Take notes and you too can have an office party that’s this much fun.
Chelsea and Stu Morley are cool people. Their Melbourne-based new-age advertising agency (Tiny Disco) specialises in beautiful content. The kind that really captures your attention when you’re walking past a billboard or scrolling your feed. They make brands feel fresh, different and genuinely fun. Stu has long been a photographer and Chelsea started shooting video after having their first child, prior to that she was a TV producer (always a creator). In 2017, Tiny Disco began with Chelsea tagging along to Stu’s shoot and filming for the client, in hopes they’d want to book her for the next campaign, and so they did. Fast forward to today, and Tiny Disco are a 30-creatives-strong hive of good ideas and great aesthetics, whipping up content for the coolest brands in Australia (yes, including Dan’s Daily).
“We have this brigade of really awesome, young, fresh, cool people who come up with creative ideas for campaigns and clients of all different sizes,” says Chelsea, founder and creative director. “We produce it, we shoot photography, we shoot motion, we do animation. We just basically do everything really cool and really beautiful that goes into any kind of campaign, particularly to live online in the digital space.”
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It will come as no surprise that their office is a pretty fun place to be – “We have a studio onsite, so there’s shoots happening, some people will be in creative negotiations, some in post-production, but it’s all magic and fun and lots of colour and energy. And music! Each department has their own tunes.” They do Cocktail Fridays, rotating the duties across departments, and they get so into it that custom invitations and cocktails are created. There’s always an alc and a non-alc option (Chelsea says there’s no getting away with not having a cool non-alc option anymore) and while the team enjoys, they go through the great work done that week. Creativity and cocktails, what a workplace! Yes, you can send them your resumé.
With the day-to-day at Tiny Disco being so much fun, it stands to reason that their end of year office parties are far from the token tinsel and Jatz. To find out exactly how it’s done (and figure out how to lift your own work ‘do) we snagged an invite to the Tiny Disco Wrap Party, and got Chelsea to share her magic-making secrets. Including how to make sure a party is fun. She’s that good.
Home essentials
- Q. Go-to drink order?
“Stu used to be a cocktail bartender, so he’s a real cocktail connoisseur. He’d order a Gin Martini, wet, with olives. I’d have a Pornstar Martini, a Paloma, a Spicy Margarita or a gimlet, but I’d only order a Gimlet at a place that’s serious about their cocktails – they can be really bad if they're not using real lime juice.”
- Q.What’s the secret to a great event?
“Firstly, and controversially, I’m a big fan of an early start. Then, I think with any kind of event, you have to have some flow to it. You can't just rock up and let it happen. It's like if you have a kid's birthday party, you have to have the cake happening at a certain time. People have expectations around an event. So I do like to have loose plans going on, but I also do like to work with whatever's happening at the event. For example, if the dance floor’s heating up a little bit too early, you obviously don’t want to interrupt that with a speech, you want to let things flow. I like to have some flexibility in the way things run but a loose structure. Then it’s good food, good wine and a range of drinks. I don't want people to be pigeonholed into just two drink options. I like a plethora of drinks.”
- Q.What’s a good range of drinks for a party?
“There’s got to be a cocktail on arrival. If it’s a big party, we’ll do three to five cocktails in bulk, so people can help themselves. Then, there has to be a solid non-alc option, I can’t tell you how many non-alc guests we have at any event. So many people don’t drink, and you have to have either a non-alc tweak to something you’re already serving, or a separate, equally fabulous non-alc drink. Then, a sparkling wine or Champagne, depending on the occasion and budget – that’s non-negotiable. I don’t even care if it’s breakfast, there must be bubbles. Sometimes I like this as the only wine option because people can be fussy with their wine, but bubbles are a simple option. And then a beer.
- Q.How do you make a party fun?
“You can’t expect fun to happen, you have to create it. For fun, you have to have investment. Not financial investment, I mean emotional investment in the build-up to an event. Everyone needs to be involved, be that through a dress-code or theme that people are excited about creating a look for, or through an investment in how the event will play out. This could be them contributing something – for example, we have a baker on our team and every event she asks if she can make a cake and, of course, I say yes. She does an amazing job and everyone has a piece and really appreciates it. We’ve also had party playlists where everyone has had to contribute a dancefloor track. It can mean 11 hours of music, and it can be risky, but also everyone has something they love and tries different things.
“On that – a dancefloor. It’s important whether it’s Friday night drinks or a big party, there needs to be space for dancing. Then, lighting. It sounds really wanky, but lighting is important. People don’t want to dance under fluorescent lights. Switch them off and turn on some lamps. We’re lucky because we have all the shoot lights. We’ll pump some pink or purple light to set the mood. Finally, there needs to be some kind of fun formality. Not a formal speech as such, or a performance, but some moment of coming together with acknowledgement and thanks. It doesn’t have to be giving out trophies, but at an end of year party, I think giving everyone something lets people engage and laugh together. We gave out cute little awards for every team member last year. They were funny and said something great about each person. It was a big win. If you don’t have that formality, people can feel a bit like nothing actually happened, like did it start? Is it over? You need something to happen. Then people will relax after it.”
- Q.How do you start a dancefloor?
“Lights low, music loud and play Cardi B WAP.”
Notable mentions
- Q.Last thing that inspired you to make a cocktail?
