B.BLYSS! Productions, an entertainment company, was founded in April of 2004, since that time it has taken the Chicago nightlife by storm. “B.BLYSS! Production’ mission is simply; to embrace the essence of culture, with the intense construction of services and events that reflects the many lives of a woman. Through social, professional and artistic production that will reflect her style, her sexuality, her power, and her many lives, we aspire to strengthen the visibility and outlook of women,” said Tamara Allen, co-founder and company prinicipal. Here’s what else she shared with us.
PRIDEINDEX: How many partners make up B.BLYSS! Productions?
ALLEN: 4 Partners make up B!BLYSS Productions; Tamara Allen, Cynthia Bryant, Tara Honeywell & Sandra Urquiaga.
PRIDEINDEX: Describe your current projects and include any notable challenges or obstacles and how you have overcome them?
ALLEN: We are currently working on the expansion of the B.BLYSS! Productions brand into other markets as well as the expansion of our events and service offerings. We are positioning ourselves to help small businesses, corporations, not for profit organizations and other such entities to penetrate the LGBTQA community with resources, sponsorships and marketing communications efforts.
When we started B.BLYSS! it was difficult to find venues that were not in Chicago’s well known Boystown community that would be open to our events. We knew from the start that it was not our goal to produce events in the places that it was “expected” for us to produce events because it was not our goal to conform. We overcame this obstacle by locating a venue that was open to the concept and the demographics. Once we did this we made an aggressive push with marketing by flooding the streets, the press and other media outlets with information about B.BLYSS! Productions, the event and what the audience should expect.
The success of the event proved to be a great stepping stone for us because we have still yet to produce an event at a venue in “Boystown”. We are not completely opposed to it now because we hope to diversify this community as well to be more inclusive of all people on a more consistent basis.
PRIDEINDEX: How did you come up with your name?
ALLEN: We came up with the name B.BLYSS! after we brainstormed about a few things that described who we were as partners, what kind of events we wanted to produce and the people we wanted to produce our events for. B.BLYSS! means Bisexual, Bicurious, Lesbian, YES Simply Sexy Productions!
PRIDEINDEX: Which clubs have you promoted for?
ALLEN: We’ve promoted for Vain Nightclub, Exposure, Chromium, Dragonfly, Flirty Girl, Dru’s Lounge, Cheetah, Knockout’s, Tini Martini, Ai Sushi Lounge, Tsuki and a plethora of other Chicago based venues.
We are currently hosting events in varied locations throughout Chicago but will be producing weekly events at Vain Nightclub on Thursday Nights beginning Thursday June 24th and Fridays beginning July 2nd @ A Bucktown Location.
PRIDEINDEX: How is promoting parties geared toward female partygoers different than promoting for males?
ALLEN: Promoting parties geared toward female party goers is actually a lot more difficult than promoting for males in our opinion because men in the LGBTQ community have more options due to Boystown. As promoters targeting the female demographic we have constant competition with our target audience because women that we tend to target our events toward are family oriented, working class professionals and/or students getting their graduate and doctoral degrees.
It makes it a lot more difficult to draw out the masses but our formula is to always be comfortable and mid-sized so that our patrons can engage and enjoy themselves with other like minded individuals.
PRIDEINDEX: Have you ever considered become a club owner? Why or why not?
ALLEN: Yes, we are interested in purchasing a club. In the next 3-5 years we hope to be in a position to open up a nightclub that will be open to all people. Minorities in Chicago are very integral to nightlife and the revenue that is generated from the events that are produced and marketed by them. The unfortunate fact is that many of the nightclubs are not owned or operated by minority groups. We are a company that believes strongly in the power of diversity and community but there are few places in Chicago that provide such social environments. We want to be able to provide such a place and a safe space for those who are seeking to step outside of the norm and into an environment that speaks to directly to them.
We will be getting more involved in projects relating to integrated marketing communications, television and film, business, tourism, live entertainment, politics, education and community service.
PRIDEINDEX: Describe to us your plan for growth or expansion within the Chicago market and beyond.
ALLEN: Within the next 6-12 months you will see a much more aggressive and diverse offering from B.BLYSS! Productions here in Chicago.
In the next 1-3 years our plans include expansion of some of our signature brands into markets such as: Indiana, Milwaukee, NY, Georgia and California.
Although most of our current productions are in-house we will begin to offer our event planning, marketing communications and promotional services to outside entities (consumers, businesses, etc.)
We hope to make a strong impact not just here in Chicago but on a national and international front.
Prideindex.com’s 2010 Esteem Award Winner for Outstanding Female Promoter, B. BLYSS! Productions will host their Inagural “Holiday Soul Soiree” on Thursday December 23, 2010 at Marrakesh 941 W. Randolph from 9:00 pm – 2:00 am. RSVP or Book Table Reservations by visiting:
www.HolidaySoul2010.eventbrite.com or Facebook: Bblyss Femistry Questions: 877-570-6607 or 815-621-7731 Beneficiary: Howard Brown Health Center A percentage of the proceeds from this event will benefit Howard Brown’s Lifeline Campaign. To learn more about PrideIndex.com’s Esteem Awards visit www.TheEsteemAwards.com
