We were lucky to catch up with Erica Marrello recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve been inspired with creative and unusual ideas for as long as I can remember and have always been fascinated by visual arts and live entertainment in particular.

From a young age I was never interested in working a conventional job or schedule and knew early on that I wanted to be involved in the arts and entertainment world – being a part of and creating fun, beautiful and interesting things.

 For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.

I have been a professional Event Planner for over 14 years. Falling into it as a teenager, event planning was a great combination of my skills and interests, so it ended up being a natural progression for me to build my career in that field.

When I was younger I worked in hospitality and bar service growing up in Portugal and moved back to Vancouver in 2010 to pursue a career in events.

I applied for an internship with Vancouver Fashion Week after graduating high school and dove straight into the industry head first, taking on key roles in backstage coordination, creative direction, personelle management, VIP hospitality, media relations, after party planning, food & beverage management and more.

After numerous years of contracting independently, working for local production companies and in a wide range of roles, I started my own agency in January 2020.

With a promising first year in the works, I was of course set back greatly with the first hit of COVID. Over the pandemic I occupied a good portion of my time by painting and creating artwork which I have now integrated into my business. I love working with bright colour palettes, naturally-inspired shapes and innovative concepts.

Events came back at full tilt in 2022 and I’m happy to be going into the 2024 season feeling confident about our exciting event plans, creating more artwork and a variety of other creative endeavours.

My business is EMM Creative Arts Co and we are a boutique creative agency with strong roots in Event Planning, Hospitality, Creative Direction and Art. We specialize in arts and culture based events, working globally from our office in Vancouver, BC, bringing inspired ideas to life through creativity, authenticity and passion and helping to create unforgettable moments at a wide range of live events and activations.

In addition, we are Vancouver’s leading high-volume beverage service operators and manage the bar service on a variety of highly regarded public events across the province, often serving multiple thousands of people at a time or working on various high-calibre projects in one day.

I strive to create distinctive, memorable bespoke experiences and provide excellence in event and hospitality operations to grant our clients peace of mind with what are often very public, pertinent and personal projects.

EMM Creative provides a full-service model which includes full logistics planning and coordination, certified multifaceted event staff, custom artwork and creative installations, personalized decor, professional entertainment and more. We elevate events through unique concepts and seamless execution in conjunction with our amazingly passionate, diverse and versatile team.

In addition to EMM Creative, last year I launched EMM Gallery, which houses my original paintings as well as my GET MELTED personalized photo session concept and performance art project. Recently I also released a clothing line derived from and featuring my artwork – EMM Apparel.

I think the main things that I would like people to know is that EMM Creative, Gallery and Apparel is all about unique expression and celebrating life. We are the open concept team for anything fun, vibrant, unique, out of the box and believe that being different and dependable is what really makes us shine.

I love to create custom event concepts, artwork and experiences for brands, individuals, groups and public events alike as well as seeing our magnificent team sling thousands of drinks in a few hours to droves of happy humans accompanied by incredible live soundtracks and am really looking forward to all the fun surprises and opportunities this year will bring.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding thing about being a creative is the opportunity and satisfaction of creating something in real life that has never been done before or came from a dream. To have the ability to try new things, develop new ways of doing things and “throw things at the wall to see what sticks” are some of the best parts of what I do.

Additionally, the fact that none of my days are ever the same and I get to be in such art-rich environments while seeing and helping other creatives thrive as well as provide opportunities that are fun, safe and encourage camaraderie and living in the moment is really rewarding to me.

Events have a really special way of bringing people together and creating intense, impactful moments while creating artwork is a really great form of expression and depiction of perspectives that adds interest and beauty to spaces that people can contemplate and enjoy over extended periods of time.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Support us! Be loud about it!! Come to our events, buy tickets in advance, share the ticket links and tell your friends!

Come to our stores and markets, buy from our online shops! Share your rad new digs online so other people can support us too!

Make it a priority to buy from local businesses and artists when shopping for holidays, special occasions or for your wardrobe or home / office decor. Invest in pieces and experiences that are unique, make you feel good and share that with other people you know!

And while you’re at it – repost our work online!! It’s free!!! You never know who will see it. See something you like? Hit that share button!! You could change someones life with a simple click.

Contact Info:

• Website: emmgallery.com
• Instagram: @emm.erica | @emm.gallery | @emm.creative | @emm.wear
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmcreativeartsco/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-marrello/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emm.creative
• Other: emmcreativearts.com

Image Credits
Kaaran Singh – @kaaransingh_ Ramtin – @o.n.e.t.i.n Aaron Lozynsky – @aaron.lozynsky EMM Creative Arts Co – @emm.creative EMM Gallery – @emm.gallery EMM Apparel – @emm.wear