Darvin Furniture Hosts Pop Up Workshop Wine Tasting

Offering tasting tips for six distinct wines, a little cheese and chocolate, and a scavenger hunt ending in a huge prize giveaway, more than 100 guests attended the free Pop Up Workshop Wine Tasting event on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Darvin Furniture & Mattress, 15400 La Grange Road, Orland Park, IL.

Nick Kapellas, managing partner Bonefish Grill, Orland Park (left) with Steve Darvin, Co-Owner Darvin Furniture & Mattress (right)

Partnering with Bonefish Grill in Orland Park for the wine tasting, Darvin Furniture hosted the event, which included three wine tasting stations, a scavenger hunt throughout the showroom and prizes at the end of the event. The Pop Up Workshop marked the introduction of Darvin’s 99th Anniversary Celebration.

The second in a series of Pop Up Workshops this year, the wine tasting sticks to a goal of providing informational and educational events focused on distinct aspects of furniture selection, interior design and entertaining.

According to Darvin Furniture Vice President Merchandising, Marketing and Sales Hanny Diab, who welcomed the crowd gathered in the showroom and walked them through the evening’s scheduled activities, the Pop Up Workshops have been a great addition to Darvin’s long list of 2019 events.

“In a very short period of time, the Darvin Pop Up Workshops have become a popular event. It’s such a great feeling to be able bring our customers together, share some of our accumulated knowledge, and have an opportunity to meet many of them in person,” says Diab. “Ultimately, these events are part of our overall commitment to enhancing the Darvin customer experience. We really want people to have fun.”

Attendees at Wine Tasting Event

There was no shortage of fun throughout the evening, as the scores of guests scoured the Darvin Furniture galleries in search of scavenger hunt clues, each clue yielding a raffle ticket that enhanced the chances of winning one of the 20 prizes at the end of the Workshop.

Scavenger Hunt

According to Nick Kapellas, managing partner Bonefish Grill Orland Park, the opportunity to team up with Darvin on the wine event was a great fit for his business. “We loved being able to partner with them on such a unique event,” he says. “We are very proud of our big city bar and take pride in our seasonal cocktails and innovative beverages. There are so many great options that it’s easy to miss our terrific wine list.”

Attendees sampled wines throughout Bonefish’s progressive list, from a sweet light Moscato to a full-bodied Cabernet. The six wines from California and Australia that were sampled are featured on the happy hour menu that is available seven days a week from 4-6 p.m.

Jason and Patricia Tinman of Mokena stopped into Darvin to look for some furniture and were pleasantly surprised to see the wine tasting in progress. “We were here to shop for a new bedroom set and there was this amazing event going on,” she says. “We had a chance to talk with the in-house Darvin designers, that alone was worth the visit, and we had a chance to sample some nice wines. What an unexpected and fun evening.”

Stephanie Bell of Joliet, who won a $599 Karastan area rug in the prize drawing, says she was a huge fan of the chocolate and cheese selection as well as the Moscato wine she sampled.

“Besides winning a prize, I enjoyed what Darvin Furniture has to offer. I am in the process of purchasing a new home, there were so many beautiful pieces of furniture to see. I will have to re-visit the store,” says Bell. “The Wine Tasting setting really created a relaxed mood and it allowed you sit and easily discuss whatever items you were interested in.”

Chocolate & Cheese Station

According to Salena Whitfield of Chicago, winner of a $579 Jewel Galleries Wall Art piece, in addition to enjoying the featured Merlot, she found the entire evening a very relaxing atmosphere for some shopping.

“Having a wine tasting at a furniture store wouldn’t have seemed intuitive, however, it felt quite natural and was very enjoyable,” Whitfield says.

While Marlene Johnson of Oak Lawn won two prizes, an $250 accent table and a $299 bar set, she said the most memorable thing about the evening was the beautiful setting of the Darvin showroom for the wine tasting.

“The wines were very good and everything was so beautiful around the showroom,” says Johnson. “It was a very relaxing atmosphere, the people were so nice, and it was a great way to learn about wines.”

Marlene Johnson - Winner of Scavenger Hunt

Don Johnson of Orland Park won a $309 wicker outdoor lamp at the event. “I couldn't believe when I won it. I've been wanting some extra lighting for our patio at night,” he says. “I already have it hooked up. The lighting is great and the brown wicker matches our patio set perfectly! We will use it every evening.”

According to Johnson, the scavenger hunt provided both fun and an informative way to check out merchandise in the store. “I met many of the nice Darvin employees – and the Merlot was great!” he says.

“As a leader in the Chicagoland marketplace, we are the only ones offering these types of events. We are proud of the ninety-nine years we have been in business and we look forward to serving our customers through our one-hundred-year anniversary next year,” says Diab.

The next free Darvin Pop Up Workshop “Setting Your Holiday Table” is scheduled for this fall, for details, keep checking the Darvin Furniture website at Darvin.com.

Attendees sign up for 99th Anniversary Giveaway