ABOUT | AMBIANCE CREATIVE
AMBIANCE CREATIVE | THE COMPANY
Ambiance Creative is an evolution of Sarah Kidder Designs and a part of L'Atelier D'Ambiance LLC: a creative studio, consulting office, and event production company led by Sarah Kidder. Beginning as the floral design shop Sunshine & Flowers in 1978, the workshop was first incorporated as L'Atelier D'Ambiance (studio of ambiance) by founders Sharon and John Kidder, whose creative influence and dedication to the community remains a guiding force in the business. Located in downtown Oakland, CA, Ambiance Creative teams with professionals across industries to assure that we are serving each client well. With our deep ties in the community, we enjoy working closely with artists, photographers, web designers, caterers, a/v professionals, sports organizations, civic groups, government offices, nonprofit groups, and companies from a range of industries to assure that our clients have the best results for their projects.
It is a wonderful thing for a business to last through to a second generation, to be able to change and grow with the times, and to have long standing relationships with clients. In addition to our wonderful private and corporate clients, we are proud to serve our community by working on marketing and fundraising events for a range of local non-profit organizations over the years including Oakland Ballet Company, Oakland Zoo, Cinnamongirl, Inc., Bike East Bay, Folsom Street, Middle East Children's Alliance, Gardens at Lake Merritt, California Association of Student Councils (CASC), Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP), San Francisco Education Fund, and West Contra Costa Public Education Fund.
SARAH E. KIDDER | PROPRIETRESS
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Sarah E. Kidder has worked as an event professional for over 20 years, having begun as an apprentice in the floral design, public relations, and event industries. Sarah designed her company to reflect and incorporate disciplines in which she has both expertise and keen interest: special events, project management, business development, creative expression, teaching, and etiquette. Launching as Sarah Kidder Designs in 2000, the business evolved into Ambiance Creative in 2020 - a year that allowed for and demanded change, creative solutions, and new avenues for people and businesses to work together and support each other.
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Sarah's expertise comes from a lifetime of apprenticeship beginning at age three when her mother, Sharon, opened her shop, Sunshine & Flowers. Sarah Kidder grew up working with flowers and on events, selling her first floral arrangement in 1980, and has helped brides down the aisle since 1985, designing event décor for public events since 1987, and 'managing' the front office side of things since age five, before she could properly take a phone message. Her time in the flower shop taught her more than the artistic side of things like how to create stunning arrangements; it also created opportunity for learning and nurturing skills in relationship management, time management, volunteer recruitment and management, long and short-term project planning, inventory and logistics, sales, skills in creative solutions, public speaking, the power of good manners, how to keep things on track when something does not go as planned, and much more.
In addition to helping run her family floral and event business, Sarah's early years included developing expertise in marketing, branding, and PR. From 2015-2020. Sarah added work with the nonprofit event production company Heart of the Town Events to her resume, helping bring major public events to fruition. Having earned her degree in English Literature from UC Berkeley, Sarah applied many of the skills learned working to her lessons, aiding her in disciplined studies and in writing papers about the 'secret messages' of flowers in Shakespeare and Austen. Sarah applies her writing skills to copy writing PR and marketing pieces as well as creative pieces on a range of topics including etiquette and caregiving.
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Sarah currently serves as a director on Boards for the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club (as the 2022 President of the Club), the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club Charitable Foundation, and the Pardee Historic Home Museum (as Secretary), and is a longtime advisory board member to Cinnamongirl, Inc.
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Artemis & Baby resting in the sun. Two of the hardest working co-workers that there ever was.
PARKER MARTINEAU | COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER & MARKETING MAVERICK
Parker Martineau is a B2B technology marketing and communications strategist with 19+ years of expertise in brand development, content marketing, and strategic communications for high-tech companies. As Communications Partner & Marketing Maverick at Ambiance Creative, Parker specializes in marketing automation, brand messaging, and integrated marketing campaigns for B2B technology, SaaS, and scientific instrumentation companies.
