Inspiring Conversations with Courtney Hendrickson of Ivory Desert

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Hendrickson.

Courtney, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always had a pipe dream of owning my own event venue. You know, one of those things you daydream about during your day-to-day tasks but never expect to actually do. My life just looked so far away from even the possibility of that ever happening that it seemed completely unreachable. Besides, I was busy with life already, and I was happy.

I had recently graduated college for graphic design and was busy doing freelance work and I was a young foster mom to several children (Over the past two years, I’ve had six children in my home, all under two, so it was craziness all the time). Both were very rewarding and fulfilling. I was happy with the life I had. Then my little world fell apart.

Now, foster care is really complicated. No two cases are alike. We’ve had some children go to a family which we supported. We’ve adopted, each case is so drastically different. In this case, we had picked up a newborn boy straight from the hospital. He made my husband and I first-time parents and of course, it was instant love. The initial goal of foster care is always family reunification which we supported, but when no family is involved, the case changes to establish permanency for the child. We raised our little boy for nearly two years. We were the only family he had ever known. He had no involvement with his biological parents or his paternal family. We had a great relationship with his maternal grandma and aunt, who supported us adopting him. Everyone told us it was as easy as cases come, and we would be able to adopt him in no time. But people didn’t do their jobs, things kept getting pushed back, and then our worst nightmare happened.

We got a phone call one night saying they were moving our son to another home to live with complete strangers. We were blindsided that DCS would do this to our little boy. They were blood relatives who, after nearly two years, decided to finally step forward and take him, and in DCS eyes, blood is better than anything else. Even though there were laws that should have protected our little boy (for babies after six months because of the relationship and bond formed, we were legally considered equal to family placement), they still just rehomed him like it was nothing. It was unbelievably traumatic for our sweet boy, for me and my husband, our whole family – immediate and extended were absolutely devastated. There are so many things I could say about it, but to sum it up, it was the absolute darkest time of my life. I had lost my child.

It was my lowest point, but the thing about being at your lowest point is the only place to go from there is up. So we tried our hardest to keep pressing on, to just keep moving even if it had to be a crawl at this point. I think my way of trying to press on was finding something to fill my time and keep me busy so I didn’t have to be consumed by pain. That’s how my company started. At my lowest point, where my whole world had crumbled, I had the opportunity to build something new. I mean, why not? At this point, I felt like I had nothing to lose. Things could not get any worse than this. I thought of my pipe dream of owning an event venue and I thought, why not go for it. In my current situation, I didn’t have the money to start one, or honestly the emotional stability or all the knowledge needed to run one, but I didn’t care. I didn’t need to run right now, I couldn’t, but I could start to crawl just to get myself moving. So I started small with a big goal in mind.

Now all this was happening during COVID, not so much a booming time for parties and events. But what was needed was a way for families to get out of the house and have fun while still socially distancing. That’s where we started, small intimate gatherings outdoors, with just a table, pillows to sit on, and some yummy food – essentially a picnic just like we all know and love, but fancier. Such a simple concept, it almost seemed silly. But it was something to do so I just went for it. I saw its potential as something fun and aesthetically pleasing, both popular things amongst my generation.

I invested some money into buying pillows, rugs, decor items, etc. Those items add up, trust me, so it was a little scary to invest all that money at first. I then worked on building a website and setting up my picnic in different beautiful locations around the valley to get some pictures for social media. During this process, I got my first booking before I even officially launched. It just took off from there. We had people booking picnics for elopements, date nights, family dinners, baby showers, birthday parties, girls’ nights, brunches, proposals, anniversaries, and more! It was a hit! We’ve even done a wedding in Mexico (my first time going out of the country was for my business, how crazy is that!) and have bookings months out for several new and exciting things. What started out as a distraction became a passion for me! Each booking, I learned and grew in my event planning knowledge and skills.

As COVID restrictions were lifted, we were able to do bigger parties and events. In just a few months, we were already able to move onto the next step towards reaching my goal (you better believe I have steps and phases to get to my goal!) and rebranded Ivory Desert from just a picnic company to a full Event Planning and Styling company.

We now offer venue styling, planning+coordination for weddings, event rentals, custom party planning, and our staple picnics, of course. I’m amazed by the progress Ivory Desert has made in such a short time and so excited for all that I have planned for the company. It’s been so healing for me and has helped me to learn and grow so much. And you know what, that pipe dream doesn’t seem so far away anymore. I’m already on my way.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely a very bumpy road. The company was born out of a difficult time between my own personal struggles and the world dealing with COVID. It was scary to invest money into it initially. It can be hard doing new things that you aren’t familiar with yet, lots of ups and downs for sure! With starting a company, there are so many high and low points you just need to always be adjusting to go with the flow of things and figure out what works so to me, it is just to be expected.

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?
Ivory Desert is an Event Planning Company located in Phoenix, AZ. We specialize in Weddings, Parties, & Luxury Pop-Up Picnics. We plan everything from Birthday Parties (kids or adults), Bachelorette Parties, Bridal & Baby Showers, Anniversaries, Proposals, Dinner Parties, Date Nights, Girls Nights, Company Events, Elopements & Weddings, and more!

We offer easy premade packages for various events, perfect for those who want a stunning event on a budget. We also have custom planning options to create the event you’ve always dreamed of. No event is too big or too small. We plan it all!

Our attention to detail and our style are what set us apart. We thrive on carefully curating our decor and making sure every detail is perfect. We pride ourselves on our amazing customer service, quick response time, and unparalleled eye for design. We are your one-stop shop for your next event because we can not only plan and style your event but can design custom invitations, stationary, signage, backdrops, etc, making your event 100% you.

What are your plans for the future?
I’m excited to see Ivory Desert continue to grow as we get into bigger events like weddings, large parties, and more custom planning opportunities. I feel like custom planning gives the most room for creativity and to create something truly remarkable and I feel like we could do a lot in that space which I’m definitely looking forward to. Once we are able to establish ourselves in the bigger event industry, I do hope to design and open our own venue someday. We’ve got some big plans and ideas for that.

Contact Info:

• Email: ivorydesertco@gmail.com
• Website: ivorydesert.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivorydesertaz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivorydesert
• Other: https://g.page/ivory-desert?share

Image Credits
Golden Destiny Photo