“We recently resuscitated the Cosmo, because I felt like it had a bit of a daggy moment, even though Sex & The City came back full circle. So we batch-made some Cosmos for a Cocktail Friday and they went off! People loved them. They’re actually really fresh and delicious, and really drinkable.”
- Q.All-time favourite event that you’ve hosted?
“When I first met Stu, we used to have huge studio parties for about 300 people. I still have people come up to me and say, ‘Yeah, I went to one of your parties once’. But nowadays, my favourite parties have been our end of year wraps. Everyone's ready. Everyone's tired. Everyone wants to see the back of the office, they’ve earned it and it has that lovely summer celebration vibe. We do it on the Friday before we close, so everyone can let their hair down.”
- Q.Favourite Melbourne bars?
“I have so many, I love Caretaker’s Cottage in the city. Siglo is a classic. I love it as you’re edging into summer, it’s amazing for a cocktail. And then I recently discovered Lover on Chapel Street, which was phenomenal. I’m taking all my friends there. It’s dark and feels a bit like a nightclub, they have a great DJ and their barmen are exceptional.”
- Q.Best restaurant you’ve ever eaten at?
“Sunda in Melbourne CBD. I think it’s the best dining experience I’ve ever had and we do beautiful dinners for our birthdays every year, but Sunda has something really special. The drinks offerings were really interesting and it was just amazing.”
Let’s plan... a Tiny Disco end of year wrap party
- Q.Who’s coming:
“Our amazing team. We sometimes have parties with partners and clients, but I love when it’s just the team. Things get a little more formal and restricted with partners with introductions and showing them around, people tend to peel off, which is totally fine, but it’s nice for the end of year party to be a time for letting loose and celebrating our hard work.”
- Q.The guest brief:
“We quite like a theme. Just because of the kind of people we are, it’s always quite fashion-y and fun, so the theme this year is Tiny Disco OTT. So yourself, but on the biggest scale. Start time 5pm, but you have to make accommodations for people finishing work later, so 5pm to 7pm is the kind of buffer time.”
- Q.Drink on arrival:
“When we’re making cocktails for the party we want them to be quick and easy (but still cool). We generally batch up larger quantities when the crowd is larger, but if it’s just our team we get Stu behind the bar or take it in turns making cocktails. I also want them to look really good, so I’ve thought about the glassware and the garnish. We’ll have two cocktails ready to serve. First, a Paloma with Patrón Reposado Tequila. Palomas are our absolute go-to party drink – easy to make for multiple people and such a crowd pleaser. I love any cocktail that has a salty rim and a Paloma is the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Annnnnnnd, they’re pink so it’s a no brainer. A lot of people use silver tequila for mixing, but we prefer the Patrón Reposado because it takes the flavour to that next level.
“Second option: Dark ‘n’ Stormy. They are such an easy alt if people aren’t into tequila. Rum to me is a safe alternative – but we make it interesting by using Plantation’s Stiggins Fancy Pineapple Rum. It’s top notch artisanal rum infused with Victorian pineapples and it makes the best cocktails. We pour it over ice into a short glass, top with ginger beer and squeeze some fresh lime in there. Quick and simple. Finally, you’ve got to have a non-alc option, and the Gordon’s 0% Gin & Tonic is simple, refreshing and looks great stacked in a tub of ice.
- Q. The spread:
“It’s all about platters. Cheese, dips, meats, set up and ready to go, and then one for sweets and cakes. You can bring that out later, but it always looks so good that it's nice to have it on display even if people don’t dig in until later. ”
- Q.The main event:
“Stu and I will pour everyone a Zonzo Bellini, say some nice words about our beautiful team and give out some awards. I think it’s important to have something sparkling for speeches and toasts, but this is that little bit extra. It’s basically a Bellini cocktail in a bottle, made with sparkling Chardonnay and peach nectar. Really yummy and a nice sparkling alt!
“Then we’ll cut the cake and kick-off the dance floor. A bit later on, we’ll get a whole lot of pizzas from Baby. Pizza is cost effective, can be consumed while mingling, and pleases everyone. Gluten-free options, veggie options – it ticks all the boxes.. This is also when the canned drinks really shine, because no one wants to be making cocktails at this point. We always have seltzers on hand as they’re really easy to drink and great with food, so we’ll have White Claw ready to go – a mix of every flavour to keep everyone happy (I’m a Mango gal).
“Byron Bay Brewery Premium Lager is our go-to beer – it’s so smooth and goes down a treat – and Mosey Passionfruit Fruity Beer is not really like beer at all, but more of a lighter style refresher that’s super tasty and fun. Then, I wouldn’t usually go for a cocktail-in-a-can, but the Funkin Piña Colada Cans come out smooth and creamy and taste like a tropical holiday.”
- Q.The decor:
“Our parties are always in our office. We have a big open-plan office in South Yarra and hold them in the kitchen where there’s lots of space. We always set up a photobooth with a backdrop leftover from a shoot. And always a disco ball. Obviously.”
- Q.The wind-down:
“We always have some form of cake or dessert at our parties that gets eaten later in the night and I love matching a nightcap cocktail with the sweets. We’re always sick of making the drinks by this point though so prebatch is best, Monkey Shoulder Lazy Old Fashioned are delicious. Your guests won’t even know that it’s pre-made.”