Parker's decade-long tenure as Marketing Communications Manager at Gatan, a leading electron microscopy company, generated $45.5M in pipeline opportunities and achieved 45% year-over-year lead growth. Expertise includes marketing automation platforms (Act-On, Salesforce CRM), email marketing campaigns with proven results (2.2% CTR, 42% webinar conversion rates), content strategy, brand positioning, and digital marketing for complex B2B sales cycles serving materials science, life sciences, and semiconductor research markets.
Prior experience as Communications Manager at Intematix and Corporate Communications Manager at GigOptix developed specialized skills in corporate communications, change management communications, internal communications, and M&A communications. At GigOptix, Parker managed communications for 200+ employees through five mergers and acquisitions, including a reverse-IPO, establishing expertise in organizational change communication and executive communications.
Parker delivers marketing and communications consulting services including: brand strategy and positioning, content marketing and copywriting, marketing automation implementation, email marketing campaigns, thought leadership development, product launch communications, and corporate communications strategy. Based in San Leandro, California (San Francisco Bay Area), Parker serves B2B technology companies, SaaS startups, scientific and research organizations, and high-tech manufacturers seeking measurable marketing results and strategic brand development.
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TALLULAH BELLE | OFFICE MANAGER
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Tallulah Belle serves as the office manager and studio mascot for Ambiance Creative. Tallulah Belle was led to the Ambiance studio after spying Sarah Kidder at the Gardens at Lake Merritt during her event production work on the Autumn Lights Festival in Oakland, CA. Having been left to fend for herself at the event site, Tallulah was welcomed into the L'Atelier D'Ambiance family and began her apprenticeship as a ribbon and wreath inspector.
Endlessly inquisitive, Tallulah takes pride in honing her artistic skills in floral design and paw print paintings as well as work on administrative tasks and growing her technical prowess. She "manages" the studio's daily schedule, is the first to catch printer errors, does tech support for Zoom meetings, runs the boss's Instagram account, and is working on her first novel about life as a quarantined cat in the big city. Her lifelong interest in solving mysteries has led Tallulah Belle to take classes towards receiving a private investigator license. Most recently, in February of 2021, Tallulah Belle was inspired by the now famous Zoom lawyer kitten and is working to earn a law degree by studying for her LSAT. She hopes to one day soon be able to say to a judge: "I am here live. I am a cat."
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EUPHEMIA BASTET BELLE (EFFIE) | AUDITOR
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Euphemia Bastet Belle—known professionally as Effie—joined Ambiance Creative's finance department after a distinguished career in quality control at a local tuna cannery. Her eagle eye for detail and unwavering commitment to accuracy made her a natural fit for the Auditor position, where she oversees all financial reconciliations, expense reports, and the critically important treat budget allocation.
Effie takes her auditing responsibilities seriously, conducting surprise inspections of desk drawers, filing cabinets, and any bags left unattended. She has implemented a rigorous approval process for all office purchases, requiring her personal paw stamp before any Amazon orders can be placed. Her quarterly financial reviews are legendary—though they primarily consist of knocking pens off desks and demanding to see receipts for the good cat food versus the substandard kibble.
A stickler for compliance, Effie has memorized every line item in the studio's budget and can detect a miscategorized expense from three rooms away. She audits all client invoices by sitting directly on them, believing that physical inspection is the only way to ensure accuracy. Her forensic accounting skills are unmatched, particularly when investigating the mysterious disappearance of the office plant (she maintains this was a necessary operational efficiency).
When not conducting surprise audits or reorganizing the supply closet by pushing everything onto the floor, Effie enjoys continuing education in international finance law, specifically studying the legal implications of cross-border catnip trade. She's currently pursuing her CPA (Certified Paw Accountant) designation and dreams of one day testifying before Congress about the urgent need for mandatory nap breaks in all workplaces.
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Euphemia (you-FEE-mee-uh) is a feminine name of Greek origin, meaning "well-spoken" or "speech of good omen," derived from eu ("good") and phemi ("to speak").
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