“Ray’s work in putting together this colossal car event was invaluable. Her organization, attention to detail, passion, and creativity made her essential to the development, planning, and production and success of this auction. She was able to effectively jump through the hurdles and challenges that arose, always with a smile on her face. Her ability to handle the Keno Brothers was also an incredible asset. A pleasure to work with!”
EVENTS SUPERVISOR AND HEAD OF SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMMING
“Thank you so much for all of the hard work you put into transforming the rooftop into a winter wonderland for Little Big Brands’ holiday party on Friday night! You are incredibly talented, and have been a sheer delight to work with. The whole team adored you.”
SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER/ NOMAD HOTEL
Ray is hands down one of the most creative people I know. Her perspective, her raw talent and the way she brings ideas to life is unlike most. She has an energy and vitality that is contagious, not to mention she is a sheer joy to be around. This girl is a live one, people!
PARTNER/ LITTLE BIG BRANDS
Where do I start? Ray has completely transformed my Wine Bar into something I could never had imagined possible. Every detail was carefully thought out and perfectly executed. With just a vague idea of what I was looking for she took the ball and ran with it. Dealing with a limited budget, and my extreme stubbornness, she managed to pull off the impossible in keeping the same warm feel that Pour always had yet taking it to a completely new level of sophistication and elegance. The constant flow of positive comments from guests regarding the design and detail solidifies that I made the right choice in designers. I would highly recommend Ray to anyone as well as use her in any projects of mine going forward.
PROPRIETOR/ POUR BAR + EATERY
“Miss Ray” has been with us for two years in which time she handled our social media, web design, menu design and public relations. Her amazing eye for photography added many depths to our Facebook page. Ray worked closely with our web designer assisting with photos posted to our web page. She portrayed colossal creativity and abundant imagination to drive our brand. She respected our vision and added professional opinions when needed.
Our Executive Chef changes his menu many times. Ray had immense patience when dealing with constant changes to make our menus perfect. Ray handled Illustrator applications easily and explaining detail it takes to create these files. Ray was able to educate us into her world making us aware of the tremendous planning it takes to constantly adjust menu design. During her employment with us, our Chef had created a pop-up restaurant, MURA gastropub, in which she created an amazing logo, menus and marketing. Without her this new brand would not have succeeded.
Ray’s ability to connect with people made it simple to deal with marketing companies looking for our business. She was diligent when dealing with search engines driving our brand to its fullest potential. Ray is a sparkling addition to any team or startup company. She has a marvelous passion for creating something from nothing.
GENERAL MANAGER/ VILLAGE SOCIAL
Ray has been an exceptional student at RISD with great design imagination and interpersonal skills. Her thinking was refreshing and her ability in communicating ideas through drawing was also excellent. She would be an asset to any design firm and I recommend her unconditionally!
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR/ CARLETON UNIVERSITY
Meeting Alex was the best thing that ever happened to me. Discovering his taste in home décor was not. When I moved in with my fiancé, we realized that we had starkly contrasting opinions of what it should look like. Alex— having grown up in Palm Springs — preferred minimalist modern décor with a touch of mid-century. I liked the shabby chic look and displaying my vintage finds from flea markets and ebay, and wanted a home with a sense of humor. The challenge was exacerbated by the fact that we had purchased a crude loft space—without appliances, counter tops, cabinets, or any storage spaces to speak of — and we had no idea where to begin.
In Ray — with whom I had been neighbors and who had helped me personalize my studio-we found so much more than we were looking for. A true artist and visionary, Ray immediately immersed herself in getting to know not only what we would love to see in a house, but also what moves us as people (which ends up overlapping in the end). Planner, shopper, mediator, problem-solver, Ray worked from concept and sketches through the last finishing touches of transforming our cold, barren loft space (a former umbrella factory) into a warm, inviting space that both Alex and I live to come home to.
Without constructing walls, Ray taught us how to “zone” the loft through her use of color, style, textures, and spatial relationships. She showed us that by having some consistent elements throughout our loft, our pieces could work together in new arrangements and combinations in this apartment or our next home. (We plan to use the chocolate brown leather armchair from our bedroom with the leather love seat in the tiki lounge for a den in our next place.) Ray also infused our apartment with the playful sense of humor I was hoping for. The glider that hangs from the ceiling in the tiki lounge looks like it’s coming in for a landing on the sands of our vintage-style “Hope Beach” print (that harkens back to Alex’s California roots). And everyone loves the vintage faucet taps that Rachel lugged back from London to use as the handles on our closet door.
Her passion for transformation, her artistic background and her dedication to her own personal style would be a vibrant, artistic, innovative, and hardworking addition to any position or project.
OWNER/ HIGH TEA FOR ALICE
It is my pleasure to recommend the work of Ray Garraffa. As a graduate colleague at the Rhode Island School of Design, Ray always brought a fresh and unique perspective to her projects, and brought to bear her artistic skill set in conveying her ideas and concepts beautifully. In joint projects, Ray was always fully invested in her work and was a valuable colleague to have on your team. In her subsequent professional work in England, Italy and most recently New York I have continued to be impressed with Ray's ability to blend elegance and individuality to create memorable, one-of-a-kind, interiors and events.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/ STORY CRAFT CREATIVE