Our Team

 Sheila Samuels - Founding Owner & Creative Director

Sheila Samuels is the founding owner and creative director of 88 Events.

Sheila's passion for style and events was formed very early in her life whilst growing up in the exotic Philipines when her mother themed her 5th birthday party on Alice in Wonderland.

Famed for her expert eye for style and design, Sheila is renowned for her event design skills amongst her industry peers, many of whom regularly turn to her for advice on their own events.

Sheila has dressed a private room for King Carlos of Spain and won praise from people such as Gordon Ramsay who commented: "The design expertise of Sheila Samuels and her team at 88 Events is superb."

As the founding owner of 88 Events she is the living heartbeat of the company and is regularly booked months, sometimes years in advance to organise client events, parties and weddings.

Click the following links to download for free, Sheila's e-books on:

"The Table Styling Guide"

"The Seven Secrets of a Couture Wedding"

"The Party Planning Guide"

Marc Samuels - Sales & Marketing Director

Marc is Sheila's eldest son and business partner. He's responsible for business strategy, marketing & finance whilst ensuring that Sheila's core philisophy is communicated in everything the company does.

He joined 88 Events in 2001 on a three month trial basis. The trial was not a test of his ability but a way for him and Sheila to determine whether they could 'live' with each other in a business environment.

Over a decade later, he's still here despite the fact that he's the only male in a severely female dominated office.

Diane Black - Hire & Operations Manager

Diane has been with 88 Events since 2005.

In that time she has overseen some major changes in the way the hire business operates including implementing a whole new order processing system.

To say that Diane has strong relationships with her large band of trade clients is something of an understatement. Many of her loyal clients point blank refuse to deal with anyone else, meaning the phrase, 'I only deal with Diane', is heard on a regular basis.

Susannah Armstrong - Event Manager

When Sheila first met Susannah, she realised that her warm personality and expert sales ability would be perfectly suited to event planning. So when a position became available a few months later, we didn't even need to advertise as Sheila already had the perfect candidate's details on file.

A natural salesperson, Susannah immediately builds up a great rapport with every new client she meets. It's no coincidence either that the wedding and party side of the business has seen huge growth since she joined us.

Kasia Samuels - Event Manager

Kasia (pronounced Kasha!) is Sheila's daughter-in-law and officially the longest serving member of staff at 88 Events.

She's been working with Sheila since 1997 and is now a regular sidekick to Sheila at all our large scale events.

If there's one person in 88 Events who grasps Sheila's customer service philosophy it's Kasia. In fact, hearing her on the phone looking after her private hire clients can be a customer service lesson in itself.

Suzy McLean - Events Assistant

Suzy is without doubt the most organised person in 88 Events.

This is handy because if there's one thing you need to be a successful event planner, it is good organisational skills.

Suzy has become Sheila's right hand girl and lends her expertise not only to the events side of the business but also our private hire division where she works alongside Kasia. She's even handy behind the wheel of a van!

David Nicol - Warehouse Manager

David joined 88 Events as a fresh faced boy in 2002 just in time for the start of our Hire Division odyssey.

David is the man who makes things happen. Usually the first guy in and always the last to leave, he makes it his personal misison to ensure that each and every hire order is double, sometimes triple checked, packed neatly and loaded onto the van for delivery.

He's also the go-to guy for any last minute orders and a regular helper at practically every event we do. Quite simply, we couldn't live without him.

Ruth Beacham - Hire Administrator

Rumour has it that Ruth has long held the title of 'Most Charming Person Ever To Talk On The Telephone in a Business Environment'.

Of course she's far too modest to even admit to something like that which is just as well.

She has more important things to be doing such as making sense of the huge amount of paperwork, order processing and invoicing that is generated by a company that handles thousands of orders each year.

Evelyn Selfridge - Marketing Co-Ordinator

Another long-serving member of staff, Evelyn has seen the business from all sides.

From our laundry and warehouse to helping at events, Eveyln now assists Marc in spreading the word about 88 Events.

It would be fair to say that Evelyn is one of the most intelligent member of the 88 Events team. With a degree in forensics, marketing might not be her first career choice but we are the undoubted beneficiaries.

Donna Spiers - Laundry Supervisor

Donna is yet another long-serving member of staff with nearly 10 years experience.

She's the girl who makes our laundry tick. With a lage team under her, Donna commands respect. She's been trained by Sheila from day one into what is and what's not acceptable when it comes to linen quality.

She's been a huge factor behind the success of 88 Events and the reason why the warehouse boys never need to worry that the linen they pick up from the shelves is in anything but tip-top condition.