Meet Paige Norman, Head of Relationship Management

Paige has been with Moving Venue for almost 5 years and has created some long-lasting relationships with our venues and clients. We had a chat to learn a little more about her…

HOW DID YOU START OUT IN THE INDUSTRY?

After finishing sixth form, I decided that despite applying to university to study English Literature, that university life wasn’t for me. Once I made that decision, I realised I needed to figure out what my next step were pretty quickly!

I applied for a variety of jobs in marketing, real estate, finance but the one job that stood out to me was one based at the Royal Courts of Justice. They were looking for an Apprentice to join their events team. After attending the first interview, I knew it was perfect for me. I started a month later and the first event I worked on was the Hunger Games premiere after-party. Imagine doing that at 18, anyone would get hooked!

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO SMART GROUP?

My first role was working in an exclusive venue for a caterer and ever since then I have loved the food and drink industry. Over the last 10 years, I have worked for a number of event caterers, but it was an Instagram message from our Managing Director, Chloe Jackson in the summer of 2018 that brought me to Moving Venue. I had known about Moving Venue for years by then, and I knew they had an amazing industry reputation. When I met Chloe, she really sold me the dream and I am pleased to say she absolutely delivered on every promise.

LETS TALK MORE ABOUT YOU, WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL WAY TO SPEND A SUNDAY?

Oh yes, my favourite day of the week! I will always attempt a lie-in on a Sunday, our dog Paul luckily likes them too so he will never wake us up too early. We will then go for a walk around Greenwich Park with a brunch pit stop. It is then always a chilled day for me and I attempt never to have plans, only spontaneous outings are allowed. A roast dinner is a must, whether it’s home-cooked or at my favourite local restaurant Tila… they do the BEST crispy Brussel sprouts with orange soy!

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE LONDON VENUE?

I am lucky enough to be the account manager for all our SW7 venues, so I spend a lot of time in South Kensington. Somehow the magic of working in the Museums that you visited as a child just doesn’t get old. Delivering events beneath Hope the Whale, Chihuly’s ‘Chandelier’ or the Eagle Rocket is still just as exciting to me as it was the first time I did it. Basically, I don’t think I could ever pick just one.

YOU'VE SOLD PLENTY OF EVENTS AT MOVING VENUE, BUT WHICH ONE WAS YOUR FAVOURITE?

That’s another hard one! I would say a 2,000-person reception at the Natural History Museum where we had 120 different nationalities come together to celebrate future young leaders. Or a beautiful dinner for 300 guests at Kensington Palace where we designed the entire event. We helped design the table centres, entertainment and production. I love working with other suppliers and pitching an entire concept to a client, the cherry on top is then seeing it come to life.

FINALLY, WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR PEOPLE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY?

I would say to get as much experience as you can. There are so many different paths to a career in events, there is no set route. You can start in catering but end up in floristry, or start for an agency but end up in production.

You need to truly love events – if you don’t then you won’t enjoy the early starts and late nights, and that’s where you get the buzz. You must be prepared to work hard and put in the hours, and just know that at the end of the night you would have delivered a spectacular night for all of those guests. Oh, and comfy shoes!