Community Highlights: Meet Karimah Al Edelbi of My Beautiful City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karimah Al Edelbi.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My dive into the event world really started the day I landed in Los Angeles in 2005. I had spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in Abu Dhabi and Austria, between two very different cultures and surrounded by a very diverse group of people. The one thing I had not experienced until I set foot in LA however, was the unbridled energy that anything is possible as long as you can dream it.

I started working as a hostess at a fine dining restaurant to help pay my college tuition and fell in love with the hospitality industry. I loved that I was able to be part of new sensory experiences, life celebrations and that no two days were ever the same. I learned so much about different types of people and how to read a room. Combined with my English degree, I was ready to dive in and answer any email at lightning speed and with perfect grammar.

After a few freelance jobs, I started working for Coast Catering in San Diego which gave me a strong organizational foundation. One of the owners at the time, Jenn, was an incredible perfectionist. She paid attention to every detail and always had the guest experience in mind whenever making a service decision. I don’t think I recognized how great of an impact she had on me but it’s the same focus on the perfect guest experience that I keep front and center today.

A year later, I was offered the opportunity to take on the sales and event management position at the California Science Center in DTLA and joined an incredible organization. I produced countless events under the Endeavour Space Shuttle and worked as part of the team to celebrate the arrival of the external fuel tank in 2017. I also learned so much about building operations and working in a museum, which has come in handy more often than I can count. Working on so many spectacular events also introduced me to many incredible vendor partners who helped me grow my event network and led me to my next position with Wolfgang Puck Catering.

Working with Wolfgang Puck really taught me how to curate food and beverage selections that not only aligned with the event but elevated the experience to an unforgettable level. Of course, as the long-time caterer of the Governors’ Ball, working the Oscars was a bucket-list item. It was also Wolfgang Puck Catering that offered me my next opportunity to join the launch team of a new DTLA venue, City Market Social House.

City Market Social House is one of a kind – a thoughtfully restored warehouse that originally housed the LA Produce Market in the early 1900s. Our clients came to us with unique, crazy ideas, and we went back to the team huddle to figure out how to make it happen. It was here that I was able to combine my strong logistics and organizational background with my adventurous, creative side – Over the course of five years, we built a strong team that collaborated seamlessly to produce some of the coolest events.

This journey finally brings us to 2023, which is an incredibly exciting year! After a year of freelance work with My Beautiful City, I was honored to accept a full-time position as their COO to spearhead the US division. I’ve seen what we can do (and we’ve produced some spectacular events) but the best is yet to come!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
If an event journey is ever a smooth one, something is going wrong!

In all honesty, I think most obstacles start as friction points which are most frequently associated with a clashing of egos. I always try to remind myself that we are all working towards the same goal, and some people need a little more massaging than others. I’ve also learned over the years that you are much stronger as a team, and egos don’t last very long in a team environment.

From a business perspective, of course, I’ve encountered struggles along the way, but I don’t think I’m alone. Our industry is very demanding so it’s easy to become jaded but it’s always been incredibly important to me to lead with kindness and generosity, and I think in most cases I receive the same in return.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a global multidisciplinary creative agency that provides 360° support spanning strategy, concept, design and production.

Through exploratory, multi-sensory and immersive storytelling, we craft novel experiences that deepen the emotional connection between brands and their audiences.

With roots long anchored in fashion and contemporary culture, we have established ourselves as a knowledgeable and trusted partner to some of the world’s most iconic brands including Dior, Fendi, MAC Cosmetics, BVLGARI and Versace.

Together with our forward-thinking clients and global network of partners, we execute sophisticated and innovative brand-building experiences that unite global audiences through creativity and community. We draw inspiration from the multi-faceted richness of a diverse, global culture and hunt for new ways to consistently challenge the norm while inspiring the exceptional from concept to creation.

Always prevalent is a relentless search for progressive and provocative ways to effectively engage and communicate a brand’s narrative both physically and digitally.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Even before we were propelled into a global pandemic, there was already a strong current of shifting the event focus away from content to experience, and I think this will intensify and continue for years to come.

The other element that I think will see a strong push is the incorporation of exploratory tech (i.e. AI and multi-sensory environments) into events. This is already done on a more sophisticated level at tech events and conferences, but I think this will continue to evolve, and we will see this more seamlessly integrated into brand activations, marketing events and even social events.

The one thing everyone is on the fence about is virtual or hybrid events. I think that corporate clients will continue to intersperse virtual events in between larger in-person gatherings, but I don’t see us shifting in that direction with brand experiences or experiential marketing activations. The simple process of gathering is such an integral part of the human experience and I don’t think we are at the stage where virtual experiences can offer the same level of engagement.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mybeautifulcity.com
• Instagram: @mybeautifulcity