific Palisades is always a roll of the dice, I never know how much traffic I am going to encounter and what the parking situation is going to be. I drive up to the Mondrian at 9:50am with 10 minutes to spare. The shiny cars pull up with trendy, young, up-and-coming crews, piling out of their cars, wishing in the well for fame and fortune. The vibe is similar to being in a nightclub with low lights and pumping music, reminding me of my younger days when frequenting the Mondrian was a weekend norm. The elevator door opens to the 10th floor and the floor is alive, the crowds are racing around between vendors, media, celebrity and entourage alike. Gavin Keily, the gift guru, comes around the corner and we are whisked away to a room to hold our interview. Gavin, although handsome in photos, is much better looking in person, his blue eyes sparkle and dance as we sit on modern furniture in a room where in a few hours will be in full swing catering to the stars of the Golden Globes. Gavin is very comfortable in his skin and his confidence settles as we sit back in our chairs to talk about him and how he came to where he is today.
Starting his professional life in the consulting world of finance, Gavin matured his natural god-given gift of precise attention to detail and adding a fine touch that would later give him respect and a high reputation. Gavin was searching for his niche in life and wanted to give back to the world he was living in and his community. His search landed him as the director of development at the City of Hope where he assisted with the special events and fundraising for non-profit industries. After a few years of working with their team, Gavin learned he could do this on his own and actually make money. He conducted a ROI for potential vendors to show how much profit they could margin in marketing and having their product lines at his events and his business took off. To make sure the media coverage is there, he always has his photographers on hand to capture celebrities using his vendor’ products. He prefers to have one photographer for every three vendors, compared to the average one photographer for every 10 vendors, he never misses a photo!
From make-up to Pet pigs to t-shirts, GBK brings the best of its kind to the tables for gifts. This years Golden Globes gift list included products like, hand-painted bottles of one-of-a-kind Italian vodka from 2Night Vodka and 2005 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Silver Oak Wines for the wine enthusiast, On the health and beauty front, gifting included items such as RevitaLash gifted their well known eyelash conditioner which is a conditioner that gives you visibly fuller hair and CellCeuticals Biomedical Skin Treatments known to give you visibly younger skin in just two weeks. A number of fashion offerings included exclusive designer shirts for men and women from Arnold Zimberg, fine timepieces from Croton Watch, and Okobos’ unique footwear that enables people to express individual style and personal conviction while providing a way to give back easily through their charity connection. Luxurious travel destinations to top resorts with meals and multiple spa treatments a day included. GBK does not go without honoring the charities of their preference to give back to the community.GBK chose City of Hope, GLAAD, Donate Life and A Source of Joy Theatricals to support their 2010 missions.
Although these gifts are only given to the award nominees, people like you and I can easily get a hold of Gavin’s latest gift-list and hunt down the products that hold the most interest. He knows what’s best for the celebs, I am sure these products will also be great for the common folks. Keep your eye open to find him the next time you see a red carpet!
